Chamber and committees

Transport Scotland undertakes an annual assessment of the safety performance of the entire trunk road network, including the A90. Further investigations are then carried out and, where appropriate, mitigation measures are prioritised for delivery.

Whilst the Toll of Birness junction was not, itself, identified for further investigation through the 2023 annual assessment, it was agreed, following a request from the Council, to include the A90 Toll of Birness junction within an investigation being undertaken by Transport Scotland’s Operating Company for the North East, Amey.

The report is currently in draft and will be finalised in April/May 2025.

Two interactive road signs were erected in 2017 with a third interactive sign to supplement the northbound signs erected in 2021. These signs alert drivers to vehicles turning at the junction and encourage drivers to drive within the speed limit. Other work involved an additional northbound advance direction sign.

The A90 at its junction with the A952 will be programmed for resurfacing improvements in August 2025 which will see improvements to surface texture, white lining and road studs within the scheme extents.

Transport Scotland through their role as statutory consultee in the planning process continue to engage constructively around developments allocated in Aberdeenshire Council’s 2017 Local Development Plan, and the necessary mitigation measures required to offset any potential traffic impacts on the trunk road network.

The council’s Plan allocated approximately 1,200 houses within Mintlawas well as a number of smaller allocations. The Plan also allocates land for over 1,400 houses plus extensive employment in Peterhead, with a further 1,000 houses allocated in Fraserburgh, again with areas of employment land. All of these planned developments have the potential to impact on the operation of the A90(T) and A952 corridors and significantly affect the performance of the Toll of Birness junction.

At this time, through existing planning consents, Aberdeenshire Council has effectively imposed an infrastructure capacity of 200 houses across the allocated sites within Mintlaw until such a time as the Toll of Birness Junction has been upgraded.

Transport Scotland has been clear and consistent in its engagement with all parties, in that Aberdeenshire Council and/or developers will be required to fund and deliver improvements to the Toll of Birness Junction as a result of development.

You may be also be aware that Nestrans, the statutory Regional Transport Partnership (RTP) for North East Scotland, has engaged Stantec to undertake an appraisal of the A90(N) / A952 Road Corridor. This study includes identifying issues and opportunities within the transport infrastructure system and evaluating potential short to medium term road improvements on the A90 north of Ellon. The findings of this review are currently under consideration.

The Learning Disability Support Fund aims to sustain and support organisations working directly with people with learning disabilities in Scotland to build a more inclusive society, reduce inequality and provide opportunities for fulfilling lives.

Funded work will contribute to at least one of the following objectives:

• A more inclusive society
• Improved health outcomes for people with learning disabilities
• People with learning disabilities have a social network and safe relationships

Further details on the Learning Disability Support Fund can be found via the fund manager, Inspiring Scotland’s, website here Learning Disability Support Fund - Inspiring Scotland.

Three year funding was provided separately to the Scottish Assembly for the Leadership and Engagement Framework project. This was a time-limited project which came to a natural conclusion in 2024-25.

This information is not held centrally. However all recommendations are published on the website of the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service and are publicly available.

The Scottish Government has no current plans to introduce a moratorium on battery energy storage system developments. There is a statutory structure that must be followed for all decision-making. Where new development proposals come forward, each application must be considered on its individual merits.

Where the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) receive information about a proposed BESS site they refer those duty holders (site operators) responsible for the plant to the National Fire Chief Council's (NFCC) Grid Scale Planning Guidance for FRS. These guidelines detail, amongst other elements, minimum standards for fire safety systems and design features, water requirements for firefighting, and access requirements.

BESS sites also fall under special fire precautions which are regulated by the Health and Safety Executive under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 due to the equipment used to collect, store and release electricity as required.

The Scottish Government is aware of this approach.

Police Scotland have a range of existing powers under road safety and antisocial behaviour legislation and common law to take appropriate action such as seizure of vehicles and disposal where appropriate. They have also pursued awareness campaigns, such as in December 2024, that highlighted concerns around illegal e-bikes, clarified the legal position, and publicised the number of such vehicles that had been seized.

Police Scotland also pursue a range of initiatives based on identified local need such as increased and targeted patrols at hot-spot areas, use of off-road vehicles for pursuit where safe to do so, and potential measures such as use of drones. This flexible local needs approach is undertaken by policing divisions including Mid Scotland and Fife.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on how many international students have accessed GP services in each NHS board area in each year since 1999.

Scottish Government decisions are informed by appropriate analysis of any legal considerations. All legal advice is confidential. It is a long-established convention that legal advice provided to the Scottish Government is not disclosed, and that the Scottish Government does not disclose the source of legal advice other than in the most exceptional circumstances.

The Scottish Government does not hold the information you have requested as international students cannot be identified from the A&E data collected by Public Health Scotland.

As stated in response to S6W-36570 on 17 April 2025, it is for the Scottish Parliament’s Health, Social Care and Sport Committee to scrutinise the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill and it will be for the Scottish Parliament to decide on whether or not to pass it.

The Scottish Government has been clear about its commitment to ensuring that everyone who needs it can access timely and high-quality palliative care, care around dying and bereavement support based on what matters to them.

In October 2024 we published our draft palliative care strategy for consultation. The consultation closed on 10 January 2025 and we are now in the process of analysing the responses. The final strategy and delivery plan will set our direction of travel for the next five years.

Further to that, the Scottish Budget 2025-26 identified funding of £5 million to help support independent hospices deliver pay parity with Agenda for Change (AfC) levels for this and future years.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

The Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill is a Member's Bill, introduced to the Scottish Parliament by Liam McArthur MSP, not a Scottish Government Bill. It is the role of the Scottish Parliament Health, Social Care and Sport Committee to scrutinise the Bill and it will be for the Scottish Parliament to decide on whether or not to pass it into law.