- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 May 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 11 May 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive how many households are expected to have insulation measures installed in 2009-10 that will be partly paid for under the Home Insulation Scheme.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-23517 on 11 May 2009. 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.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 May 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 11 May 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whether measures and safeguards will be put in place to ensure that the external partners selected to help deliver the Home Insulation Scheme are based in Scotland and employ Scottish workers and, if so, what these are.
Answer
We recognise the importance of the point being raised. This project will be managed by the Energy Saving Trust from its offices in Scotland. While based in Scotland, as part of its policies on equal opportunities the Energy Saving Trust employs both Scottish workers and those of other nationalities. In relation to other external partners, we will aim to ensure that best practice procurement is followed.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 May 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 11 May 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive in which areas the Home Insulation Scheme will be deployed in 2010-11 and what proportion of the total population resides in these areas.
Answer
The areas in which the Home Insulation Scheme will be deployed in 2010-11 have not yet been selected.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 May 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 11 May 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of households will be eligible for free insulation measures under the eligibility criteria to be used for the Home Insulation Scheme and what proportion of the population lives in these households.
Answer
The proportion of households eligible for free insulation measures will depend on a range of factors including the eligibility criteria agreed and the characteristics of the areas selected.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 April 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 11 May 2009
To ask the Scottish Executivewhat discussions it has had with the Isle of Man Government regarding nuclear power, given the proximity of the Sellafield nuclear power plant.
Answer
The Minister for Transport, Infrastructure & Climate Change attended the British-Irish Council meeting of 17 April 2009, at which the Irish and Manx governments were present, and during which the issue of the Sellafield nuclear power plant was raised.
Ministers from the Irish and Manx Governments advised that they are close to completing a revised joint paper on Sellafield and radioactive waste. The paper will address current operations at Sellafield, the safety of those operations, the final disposal of radioactive waste and the control of environmental discharges. This topic will be given fuller discussion at the next ministerial level meeting of the council in 2010, at which Scottish ministers will be present.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 April 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Russell on 11 May 2009
To ask the Scottish Executivewhen and where the next meeting of the British-Irish Council is expected to be held and what will be on the agenda, with particular reference to energy issues.
Answer
The next summit meeting of the British-Irish Council is scheduled to take place in October in Jersey; however the agenda is yet to be determined.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 April 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 8 May 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the view of the group, Plane Stupid, that expansion of aviation is incompatible with the Scottish Government’s climate change targets.
Answer
All sectors of the economy, including domestic and international aviation, have a collective role in delivering the 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 required by the Climate Change (Scotland) Bill. That is why we have taken the world-leading step of committing to include from the start the Scottish share of emissions from international aviation in our emissions reduction targets.
We also recognise that air links support Scotland''s economy, including business and tourism, and perform a very important social function, particularly in the Highlands and Islands. We are, therefore, pursuing a balanced approach which recognises the economic, social and environmental impact of aviation in Scotland.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 April 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 7 May 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive how many non-violent political campaigners came under surveillance in the last 12 months.
Answer
The information requested is not available. Surveillance is undertaken on the basis of necessity and proportionality; not on the basis of individual political motivation. The Regulation of Investigatory Powers (Scotland) Act 2000 provides that surveillance may only be conducted:
for the purpose of preventing or detecting crime;
for the purpose of preventing disorder;
for the purpose of protecting public health, or
if it is in the interests of protecting public safety.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 April 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 7 May 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it intends to take in light of reports that officers from Strathclyde Police offered to pay a member of the protest group, Plane Stupid, as an informant.
Answer
The use of police informants is an established part of policing and is overseen by the independent Office of the Surveillance Commissioner. Individual operational decisions are a matter for the relevant police force.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 April 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 7 May 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has concerns about the operation of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers (Scotland) Act 2000 and, if so, what concerns.
Answer
The Regulation of Investigatory Powers (Scotland) Act 2000 provides a framework for the authorisation and regulation of the use of investigatory powers by public authorities in Scotland. It seeks to balance the protection of individual civil liberties with the safety of the wider public and we have no current concerns with its operation.
