Questions and answers

Question reference: S4W-07107

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 May 2012
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 23 May 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what groups were consulted on the development of the planning performance framework.

Question reference: S4W-07102

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 May 2012
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 23 May 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what the purpose is of the planning performance framework.

Question reference: S4W-07142

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 11 May 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 23 May 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what postgraduate courses it is supporting to help deliver its 2020 renewable energy target.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that we have the skills to capitalise on the opportunities that energy presents for jobs and growth in Scotland. We anticipate that the skills needed to meet the 2020 targets will come from the existing labour market supported by modern apprenticeships and college courses, as well as from both undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

Under the Postgraduate Students’ Allowances Scheme the Scottish Government provides tuition fee support to Scottish domiciled and EU students undertaking eligible vocational courses, generally 1 year postgraduate diplomas and the 9 month taught element of some masters courses. The eligible course list can be found in the following link –

http://www.saas.gov.uk/student_support/special_circumstances/postgrad_list.htm.

Eligible courses will be reviewed for academic year 2013-14 to ensure that they meet the Governments economic priorities.

Question reference: S4W-07104

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 May 2012
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 23 May 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how the planning performance framework impacts on the funding for local planning authorities.

We have consistently emphasised that there must be an inextricable link between higher planning application fees and guarantees over improved performance. A current Scottish Government consultation discusses a possible new fee structure and fee levels. This consultation paper also indicates the intention that fees and performance are to be linked. We intend to consult on how we establish and maintain the link and are considering how the planning performance framework can influence future choices on fee levels.

Question reference: S4W-07108

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 May 2012
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 23 May 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that the views of (a) community groups, (b) local communities, (c) environmental organisations and (d) other stakeholders are taken into account when (i) identifying and (ii) adopting a suitable framework to measure the performance of local planning authorities and what discussions it has had with these groups.

Question reference: S4W-07140

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 11 May 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 23 May 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive for what disciplines it provides targeted financial support to postgraduate students.

We do not break down student numbers by discipline as the Student Awards Agency for Scotland does not hold information on which academic disciplines students are studying.

Under the Postgraduate Students’ Allowances Scheme the Scottish Government provides £3,400 towards the cost of tuition fees for all eligible Scottish domiciled and EU postgraduate students studying vocational one year postgraduate diplomas and the 9 month taught element of some masters courses.

A list of eligible courses can be found via the SAAS website:

http://www.saas.gov.uk/student_support/special_circumstances/postgrad_list.htm.

Postgraduate students studying for Professional Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) or the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) can apply for the full undergraduate student support package.

Question reference: S4W-07143

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 11 May 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 22 May 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what analysis has been done on the capacity for postgraduate study to contribute to its 2020 renewable energy target.

The Scottish Government is committed to skills investment in the energy sector and believes that postgraduate study will play an important role in equipping the sector to help deliver our 2020 renewable energy targets.

The Skills Investment Plan for the Energy Sector, published in March 2011 by Skills Development Scotland, highlights the main skills requirements for the energy sector in Scotland. The skills the renewables industry will need to meet our 2020 targets will come from the existing labour force, from modern apprenticeships, from technician-focused college courses and private sector courses as well as from undergraduate and postgraduate higher education courses.

Question reference: S4W-07144

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 11 May 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 22 May 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how many postgraduate places will be needed to develop the skills required for the delivery of its 2020 renewable energy target, broken down by discipline.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that we have the skills to capitalise on the opportunities that energy presents for jobs and growth in Scotland. We anticipate that the skills needed to meet the 2020 targets will come from the existing labour market supported by modern apprenticeships and college courses, as well as from both undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

Under the Postgraduate Students’ Allowances Scheme the Scottish Government provides tuition fee support to Scottish domiciled and EU students. We will review eligible courses for academic year 2013-14 to ensure that they meet our economic priorities.

Question reference: S4O-01056

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 May 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 May 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to secure a visit to Scotland by Aung San Suu Kyi during her planned visit to the UK in June 2012.

Question reference: S4W-06884

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 April 2012
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 8 May 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what the expected annual income for each local authority will be arising from the Local Government Finance (Unoccupied Properties etc.) (Scotland) Bill.

For empty non-domestic premises, the Local Government Finance (Unoccupied Properties etc.)(Scotland) Bill itself only creates an enabling power to vary empty property relief by future regulations and has no direct financial impact. These regulations will raise an estimated additional £18 million for the Scottish Government budget in 2013-14 and 2014-15. However, there will be no net gain to the overall budget allocations individual local authorities receive as a result of the additional business rates income generated since the Scottish Government guarantees the overall level of support it will provide, which has already been confirmed, through a combination of business rates income and general revenue grant.

The Bill also creates an enabling power, by regulations, to allow local authorities to remove the existing council tax discounts for certain classes of long-term empty homes and to charge additional council tax on these properties. Over a four year period, the Scottish Government estimates that an average of up to £16 million of net additional revenue could be generated each year if all local authorities were to charge the maximum 100 per cent increase. The actual additional amount generated will be subject to variation and will be dependent on the extent to which individual local authorities use the new powers.

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Chamber and committees