RAE/S3/08/18/A RURAL AFFAIRS AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE AGENDA 18th Meeting, 2008 (Session 3) Wednesday 8 October 2008 The Committee will meet at 10.00 am in Committee Room 5. 1. Declaration of interests: Elaine Murray MSP and Rhoda Grant MSP will be invited to declare any relevant interests. 2. Budget process 2009-10 (Stage 2): The Committee will take evidence on the Scottish Government's Draft Budget 2009-10 from— Richard Lochhead MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment, Richard Wakeford, Director General Environment, and Ross Scott, Finance Team Leader, Scottish Government. 3. Rural housing inquiry: The Committee will take evidence from— Gavin Corbett, Policy Manager, Shelter. 4. Crown Estate: The Committee will consider written evidence on the Crown Estate and Crown Estate Commissioners. 5. Petition: The Committee will consider petition PE749 by Geoffrey Kolbe, on behalf of Newcastleton and District Community Council, seeking a moratorium and legislative restrictions on the spreading of sewage sludge. 6. Budget process 2009-10 (Stage 2) (in private): The Committee will review the evidence heard earlier in the meeting. 7. Rural housing inquiry (in private): The Committee will review the evidence heard earlier in the meeting. 8. Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Bill (in private): The Committee will consider a paper on possible witnesses for future meetings. RAE/S3/08/18/A Peter McGrath Clerk to the Rural Affairs and Environment Committee Room T1.01 The Scottish Parliament Edinburgh Tel: 0131 348 5240 Email: [email protected] RAE/S3/08/18/A The papers for this meeting are as follows— Agenda item 2 Adviser briefing (private) RAE/S3/08/18/1 Scottish Budget Draft Budget 2009-10 RAE/S3/08/18/2 Supplementary information from Scottish Government RAE/S3/08/18/3 Information from Scottish Government RAE/S3/08/18/4 Finance Committee guidance to Subject Committees RAE/S3/08/18/5 SPICe briefing: Draft Budget 2009-10 RAE/S3/08/18/6 2008-09 Summary of conclusions and recommendations RAE/S3/08/18/7 from RAE budget report Agenda item 3 SPICe paper (private) RAE/S3/08/18/8 Submission from Shelter RAE/S3/08/18/9 Agenda item 4 Note from Clerk RAE/S3/08/18/10 Agenda item 5 Note from Clerk RAE/S3/08/18/11 Agenda item 8 Note from Clerk (private) RAE/S3/08/18/12 For Information Recent Developments RAE/S3/08/18/13 RAE/S3/08/18/03 Agenda item 2 RURAL AFFAIRS AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE 2009-10 BUDGET PROCESS SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION FROM SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS Responses to points raised by the Rural Affairs and Environment Committee at the session on 1 October 2008 with officials to discuss the budget process 2009-10. SRDP “What is the impact of £4.7m reduction for EU Support and Related Services in Table 15 of the SPICe briefing entitled “Level 2 Budget lines by Absolute Real terms between 2008-09 and 2009-10?” Answer: “This table shows the effects of inflation on the 2009-10 budget to show the spending power of that budget in 2008-09 prices, but the cash paid under this level 2 will be the same as in table 6.01 of the Budget document. The apparent reduction reflects the real terms effect of inflation on the Scottish Governments’ Departmental Expenditure Limit, however, this is only part of the total budget. A fuller picture needs to include all expenditure under the EU Support and Rural Services budget which includes EC expenditure such as the Single Farm Payment." What was the exchange rate? Answer: The exchange rate for Single Farm Payment Scheme 2008 is €1=£0.79030. FINANCE The Committee recommended that future budget documents should show closer links between spending plans and the National Performance Framework Answer: This issue has been raised with Finance Expenditure Policy for consideration. CROFTING Request for information on crofting budget lines and apparent decrease Answer: The Rural Affairs Committee has questioned a drop in funding for “crofting assistance” from £7.3 / 7.4 / 7.5m to £6.4 / 5.6 / 5.8m. These apparent reductions simply reflect a restatement of the budget lines, principally the transfer to the SRDP budget line of CCAGS, where annual (demand-led) expenditure runs at some £2-3m. They do not yet take account of the detailed consequences of policy decisions on the future of crofting announced on 1 October in the Government’s response to the Committee of Inquiry on Crofting (Shucksmith Committee). 1 RAE/S3/08/18/03 Agenda item 2 CLIMATE CHANGE The Committee asked for information on the budgetary proposals for climate change. Scottish Budget – Climate Change 1. Budget lines for specific climate change initiatives are outlined in Table 1. Table 1 also shows budgets for renewables/ micro-generation, energy efficiency and sustainable transport initiatives which will contribute to climate change mitigation (but cannot be attributed solely to this purpose). 2. As climate change is a cross cutting area there are several other budget lines which would contribute to emissions reduction e.g. Forestry, Scottish Rural Development Programme, Zero Waste, Sustainable Development etc. However the proportion of these budgets likely to contribute to climate change mitigation cannot be easily extrapolated. 3. In the Scottish Budget Spending Review 2007, the Scottish Government made a commitment to ensure that public spending across portfolios contributes to the action needed to meet emissions reduction targets. A Carbon Assessment tool is currently being developed which will be applied across all government spending in Scotland from 2009-10. Table 1 Budget Lines (£m) 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 Total Climate Change Specific Climate Change Bill support (UK & 1.0 1.0 1.0 3.0 Scottish Bills including support to UK Climate Change Committee) Climate Challenge Fund 8.8 9.3 9.3 27.4 Renewables / Microgeneration Community renewables and micro- 13.5 13.5 13.5 40.5 generation Saltire Prize for innovation in marine 10.0 renewable energy Other renewable projects 4.0 4.0 4.0 12.0 2 RAE/S3/08/18/03 Agenda item 2 Energy Efficiency Energy efficiency advice to business, 10.0 10.0 10.0 30.0 public and domestic sectors Fuel poverty programmes, including 45.9 45.9 45.9 137.7 energy efficiency measures Scottish Energy Efficiency Design Awards 1.1 1.1 1.1 3.3 Sustainable Transport Support for sustainable and active travel 11.0 11.0 11.0 33.0 Sustainable Transport Towns (Smarter 10.0 Choices, Smarter Places) Support for bus services 61.2 61.2 61.2 183.6 Transport Information 3.0 3.0 3.0 9.0 Investments in public transport – rail and 840.0 917.0 897.0 2654.0 tram services and projects Total 999.5 1077.0 1057.0 3153.5 Waste The committee asked for a paper on Waste. Please see below. Introduction • At the 1 October 2008 meeting of the Rural Affairs and Environment Committee, members of the Committee asked a number of questions in relation to waste and requested a response in writing. This paper provides a response to the various points of clarification requested. Former Strategic Waste Fund Budget and Expenditure • The table below sets out the former Strategic Waste Fund budget and expenditure over the 2004 CSR period. 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 Total Initial budget 130.8 134.3 144.8 409.9 (£m) Amounts 108.7 83% 87.1 65% 88.2 61% 284 70% spent (£m) Amounts 21.1 16% 44 33% 56.5 39% 121.6 30% returned to centre (underspend) • The individual local authority Strategic Waste Fund awards for the period between 2000-01 and 2007-08 are detailed at Annex A. All 32 local authorities benefited from 3 RAE/S3/08/18/03 Agenda item 2 awards and the amounts varied depending on the nature and scale of proposals, and timing of awards. Post 2007 CSR and Concordat • Following the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review process, and the signing of the Concordat with local government, committed spend from the former ring-fenced Strategic Waste Fund was transferred to the local authority block grant for the period of the spending review 2008-11. • The total amounts to be transferred to LAs from the both: (a) the former Strategic Waste Fund; and (b) top-ups from the Zero Waste Fund to reflect awards for successful pipeline projects that were determined following the 2007 CSR being concluded are £69.2m for 2008-09; £66.6m for 2010-11; and £66.2m for 20011-12. • Quite separately, it was agreed with COSLA that new money resulting from Spending Review 2007 would be distributed to local authorities on the basis of each local authority’s share of the rebased 2007-08 Waste Collection Grant Aided Expenditure formula. The additional amounts for transfer are: £63.5m in 2008-09; £66.1m in 2009-10; and £66.4m in 2010-11. • In addition to the above, resources were centrally retained within the Zero Waste Fund. The table detailed below shows the breakdown over the CSR period and the unallocated amounts that will be made available to local authorities once discussions with COSLA have been concluded. £m 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 Total Zero Waste Budget 41.1 54.4 58.7 154.2 Delivery Body and other budgeted spend 18.3 23.3 24.4 65.9 Additional local authority profiled spend 8.6 1.6 1.2 11.4 Unallocated 14.2 29.6 33.1 76.9 • The combined amounts arising from the former Strategic Waste Fund grant monies and additional funding distributed to local authorities on the basis of each local authority’s share of the rebased 2007-08 Waste Collection Grant Aided Expenditure formula, together with the uncommitted Zero waste Fund money that we intend to transfer to local authorities are shown in the table below.