Energy & Environment 

Scotland’s first community marine reserve was given the go-ahead recently. The reserve is in part of Lamlash Bay on the Isle of Arran and will see the waters become a protected area, helping to ‘conserve an important marine habitat’. Notably, this reserve is supported by both the fishing industry and the environmentalists. Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment Richard Lochhead said: 

This unique project shows what can be achieved when different interests put their heads together and find common, mutually beneficial ground. Conservationists and fishermen in the community and beyond have driven this project forward and have been rewarded for their hard work today. It demonstrates what can happen when people work together on common goals and we empower communities to find local solutions to local issues. 

Click here for the full release. 

Funding of £3.5 million to boost recycling rates in local communities across Scotland was announced recently. Under the 'INCREASE III' programme include: 

    * Developing facilities for testing, repairing and refurbishing second hand furniture and white goods and distributing to local housing associations 

    * Collecting non-hazardous paint products to reprocess and distribute through sales and donations 

    * Providing food waste collections from businesses, allowing the waste to be composted 

    * Gathering waste wood from businesses and domestic households and selling recycled products 

Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead said: 

Dealing with waste sustainably is crucial to the future of Scotland and the future of the planet. The community sector continues to play an invaluable role in helping us meet our ambitious targets of recycling 70 per cent of municipal waste by 2025. 

Click here for more information on this release.  

The Pentland Firth is now open for renewable development and a new energy company will be set up in Scotland. Speaking at the Caithness Regeneration Conference in Thurso First Minister Alex Salmond outlined Scottish Powers plans to set up a new energy company as well as identifying Isla and the Pentland Firth as the first sites for commercial tidal farms. Mr Salmond also revealed the Crown Estates decision to open the Pentland Firth seabed for applications for commercial marine energy projects to generate more than 700MW of energy by 2020. The First Minister said: 

This is exciting news for Scotlands renewables sector, our environment and economy… The Pentland Firth is the Saudi Arabia of marine power. Our seas alone could provide 25 per cent of Europes tidal power and 10 per cent of wave power. The vast potential of the Pentland Firth will mean more investment, more jobs and more opportunities for the Caithness area. 

Click here for the full release. 

Click here for the Scottish Hydropower Resource Study. 

City Regions 

Scotland's first-ever ‘Supermarket Summit’ was chaired by the First Minister with top retailers from across the UK coming together to discuss how they can work with the Scottish Government to increase sustainable economic growth and help secure a sustainable future for Scotland's primary food producers. Measures agreed by retailers last week included: 

• Agreeing to join a retail forum to take forward the national food and drink policy, to achieve the freshest, finest future for Scottish produce  
• Continuing to work towards reducing waste, including a new target to reduce carrier bag use by 50 per cent by Spring 2009  
• Considering how to support 2009 Year of Homecoming 

First Minister Alex Salmond said: 

Today's first-ever supermarket summit is a very welcome and positive start to our future work with top retailers… The Supermarket Summit is an opportunity for the Government to bring together the country's leading retailers and for us to discuss how we can work together to ensure a sustainable and profitable future for Scottish retailers and Scottish farmers 

Click here for the full release. 

Public Service Reform  

The latest school estate statistics illustrate that over the last year 35,000 more children across Scotland got their lessons in new state-of-the-art classrooms and 115 school building projects were completed in the last financial year. Cabinet Secretary for Education Fiona Hyslop said: 

Today's figures show we are well on track to meeting our commitment of lifting over 100,000 school pupils out of poor quality school buildings and classrooms by 2011, and providing them with cutting-edge accommodation and facilities fit for delivering Curriculum for Excellence. We are matching the previous administration's school building programme brick for brick and… currently there is more than £2 billion of committed investment in Scotland's schools. 

The Liberal Democrats rejected this claim, however. Education spokesperson Margaret Smith MSP argued that ‘almost a third of schoolchildren are being taught in crumbling or rundown schools.’ She added: 

It is entirely unacceptable for so many Scottish schoolchildren to be taught in crumbling buildings. The new schools that have prompted the Education Secretary’s “delight” were commissioned under the previous Executive. 

Click here for the full Govt release.  

Click here for the Lib Dem release. 

Following successful pilot schemes, plans for a national roll of free school meals for those in P1, 2 and 3 were announced this week by Education Secretary Fiona Hyslop and Children and Early Years Minister Adam Ingram. The pilot schemes ran across five local authorities (Fife, East Ayrshire, Glasgow City, West Dunbartonshire and the Scottish Borders) where uptake of meals among P1s to P3s rose from 53 per cent to 75 per cent. Ms Hyslop said: 

This Government has made it a priority to help children in their early years and this initiative does just that, providing every child with a free school meal in their first years at primary school. 

Click here for the full release. 

Click here for an evaluation of this pilot.