Friday 23 November 2012 SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT Enterprise and Environment Helen Eadie (Cowdenbeath) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Government what impact assessment there has been of any increased costs to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) arising from proposed changes to the legislation on aquaculture and fisheries and whether SEPA will be awarded increased financial support. Holding answer issued: 16 November 2012 (S4W-10668) Paul Wheelhouse: The Financial Memorandum accompanying the Aquaculture and Fisheries (Scotland) Bill sets out the anticipated costs associated with the measures in the Bill, including any anticipated costs to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/S4_Bills/Aquaculture%20and%20Fisheries/b17s4-introd-en.pdf In certain circumstances, it is possible that SEPA‟s costs might increase by a de minimis amount. Helen Eadie (Cowdenbeath) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Government which agricultural estates in Scotland received the 10 largest amounts of funding from the EU common agricultural policy in the last year for which information is available. (S4W-11118) Richard Lochhead: The Common Agricultural Policy classifies all types of business as “holdings”. Consequently, the following table shows the information available for the 10 largest amounts paid in respect of the Single Farm Payment Scheme, the largest single support measure, to agricultural holdings. The amounts are for the 2011 period, the most recent period for which information is available. Frank A Smart & Son Ltd £2,525,540.94 Strathdee Properties Ltd £1,302,237.02 William Hamilton And Son (No 2) £1,070,291.26 Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) £1,045,516.65 Ross Bros £961,808.88 G Barbour & Co £820,194.23 Moray Estates Development Co. £681,149.00 J & T F Macfarlane Ltd £663,927.04 Kevan Forsyth £598,714.39 J R Graham Ltd £596,052.30 Total £10,265,431.71 Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government what the cost was of bringing the Land Register in line with the terms of the Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000. (S4W-11122) Paul Wheelhouse: The Land Register is maintained by the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland. The Keeper does not have a figure for the specific costs of implementing the Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000. This is because the 2000 Act was commenced at the same time as the Title Conditions (Scotland) Act 2003 and both impacted on existing Land Register title sheets. The strong inter-relationship between both Acts meant that they were implemented in tandem. The costs of implementing both Acts was as follows: Staff costs 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 Total £22,560 £267,663 £599,008 £722,199 £343,742 £148,707 £2,103,879 Notes: ICT costs - £183,141. Total overall cost - £2,287,020. Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Scottish Green Party): To ask the Scottish Government when Scotland will be compliant with the European air quality targets for nitrogen dioxide for 2010. (S4W-11155) Paul Wheelhouse: The whole of Scotland is expected to be compliant with the targets by 2015 with the exception of the A8 between Newhouse and Baillieston. As set out in S4W-11154, on 22 November 2012, this road is to be upgraded to motorway standard and as a consequence modelling predicts this section of the network will become compliant following completion of the project in 2017. 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. Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Scottish Green Party): To ask the Scottish Government when it expects to be told whether the application to the European Commission to extend the deadline for meeting nitrogen dioxide pollution levels in Glasgow has been successful. (S4W-11156) Paul Wheelhouse: An extension application has not been submitted for the Glasgow Urban Area zone. However, an action plan outlining how compliance will be secured by 2017 was submitted to the Commission for information and a response to this is expected shortly. Health and Social Care Jim Eadie (Edinburgh Southern) (Scottish National Party): To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the British Thoracic Society's Quality Standards for Clinically Significant Bronchiectasis in Adults. (S4W-11172) Michael Matheson: The British Thoracic Society (BTS) develops guidelines as a professional body, which are widely disseminated throughout the medical community. Although these guidelines have no formal standing in NHSScotland the Scottish Government expect clinicians to be aware of them through their ongoing professional development. Our National Advisory Group for Respiratory Managed Clinical Networks is aware of the BTS standards for clinically significant bronchiectasis in adults and has circulated them to the members of the group. Healthcare Improvement Scotland published Clinical Standards in March 2010 for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Services, which includes services for people living with bronchiectasis. The standards were launched with supporting materials to help NHS boards to review and evaluate their COPD services in relation to each of the criteria within the clinical standards. Learning and Justice James Kelly (Rutherglen) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Government how many teachers with physical education as their primary subject are employed in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools and how many there were in (i) 2011, (ii) 2010, (iii) 2009, (iv) 2008 and (v) 2007. (S4W-11177) Alasdair Allan: Information on the number of teachers (full time equivalent) whose main subject is physical education is published on the Scottish Government website as supplementary data to the Summary Statistics for Schools in Scotland publication. Primary school teacher information is available in table 2.8 and secondary school teacher information in table 3.9 of the following links: 2008-2011: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/teachcensus2011 and 2007: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/teachersupplementarydata Transport Scotland Elaine Murray (Dumfriesshire) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £35 million allocated to support for sustainable and active travel in the 2013-14 draft budget will be allocated to investing in infrastructure that will allow the use of electric and low-carbon vehicles. (S4W-11130) Keith Brown: At this level of budget detail, final spending decisions will not always have been taken and individual allocations may therefore change. In 2013-14, we currently envisage spending around £2.5 million on procurement of low carbon buses through the Scottish Green Bus Fund; and around £1.75 million on other low carbon vehicles and/ or associated infrastructure, such as electric charging posts. Additional funding of £2.75 million for low carbon buses has been brought forward from 2013-14 to 2012-13, as part of the acceleration of expenditure to support economic growth announced on 27 June 2012. Elaine Murray (Dumfriesshire) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £35 million allocated to support for sustainable and active travel in the 2013-14 draft budget will be allocated to funding for the next phase of the Low Carbon Vehicle Procurement Scheme. (S4W-11132) Keith Brown: At this level of budget detail, final spending decisions will not always have been taken and individual allocations may therefore change. In 2013-14, we currently envisage spending around £2.5 million on procurement of low carbon buses through the Scottish Green Bus Fund; and around £1.75 million on other low carbon vehicles and/ or associated infrastructure, such as electric charging posts. Additional funding of £2.75 million for low carbon buses has been brought forward from 2013-14 to 2012-13, as part of the acceleration of expenditure to support economic growth announced on 27 June 2012. Tavish Scott (Shetland Islands) (Scottish Liberal Democrats): To ask the Scottish Government how many meetings have taken place between its officials and (a) Transport Scotland, (b) the Department for Transport, (c) industry bodies and (d) local authorities regarding the plans for a high speed rail link between Edinburgh and Glasgow announced on 12 November 2012, and on what date. (S4W-11185) Keith Brown: Since I announced the formation the Scottish Partnership Group for High Speed Rail on 21 June 2011 officials have worked in partnership with those organisations referred to in your question. In the context of this question it is officials from Transport Scotland (an agency of the Scottish Government) who have led discussion with external partners. We have attempted to capture the full scope of officials‟ engagement on this issue in the period between 21 June 2011, and the announcement referred to on 12 November 2012. However, there may be additional meetings which have not been captured by this analysis or meetings where high speed rail has been discussed as an agenda item, but where it was not the main issue of business. We have had not less than 13 meetings with the Department for Transport, including direct meetings between Scottish and UK Ministers. These were held on: 21 June 2011, 27 July 2011, 6 September 2011, 28 October 2011, 26 January 2012, 01 March 2012, 26 April 2012, 30 April 2012, 28 June 2012, 5 July 2012, 06 September 2012, 21 September 2012, and 8 November 2012. Officials have had not less than 28 meetings with rail industry bodies. These were held on: 21 June 2011 (two meetings on this date), 15 August 2011, 18 August 2011, 6 October 2011, 28 October 2011, 26 January 2012, 14 February 2012, 7 March 2012, 22 March 2012, 26 March 2012, 2 April 2012, 26 April 2012, 9 May 2012, 29 May 2012, 13 June 2012, 20 June 2012, 21 June 2012, 5 July 2012, 20 July 2012, 14 August 2012, 23 August 2012, 21 September 2012, 21 September 2012, 10 October 2012, 15 October 2012, 18 October 2012, and 31 October 2012.