- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 06 January 2012
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 20 January 2012
To ask the Scottish Executive whether in calculating household income to determine if a household is in fuel poverty, income in the form of feed-in tariff or renewable heating incentive payments is included.
Answer
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.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 06 January 2012
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 17 January 2012
To ask the Scottish Executive whether repayments of Green Deal Finance are included as a deduction from household income when determining whether a household is fuel poor.
Answer
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.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 December 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 16 January 2012
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S4W-02090 by Nicola Sturgeon on 3 August 2011, whether additional funding will be provided to support the provision, maintenance and use of hyperbaric chambers in Orkney following the review of hyperbaric medicine.
Answer
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.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 December 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 16 January 2012
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S4W-02090 by Nicola Sturgeon on 3 August 2011, when a decision will be taken on any changes to the provision, maintenance and use of hyperbaric chambers in Orkney following the review of hyperbaric medicine.
Answer
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.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 December 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 16 January 2012
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S4W-02090 by Nicola Sturgeon on 3 August 2011, how the outcome of the review of hyperbaric medicine will impact on the provision, maintenance and use of hyperbaric chambers in Orkney.
Answer
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.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 16 December 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 11 January 2012
To ask the Scottish Executive how it ensures that there is sufficient consumer choice available for those who have to pay a professional fee in order to obtain a qualification as a swimming teacher.
Answer
Licensing of teachers and coaches is not mandatory at the moment and the choice of qualifications to become a swimming teacher is a matter for the providers of these qualifications and the individuals concerned.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 16 December 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 11 January 2012
To ask the Scottish Executive whether UK coaching certificate qualifications will be the basis for swimming licences.
Answer
This is a matter for sportscoach UK, British Swimming (and its home country members) and key stakeholders to decide when considering the introduction of the licensing scheme.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 16 December 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 11 January 2012
To ask the Scottish Executive what the qualification criteria are for applying for a swimming coaching licence and when the licensing scheme will be fully operational.
Answer
Applications for a swimming coaching licence require a recognised teaching and or coaching qualification (UKCC qualification or equivalent).
Licensing of teachers and coaches is not mandatory at the moment, I understand the UK government intend to introduce licensing and registration through the UK Action Plan for Coaching by 2012.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 12 December 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 10 January 2012
To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of the offshore research and development programme announced by the Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism on 29 November 2011 will go toward research on the costs and risks associated with offshore renewables.
Answer
One of the key actions identified within the Scottish Government’s “2020 Routemap for Renewable Energy in Scotland” is to minimise the costs and risks associated with offshore renewables. This programme has been established to do exactly that.
Therefore the majority of this programme will be used to enable cost and risk reduction and accelerate the deployment of offshore renewables.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 12 December 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Derek Mackay on 9 January 2012
To ask the Scottish Executive how changes in the energy generation mix since the publication of the National Planning Framework for Scotland 2 will be considered in any public inquiry associated with the decision-making process for applications for new electricity generation stations that are also national developments.
Answer
When a case is passed to the Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals to hold a public inquiry a reporter, appointed by Scottish ministers, will consider all the relevant policy and evidence presented to him or her and in accordance with the terms of his or her appointment to the case.