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This was considered to be a reasonable time for the development partner companies to assess the potential and draw up a portfolio of suitable sites.

Due to the nature of the commercial process undergone, Forestry Commission Scotland could not specify requirements in this way however, each developer has stressed as part of their submission the importance they attach to local development and sustainability.

The results of the hydro-tendering process were announced in August and October 2010. The appointed development companies are still in the exclusivity phase and nothing has been decided as yet. Discussions are underway with some communities however.

Depending on energy prices Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS) anticipate total renewable energy derived income of about £30 million per year by 2020, this is based on FCS''s forecast that an additional 500MW of installed capacity should be achievable. This extra income will be reinvested and will therefore be a huge saving to the taxpayer.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-39697 on 14 March 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Marine Scotland has undertaken and issued regional locational guidance to help inform the future selection of sites. This guidance contains relevant information including, for example, information on environmental sensitivities, other marine users and the socio-economic structure of the area/region and sits within the wider marine planning structure being developed by Marine Scotland.

The regional locational guidance is informed by Marine Scotland''s on-going work including our programme of seabed mapping. This programme has acquired bathymetric data to get a more detailed understanding of the depth and shape of the surface of the seabed, as well as its character (i.e. rock, sand, mud, boulders etc.) than that previously available. This information has been made public in order to help inform the future selection of sites for offshore renewable energy developments.

The Scottish Government''s research programme and demonstration strategy will also provide information which can be used to inform regional locational guidance and the licensing process where appropriate.

Student debt includes loans which are extended by the Student Loans Company. Student loan entitlement is assessed by Student Awards Agency Scotland and the loans are extended by the Student Loans Company (SLC). The SLC do not hold information on students that have graduated, so the figures in Table 1 have been calculated by looking at those who have who have passed their statutory repayment due date in a given year, rather than graduation. This means that these figures may include some individuals who had Student loans extended to them, but they did not graduate.

Table 1: Average debt among individuals that accrued student loans from studying in Universities and Colleges in Edinburgh and Lothians regions, broken down by institution, 2006-2010 (£''s)

	Statutory Repayment Due Date
	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
Edinburgh Institutions
Edinburgh College of Art	9,040	10,530	8,780	8,670	7,360
Edinburgh Napier University	7,600	7,470	6,790	6,760	6,620
Edinburgh School of Dental Hygiene @ Therapy	-	-	-	-	-
Edinburgh University	7,950	7,560	6,600	6,900	6,660
Free Church of Scotland College - Edinburgh	-	-	-	-	-
Heriot-Watt University	8,080	8,340	7,290	7,240	6,720
Queen Margaret  University	7,620	7,440	6,700	7,050	6,780
Stevenson College - Edinburgh	3,830	3,690	3,810	3,890	3,930
Telford College - Edinburgh	4,160	4,140	4,230	4,720	4,230
Lothians Institutions
JEWEL and ESK	3,470	3,430	3,810	3,830	3,950
Oatridge Agricultural College	3,100	3,450	2,780	3,450	3,520
West Lothian College	3,330	3,540	3,160	3,430	3,710

Source: Student Loans Company.

Notes:

The Statutory Repayment Due Date (SRDD) is the date when the debt is liable for repayment if the borrower earns above the earnings threshold.

The SRDD is the April in the year after the student graduates or otherwise withdraws from their course.

The figures include students who withdraw as well as those who graduate.

A student is shown against an Institution if they have had debt from study there even though they may have finished at a different institution. This is a slightly different approach to the one used in the answer toquestion S3W-25130 on 21 July 2009 (SLC ref 20090624-04) which was based on the last institution attended

The debt used in the average is the debt accrued for Income Contingent Loans, part of which may have been incurred at another institution

Between 2007 and 2008 the liability for the Graduate Endowment ceased. Some deferred Endowments were liable for repayment after that date.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Any development likely to have a significant effect on the marine environment must be subject to an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) as required by The Electricity Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2000. A range of EIA studies are undertaken by the developer to identify the current status of the marine environment. This considers the potential impacts related to a proposed development as well as the proposed mitigation and any residual effects. Environmental concerns identified include: benthic ecology, marine mammals, fish and shellfish, seabirds, water and sediment quality, terrestrial and intertidal ecology, landscape, seascape and noise.

The following tables show the funding allocated to higher education institutions (HEIs) and colleges in Scotland between 2004-05 and 2008-09, along with equivalent amounts at 2004-05 values (adjusted using HM Treasury GDP deflators) and the annual change of 2004-05 equivalent values.

Table 1. Funding Invested in Scottish HEIs in Edinburgh and the Lothians (£000): 2004-05 to 2009-10

	Academic Year
Institution	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09
Edinburgh College of Art	8,240	8,821	9,895	9,945	9,541
Edinburgh University	134,006	148,693	162,865	176,905	183,524
Heriot-Watt University	33,926	35,554	39,082	41,258	42,672
Edinburgh Napier University	38,586	40,390	45,830	56,570	54,753
Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh	14,297	13,470	13,674	14,184	16,129
total	229,055	246,928	271,346	298,862	306,619
2004-05 value	229,055	242,526	257,853	276,091	275,632
annual change in real terms	-	5.9%	6.3%	7.1%	-0.2%

Source: Scottish Funding Council (SFC).

2004-05 value calculated using HM Treasury GDP deflators December 2010 update.

Table 2. Funding Invested in Scotland''s Colleges in Edinburgh and the Lothians (£000s): 2004-05 to 2009-10

	Academic Year
College/Region	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09
Edinburgh colleges
Edinburgh''s Telford College	29,924	27,045	35,495	36,935	37,906
Jewel and Esk College	14,127	15,264	24,900	39,096	21,028
Stevenson College	19,938	22,283	30,589	28,264	29,572
Lothian colleges
Newbattle Abbey College	328	345	361	371	383
Oatridge College	3,279	5,139	6,432	4,263	4,636
West Lothian College	12,737	13,153	44,193	14,193	14,732
Total	80,332	83,229	141,970	123,122	108,258
2004-05 value	80,332	81,746	134,911	113,741	97,317
annual change in real terms	-	1.8%	65.0%	-15.7%	-14.4%

 Source: Scottish Funding Council (SFC).

2004-05 value calculated using HM Treasury GDP deflators December 2010 update.

Figures from 2006-07 to 2009-10 are made up of gross resources, notional fees, fee waiver (initial allocation), bursary allocation and capital grants, while the figures for 2005-06 are partly made up of grant in aid instead of gross resources.

Discretionary fund guidance is issued to all colleges and universities at the beginning of each academic year. The discretionary fund guidance includes details of the funding available to all students with childcare expenses, including postgraduate students.

A link to a copy of the current guidance can be found at:

http://www.saas.gov.uk/student_support/other_funding.htm#discretionary.