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Once a development is designated as a national development in the National Planning Framework, the policy setting out the “need” for it will not normally be a matter for further consideration in any inquiry associated with an application for consent.

This will be a decision for the Inquiry Reporter.

Section 3A of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 makes provision for ministers to designate certain developments as “national developments” in the National Planning Framework. If the National Planning Framework contains such a designation, it must contain a statement by Scottish Ministers of their reasons for considering that there is a need for the development in question. Section 25 of the 1997 act makes provision as to how such statements are to be applied when determining a planning application. In relation to other consent procedures there is no similar statutory provision, however, ministers’ reasons for considering that there is a need for a development should be given equivalent status in reaching a decision.

At present no information on income from feed-in-tariffs (FIT) is collected in the Scottish House Condition Survey and therefore income from feed-in tariffs is not added to the income of the household when calculating fuel poverty. However, the Scottish House Condition Survey does record the presence of renewables on a property and where a renewable is found the modelled fuel cost is adjusted for the property to take account of the energy generated by these renewables.

From 2013, we will include the estimated impact of income from FIT’s and other forms of incentive payment in our fuel poverty modelling. However, it is important to note that the main impact of micro generation on fuel poverty will be from the reduction in energy costs which as noted above is already modelled in fuel poverty estimates.

The Green Deal does not start until later in 2012 so no data could be collected on Green Deal repayments until Scottish House Condition Survey data collection starts in 2013. The fuel poverty forum is currently undertaking a review of fuel poverty. Once this review is concluded the Survey team will identify whether additional information or methods are required to measure fuel poverty.

The review is currently being considered by the NHS Board Chief Executives prior to consideration by Scottish Government ministers. The recommendations of the review group would allow for the current costs of running the chamber in NHS Orkney for NHS Scotland and European Economic Area (EEA) patients to be covered by the nationally designated service which is funded collectively by all NHS boards in Scotland.

The National Services Advisory Group has accepted the recommendations of the review and this is now under consideration by the NHS Board Chief Executives Group which has asked for additional supplementary work to be undertaken prior to reaching a conclusion on the recommendation. I expect to receive the review report and to make a final decision by the end of the financial year.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-04699 on 16 January 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/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.