Seòmar agus comataidhean

I am pleased to announce todaythat, following our review, the Scottish Government will now seek the agreementof the European Commission for continuation of the Air Discount Scheme (ADS) from1 April 2008 for another three years at the existing discount rate.

The ADS gives residents of Orkney,Shetland, the Western Isles, Islay, Jura, Caithness and North West Sutherland a 40% discount on the priceof core air fares.

An analysis conducted on ourbehalf by Halcrow shows that there have been significant increases in patronageon some ADS-related services, and significant increases in the frequency and capacityof these services since the launch of the scheme in May 2006. The analysis has alsoidentified large reductions in average journey times for ADS members, as well asbroad satisfaction with the scheme’s administration. From the analysis it is clearthat the scheme has performed very effectively and ministers have concluded thatit should continue.

Halcrow’s analysis accords withour own statistical and other evidence built up since May 2006. ADS membership levelsare in general very high and well over 200,000 discounted tickets have been purchasedsince the scheme began. Over the next three years, we believe that the scheme willmake further progress and that increasing numbers of residents in the Highlands andIslands will benefit. We will continue to monitor the ADS’s performance during thattime to ensure that the scheme continues to fulfil its key aims.

Information onsmall businesses in the form requested is not held centrally. However,information on the number and rateable value of non-domestic properties whichmay be eligible for relief under the Small Business Bonus scheme is availablefor the local authority area concerned on the Scottish Assessors Portal www.saa.gov.uk. This information is shown asfollows:

Number of Properties	Rateable Value of Property
	Up to £8,000	£8,001-£10,000	£10,001-£15,000	Total up to £15,000
Western Isles/ Comhairle nan Eilean Siar	1,733	62	94	1,889

Notes:

(i)The rateable value ranges shown in the table correspond to those on page 12 of the Scottish Budget: Spending Review 2007.

(ii)The table shows the number of non-domestic properties (excluding zero-ratedsubjects) with rateable values of up to £15,000 in the Comhairle nan EileanSiar local authority area, which is co-terminous with the boundaries of theWestern Isles parliamentary constituency. 

(iii)The number of eligible businesses will be lower than the number of non-domesticproperties in each area, because some businesses have more than one property.This may affect eligibility for relief under the Small Business Bonus Scheme,which will depend on:

thecombined rateable value of all properties in Scotland which a business owns, leases or isotherwise entitled to occupy;

whetherthe property is eligible for one of the existing rates relief schemes, and

thelevel of other public sector assistance received by the business.

The ScottishGovernment has formally withdrawn from the UK Heritage Protection Bill and willbe legislating in the Scottish Parliament, probably as part of a ScottishMarine Bill. We will continue to keep in touch with the UK Government so thatthe future legislation fits well with any provisions in the rest of the UK.

The term “eligibleforage areas” relates primarily to the Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (LFASS)qualifying criteria. LFASS eligible forage must be available throughout the year.Other land may also be claimed provided the land is available and accessible forthe applicant’s use for maintaining livestock for seven months (to include 15 May)starting between 1 January and 31 March in the year for which payment is to be made.The land must also be close enough to the permanent holding to make its seasonaluse viable.

Whilst land whichis temporarily unavailable (e.g., due to snow or flooding) may still qualify, Iunderstand that sea-girt land is coastal land which is affected by tides and, assuch, is submerged for parts of each day. For this reason, it cannot be consideredaccessible and available for use for maintaining livestock, or classed as eligibleforage land in the LFASS context.

The General RegisterOffice for Scotland (which is responsible for the Scottish census) included a questionabout the Scots language in a census test last spring but a final decision has notbeen taken. Under current plans, a formal proposal on the topics to be includedin the 2011 census will be presented to Parliament in autumn 2008 and Parliament’sfinal approval to the census questions will be sought early in 2010.

It is for healthboards to ensure the quality of services from general practitioners. Boardsmust ensure that such services are available for all patients and the mostcommon approach is to enter into contractual arrangements with doctors. It isfor those who have agreed to provide services to ensure their practice isadequately staffed to meet the requirements of their contract with the healthboard.

If services werenot provided to an acceptable standard, regulations provide that a health boardcan take remedial action. In an extreme case a contract could be terminated.

The information requestedrequires special analyses from the Scottish House Condition Survey data set. Itis estimated that programming and verification of the calculations will be completeby 19 December 2007. I will write the member when the analysisis completed and place a copy in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib.number 44090).

The information requestedrequires special analyses from the Scottish House Condition Survey data set. Itis estimated that programming and verification of the calculations will be completeby 19 December 2007. I will write to the member when the analysisis completed and place a copy in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib.number 44090).

I have asked JamesHynd, Acting Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. His response isas follows:

The information requestedis shown in the following table:

Year	Number of Systems Installed	Replacement Systems	New (First-Time) Systems
2001-02	3,560	320	3,240
2002-03	5,550	999	4,551
2003-04	10,200	3,468	6,732
2004-05	10,768	5,922	4,846
2005-06	9,796	6,859	2,937
2006-07 (Eaga)	3,426	2,432	994
2006-07 (Scottish Gas)	2,227	2,027	200
2007-08 (until 31 October)	3,314	2,817	497
Totals	48,791	24,835	23,956

Notes:

1. The figures provided are only for the mainprogramme i.e. over 60s. The over 80 part of the programme and the pensioncredit part of the programme are by definition replacement of existing systems.

2. The over 80s partof the programme started in May 2004 and the guaranteed element of pensioncredit started in January 2007.

Scottish Water isresponsible for the maintenance of the public drinking water mains network up tothe communication pipe which normally, but not always, terminates at the boundaryof a property. Homeowners are responsible for the upkeep of the private servicepipe which connects to the communication pipe to bring the supply into their homes.There are insurance schemes available which can offer protection against burstsor damage to private service pipes. Scottish Water has an arrangement with HomeserveLtd to offer such cover to their customers at their own discretion.