Wednesday 26 February 2020 SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT Constitution and External Affairs Finlay Carson (Galloway and West Dumfries) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government to what extent the cumulative impact of windfarm developments locally is considered in planning appeals, where applications have been refused by a local authority. (S5W-27442) Kevin Stewart: The cumulative impact of a proposed development is one of a number of factors taken into account when determining appeals and also in the examination of proposals over 50 megawatts which are dealt with under the Electricity Act. In relation to planning appeals the Town and Country Planning Scotland Act 1997 sets out that the reporter must make their decision in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. The reporter will consider the status of the plan, any emerging policies that may be relevant, any environmental report submitted with the application and views expressed by consultees and other third parties with an interest in the proposal. Each case is considered on its individual merits. Finlay Carson (Galloway and West Dumfries) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government what the process is for planning appeals to be considered where a large-scale wind turbine has been refused planning permission at a local authority level. (S5W-27443) Kevin Stewart: Any proposal to construct or operate a power generation scheme with a capacity under the threshold of 50 megawatts are made to the relevant local planning authority and require planning permission under the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997. Proposed developments over 50 megawatts are dealt with under the Electricity Act and the final decision is made by Scottish Ministers. An examination by a reporter from DPEA will normally take place only when the local planning authority object to the proposed development. Where an application for a proposal under 50 megawatts has been made to the council but the person who made the application doesn't agree with the decision, or the council hasn't made a decision, an appeal can be made to Scottish Ministers in certain instances. In keeping with the vast majority of appeals a Scottish Government Reporter is appointed to make a determination on Ministers behalf. The Town and Country Planning Scotland Act 1997 sets out that the appointed reporter must make their decision in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. The reporter will consider the status of the plan, any emerging policies that may be relevant, and all the evidence submitted by parties involved in an appeal, and make their decision on the planning merits of the case. The reporter will decide what information they require to decide the appeal and whether this can be obtained by way of written submissions or whether a hearing or inquiry session is necessary. In all cases of this type the reporter will carry out an inspection of the site. Economy Colin Smyth (South Scotland) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Government whether it is considering extending the definition of a protected animal under section 16 of the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 to include cephalopods and decapod crustaceans. (S5W-27233) Mairi Gougeon: The Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 allows the definition of protected animal to be extended to include invertebrates of any description but only if the Scottish Ministers are satisfied, on the basis of scientific evidence, that creatures of the kind concerned are capable of experiencing pain or suffering. Should appropriate scientific evidence become available such an extension could therefore be given further consideration. The Scottish Government is considering the need for a review of the currently available scientific evidence. Claudia Beamish (South Scotland) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how many individual members of staff at (a) Scottish Natural Heritage, (b) the Crown Estate Scotland, (c) Scottish Water, (d) the Water Industry Commission for Scotland, (e) the Drinking Water Quality Regulator, (f) the Scottish Land Commission and (g) the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency used air travel for official business trips (i) in 2018-19 and (ii) since April 2019, also broken down by overseas flights. (S5W-27334) Kate Forbes: The information requested is not held centrally. I would suggest going to the Public Bodies directly for this information. Miles Briggs (Lothian) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the links between air pollution and depression and suicide; what plans it has to undertake further research on this, and whether it will provide an update on the action it is taking to reduce air pollution. (S5W-27365) Clare Haughey: The relationship between air pollution and health is extremely complex. It is widely documented that air pollution has a negative impact on health. However, the sorts of illness that air pollution can exacerbate can also be affected by multiple other factors – such as obesity, alcohol, smoking, and genetics. Whilst the Scottish Government currently has no plans to undertake research on the links between air pollution and depression and suicide; we are firmly committed to improving air quality across the country. That is why we have set stringent air quality targets. For example, we are the first country in Europe to adopt in legislation the WHO guideline value for particulate matter 2-5 – a pollutant of special concern for human health. Funding totalling £2.5 million is available annually to local authorities to support action plan development and implementation on air quality and we are working closely with local authorities to deliver a network of Low Emission Zones across Scotland’s four biggest cities by 2020. The first of these was introduced in Glasgow in December 2018. Jamie Halcro Johnston (Highlands and Islands) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government how much money from the Apprenticeship Levy has been spent in each year since 2017-18, also broken down by programme. (S5W-27367) Jamie Hepburn: The Scottish Government has no responsibility for the UK Government’s Apprenticeship Levy which is a tax on employers. HMRC hold data on what is raised by the Levy. Jamie Halcro Johnston (Highlands and Islands) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of funds from the Apprenticeship Levy has been spent on delivering (a) modern, (b) graduate and (c) foundation apprenticeships in each year since 2017-18. (S5W-27368) Jamie Hepburn: The Scottish Government has no responsibility for the UK Government’s Apprenticeship Levy which is a tax on employers. HMRC hold data on what is raised by the Levy. The following table sets out Scottish Government funding for Apprenticeships in the years 2017-18 and 2018-19. Figures for 2019-20 will be available at the end of the financial year. 2017-18 (£ million) 2018-19 (£ million) (a) Modern Apprenticeships 81.5 81.3 (b) Graduate Apprenticeships 4.7 6.1 (c) Foundation Apprenticeships 6.8 12.5 Jamie Halcro Johnston (Highlands and Islands) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government how much money from the Employability Fund has been spent in each year since 2017-18, also broken down by provider. (S5W-27369) Jamie Hepburn: Employability Fund contract spend is published in the SDS Annual Procurement Reports, linked to below: https://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/media/44806/annual-procurement- report-2017-2018-july-2018.pdf https://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/media/45803/annual-procurement- report-2018-19.pdf Contract Values are published and are broken down by each employability fund provider: https://www.stf.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/employability-fund-201718-contract- values.pdf https://www.stf.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/ef-contracts-2018-19.pdf 2019/20 contract values are not yet published, but are set out in the table below: Employability Fund 2019-20 (Feb 2020) Contracted Contract Organisation volumes Value Aberdeen Foyer 127 £130,950 Action for Children 126 £220,650 Angus Council 38 £77,049 Apex Scotland 10 £23,373 Argyll and Bute Council 22 £50,186 Barnardo's 699 £1,440,014 Business Development Advisers Ltd 20 £32,326 CEIS Ayrshire 66 £111,816 Clackmannanshire Council 28 £44,860 Comhairle nan Eilean Siar 40 £86,358 Cornerstone Community Care 0 £3,700 Culture and Sport Glasgow 12 £36,740 Cyrenians 52 £77,800 DEAP Ltd 87 £117,210 Direct Partners Limited 69 £151,150 Doosan Babcock Ltd 8 £34,672 East Ayrshire Council 91 £178,016 ENABLE Scotland (Leading the Way) 489 £826,112 Essentials Plus Ltd 41 £70,326 Falkirk Council 228 £438,617 Fife Council 160 £258,702 First Steps Future Training Limited 30 £90,002 Galloway Training Limited 65 £171,272 GP Strategies Training Limited 87 £184,274 GTG Training Limited 166 £285,112 Helm Training Ltd 169 £374,535 IDTC Limited 208 £423,074 Impact Arts (Projects) Ltd 30 £61,619 Jim Mair Driver Training Ltd 60 £106,750 Jobs & Business Glasgow 0 £25,972 Kingdom Housing Association Limited 205 £320,518 L&G Learning (Scotland) Ltd 189 £361,231 LAMH Recycle Ltd 69 £134,136 Lanarkshire Catering School 171 £282,199 Life Skills Centres Ltd 88 £108,611 Lowland Training Services Ltd 330 £491,186 Midlothian Council - Lifelong Learning and 20 £27,200 Employability Momentum Scotland