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The process to renew the contract for rail passenger services in Scotland will consider the issue of the rolling stock used on particular routes.

The passenger fleet is leased from rolling stock companies and, with the exception of the new Class 380 Units, which will remain in Scotland, the leases will expire at the end of the franchise. The new contract will be let with sufficient time for the new operator to secure its fleet.

There is no central comprehensive record of funding allocated specifically to support district heating. However, as highlighted in the answer to question S4W-01468 on 27 July 2011, district heating schemes have benefited from around £23 million funding from UK Government and Scottish Government sources during this time.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at .

The issue of the protection of access to slot-constrained airports such as Heathrow is always at the forefront of our dialogue with the UK Government and its Regulators, both at Ministerial and at official level. I had discussions with the Secretary of State for Transport in February on this issue in the wake of bmi’s announcement to withdraw its Glasgow/Heathrow service. This was followed up by an exchange of correspondence.

Continuing access to global hub airports is essential for Scottish business and to maintain our competitiveness and to sustain economic growth. We will continue to lobby for an adequate protection mechanism, including through the current UK Government consultation on a new sustainable aviation policy framework.

As part of our engagement on the Scotland Bill in 2010 and 2011, the Scottish Government has repeatedly made the case to the UK Government for early devolution of Air Passenger Duty (APD). In our regular discussions over the last
3 years with the main Scottish airports and with airlines, we have also raised the devolution of APD and the opportunities that this would present for them and for Scotland.

There is no central comprehensive record of funding allocated to, or received by, district heating schemes in Scotland each year since 1999.

However, district heating schemes have benefited from around £23 million funding from UK Government and Scottish Government during this time. Some examples of the recorded programmes are detailed in the following tables.

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UK Government Community Energy Programme

Under this UK Government Programme, in addition to the capital grants, Scottish schemes were awarded a total of £372,842 development funding between
2002-2005 to help with feasibility studies and business planning. Unfortunately, there is no record of how this is broken down between schemes.

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Scottish Clean Energy Demonstration Scheme (SCEDS)

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SCHRI Householder/Energy Saving Scotland home renewables grant funding (specifically provided to owner occupiers connecting to the Lerwick District Heating Scheme)

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Scottish Community and Householder Renewables Initiative (Community)

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Scottish Community and Householder Renewables Initiative (Highlands and Islands)

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Scottish Biomass Support Scheme

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Scottish Rural Development Programme (SRDP)

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Scottish Biomass Heat Scheme (SBHS)

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Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES)

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Energy Efficiency Design Awards

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Energy Efficiency Budgets

Powers are already available to local authorities under the Building (Scotland) Act 2003 to intervene where owners allow their building to become defective or dangerous.

This information is not held centrally. I have asked the Chief Executive of Scottish Water to reply to you.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-218 on 2 June 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at .

The Scottish Government sets the national direction of policy on mental health and provides funding to agencies, including NHS boards and local authorities to support implementation of these policies. The management of local actions in implementing national policy, and decisions on local spending priorities are the responsibility of relevant local agencies.

Under the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003, advocacy is provided, or its provision secured, at local level by local authorities and the NHS. As recognised in the 2010 report by the Parliament’s Equal Opportunities Committee, significant resources were given to local government and health boards as part of the implementation of the 2003 Act. Since 2005-06, overall funding for local authorities has included £13 million per year to help them implement the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003, of which advocacy is an important part. Similarly, £5 million per year has been made available to NHS boards to help them deliver the Act.

It is for individual NHS boards to determine the number of dedicated physiotherapists they require dealing with people with multiple sclerosis (MS) based on local priorities and clinical need. However, Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS, formerly NHS Quality Improvement Scotland) launched its Clinical Standards for Neurological Health Services on 21 January 2010, along with an implementation plan for NHS boards’ use, detailing tools and techniques for improvement. The standards are in part generic, dealing with the early part of the patient journey, including access to specialist neurological services and the quality of the patient experience. The remainder of the standards focus on five specific conditions including MS.

Standard 14, which covers access to specialist MS services, requires that as a minimum the MS multidisciplinary team should consist of: a consultant who specialises in the diagnosis and management of MS; an MS clinical nurse; the patient and carer. Additional input from other healthcare professionals including physiotherapists with experience and training in neurological conditions should also be offered.