-  Asked by:     Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
 
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                                            Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 December 2010
                                        
 
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                                        Current Status:
                                            Answered by   John Swinney on 17 December 2010
                                    
 
                                
                            
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider using any underspend from the 2010-11 rural affairs and environment budget to prioritise work on the Water of Leith Flood Prevention Scheme.
                                
Answer
                                    Funding for flooding projects, including that allocated to the City of Edinburgh Council, has been rolled up in the local government finance settlement since 2008-09. As such, it is a matter for individual councils to decide how they allocate the total funding at its disposal to meet its own local needs and priorities, including those for flooding schemes.  
For its part, the Scottish Government has agreed with COSLA that in allocating the available capital grant it provides amongst councils, it has also maintained funding for specific elements within the total. The Scottish Government has therefore protected the funding allocations for flood prevention schemes, including the Water of Leith Scheme that was approved earlier.
   
                         
                        
                            
                                
                                
                                        -  Asked by:     Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
 
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                                            Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 November 2010
                                        
 
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                                        Current Status:
                                            Answered by   Roseanna Cunningham on 9 December 2010
                                    
 
                                
                            
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-37516 by Roseanna Cunningham on 26 November 2010, how decisions will be made on the future of the Scottish Forestry Commissioners.
                                
Answer
                                    The Forestry Commission is a cross-border GB body that develops and delivers forestry policy on behalf of the Scottish, English and Welsh administrations. The statutory powers and duties of the commission are vested in the Forestry Commissioners. The future of the Forestry Commissioners will be a matter for discussion between Scottish, English and Welsh ministers.  
                         
                        
                            
                                
                                
                                        -  Asked by:     Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
 
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                                            Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 November 2010
                                        
 
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                                        Current Status:
                                            Answered by   Roseanna Cunningham on 9 December 2010
                                    
 
                                
                            
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-37516 by Roseanna Cunningham on 26 November 2010, by what mechanism the status and role of the Scottish Forestry Commissioners can be changed.
                                
Answer
                                    The Scottish Government may, by virtue of the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act, seek, by order, to amend, transfer or delegate the functions of the Forestry Commissioners as they relate to Scotland. A proposal to abolish the Forestry Commissioners would require legislation at Westminster, and a Legislative Consent Motion, and we would expect such a proposal to be discussed and agreed by Scottish, English and Welsh ministers.  
                         
                        
                            
                                
                                
                                        -  Asked by:     Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
 
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                                            Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 November 2010
                                        
 
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                                        Current Status:
                                            Answered by   Roseanna Cunningham on 9 December 2010
                                    
 
                                
                            
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-37516 by Roseanna Cunningham on 26 November 2010, whether it sees a continuing role for the Scottish Forestry Commissioners.
                                
Answer
                                    The Scottish Government has no plans to change the role of the Scottish Forestry Commissioners.  
                         
                        
                            
                                
                                
                                        -  Asked by:     Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
 
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                                            Date lodged: Thursday, 25 November 2010
                                        
 
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                                        Current Status:
                                            Answered by   John Swinney on 9 December 2010
                                    
 
                                
                            
To ask the Scottish Executive how much paper has been used by public sector bodies in each year since 2007.
                                
Answer
                                    Procurement Scotland, part of the Scottish Government''s Procurement Directorate, has in place a national agreement for paper accessible by all public sector bodies. Since the agreement commenced on 1 September 2008 some 8 million reams of paper have been purchased by 172 public bodies and 721 charities, housing associations and registered social landlords: 640,000 reams in 2008, 3.9 million reams in 2009 and 3.3 million reams to date in 2010. Prior to the introduction of the national contract this information was not collected centrally: equivalent data for 2007 is not therefore readily available.  
                         
                        
                            
                                
                                
                                        -  Asked by:     Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
 
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                                            Date lodged: Monday, 22 November 2010
                                        
 
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                                        Current Status:
                                            Answered by   Roseanna Cunningham on 25 November 2010
                                    
 
                                
                            
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will protect funding for new tree planting to meet its target of 7,500 hectares of new trees in the next 12 months, as referred to by the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment at the Forestry in the Low Carbon Economy conference on 2 June 2010.
                                
Answer
                                    Our woodland creation targets are mainly achieved through grant support under the Scotland Rural Development Programme and some direct planting undertaken by Forestry Commission Scotland. The 2011-12 Draft Budget provides sufficient funding to meet our targets and we have actually increased grants available for forestry by £8.9 million to £36 million.   
                         
                        
                            
                                
                                
                                        -  Asked by:     Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
 
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                                            Date lodged: Monday, 22 November 2010
                                        
 
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                                        Current Status:
                                            Answered by   Roseanna Cunningham on 25 November 2010
                                    
 
                                
                            
To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to reach its target of planting 100 million trees by 2015, which is equivalent to planting 10,000 hectares of trees per year.
                                
Answer
                                    Our woodland creation targets are mainly achieved through grant support under the Scotland Rural Development Programme and some direct planting undertaken by Forestry Commission Scotland. The 2011-12 Draft Budget provides sufficient funding to meet our targets and we have actually increased grants available for forestry by £8.9 million to £36 million.  
We are only part way through the first year of the Scottish Government pledge to plant 100 million trees by 2015 and we have already approved plans for 10,800 hectares of planting by the private sector which, when added to Forestry Commission Scotland''s plans, amount to over 25 million trees.
   
                         
                        
                            
                                
                                
                                        -  Asked by:     Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
 
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                                            Date lodged: Monday, 22 November 2010
                                        
 
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                                        Current Status:
                                            Answered by   Roseanna Cunningham on 25 November 2010
                                    
 
                                
                            
To ask the Scottish Executive, following the announcement of the draft budget for 2011-12, how the planting of extra hectares of trees required to meet the target of 100 million trees by 2015 will be financed.
                                
Answer
                                    Our woodland creation targets are mainly achieved through grant support under the Scotland Rural Development Programme and some direct planting undertaken by Forestry Commission Scotland. The 2011-12 Draft Budget provides sufficient funding to meet our targets and we have actually increased grants available for forestry by £8.9 million to £36 million.   
                         
                        
                            
                                
                                
                                        -  Asked by:     Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
 
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                                            Date lodged: Monday, 22 November 2010
                                        
 
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                                        Current Status:
                                            Answered by   Roseanna Cunningham on 25 November 2010
                                    
 
                                
                            
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that it will meet its target of planting 100 million trees by 2015, given that the number of trees planted annually since 2007 is estimated at 6.7 million.
                                
Answer
                                    We are only part way through the first year of the Scottish Government pledge to plant 100 million trees by 2015 and we have already approved plans for over 25 million trees.  
                         
                        
                            
                                
                                
                                        -  Asked by:     Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
 
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                                            Date lodged: Thursday, 11 November 2010
                                        
 
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                                        Current Status:
                                            Answered by   Alex Neil on 22 November 2010
                                    
 
                                
                            
To ask the Scottish Executive how long the boiler scrappage scheme for private landlords will be open for applications.
                                
Answer
                                    The private sector landlord boiler scrappage scheme will operate on a first come, first served basis until its vouchers have been fully allocated and will be open to those private landlords who can claim their voucher rebate by 28 February 2011.