Chamber and committees

No-one should be the victim of abuse or violence while at work and assaults on NHS staff are completely unacceptable. We encourage Health Boards to support criminal proceedings, where appropriate, against anyone who assaults staff. NHSScotland staff can access a range of services to care for their physical and mental health. This includes employee assistance programmes, trauma counselling services and pastoral support, to ensure a safe working environment.

The wellbeing of our health and social care workforce remains a key priority and we are working to ensure that the right level of support is offered across the system. Scottish Government funding provides our workforce with access to psychological interventions and therapies, self-service resources through the National Wellbeing Hub and the National Wellbeing Helpline delivered by NHS 24 to support their wellbeing. We also provide access to confidential mental health services through the Workforce Specialist Service.

The total electricity cost for powering the 2,297 street lights on the A90, broken down by local authority, for the financial year 2023-2024 was:

Aberdeenshire Council - £72,920

Aberdeen City Council - £15,340

Angus Council - £69,172

Dundee City Council - £65,070

Edinburgh City Council - £81,651

Fife Council - £8,145

Perth & Kinross Council - £29,018

Please see the following table which provides the costs of upgrading the 2297 streetlights on the A90.

The emergency telephones on the A90 are maintained under a term contract managed by Transport Scotland whereby a monthly unitary payment is made, for the maintenance and repair of, Scotland wide, ITS (Intelligent Transport System) roadside assets such as the A90 emergency telephones.

In the summer of 2024, on behalf of Transport Scotland, the Traffic Scotland Service Operator (Mobiie) conducted an Operational Requirement review of Emergency Roadside Telephones (ERT’s) resulting in the recommendation that the ERT’s remain in operation as a service to the public.

All emergency telephones on the Scottish Trunk Road Network, including on the A90, are inspected and tested every three months.

In the past five years 51 calls have been received on the emergency telephones on the A90 north of Dundee.

Transport Scotland’s Traffic Scotland Infrastructure Contractor, Amey Ltd, is paid a monthly Unitary Charge for the inspection, maintenance and repair of ITS (Intelligent Transport System) roadside infrastructure and individual costs specific to emergency telephones cannot be disaggregated.

Safety concerns are recorded as defects and addressed in accordance with contractual requirements and timescales.

Safety defects and remedial actions on the A90 over the last five years are detailed below:

• A90 840 Portlethan Overbridge – Damaged parapet mesh. Parapet mesh was replaced.
• A90 630 Stracathro Overbridge - Damage to Vehicle Restraint System (VRS) post. VRS post replaced.
• A90 310 Kings Cross West Overbridge – Plugged drain. Drain cleared.

Transport Scotland has developed an Approach to Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience (ACCAR), which provides a strategic overview of our approach primarily on infrastructure and services directly under Transport Scotland control. A key deliverable of this work is the development of a Trunk Road Adaptation Plan, based on a climate vulnerability and risk assessment using the latest UK climate projections. The Trunk Road Adaptation Plan will be published in 2025. It includes key interventions and recommendations for further adapting the Trunk Road Network. There will be a focus on risks associated with increased surface water flooding, river flooding, river scour and landslides.

The Trunk Road Adaptation Plan will complement the work of our roads Vulnerable Locations Operational Group (VLOG), which was established in 2021 in line with the commitments set out in the National Transport Strategy Delivery Plan 2020 – 2022 with an initial focus on delivering short-term cost-effective actions, whilst developing a move to a long-term proactive approach, including a dedicated budget for climate change adaptation.

The VLOG has targeted resource on early flood level warning systems around A90 river crossings and undertaken specific bridge scour assessments and inspections to national standards to enable resources to be focused on potential future risk areas

There are seven emergency telephones installed on the A90 north of Dundee and two on other sections of the A90.