Chamber and committees

There are currently two referral pathways which are being utilised by clinicians in Scotland to allow patients to access magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) treatment for essential tremor.

In 2022-23, £6.554m was spent on the continuing maintenance and short-term measures for the A83 Rest and Be Thankful, and £3.913m was spent progressing the design and development of the both the medium and long term solutions to the landslip risks at the Rest and Be Thankful.

Transport Scotland’s trunk road maintenance budget is not allocated on a route or part-route basis. It is distributed based upon need and prioritisation of schemes developed from regular inspections and condition surveys.

For financial year 2023-24, the current programmes identify a maintenance investment total of £5.22M for the A9 between Inverness and Scrabster, for schemes delivered through our North West Network Management Contract . Programmes across the contract will remain under review depending on new or emerging pressures.

The schemes include investment in Active Travel measures, road and bridge maintenance, road safety schemes and works to improve network resilience under emerging climate challenges (e.g. earthworks, larger drainage schemes)

This is in addition to ‘core operations’ (e.g. weekly inspections, incident response, winter treatments) which the contractor delivers across the whole of the North West unit throughout the life of the contract. These are paid through a tendered monthly rate that cannot be disaggregated for specific locations or extents.

Spend on our trunk road improvement projects is managed within the Capital Land and Works allocation of £121.9 million as part of the Motorway and Trunk Roads Spending Plans set out in the Scottish Budget: 2023-24. This covers preparation and delivery of a range of projects and programmes including A9 Dualling Perth to Inverness, the A83 Rest and Be Thankful medium and long options and improvements to the A96 corridor as well as a number of other projects and programmes. Spend on each individual project is managed with the Capital Land and Works allocation budget line which reflects the scope of work anticipated to be taken forward within the financial year.

The Scottish Government is fully committed to improving the A83 at the Rest and Be Thankful and to engagement and meaningful dialogue with directly affected communities and other stakeholders. I am grateful for the continuing interest the A83 Rest and Be Thankful Campaign Group has in the scheme development process and I will continue the positive engagement the Scottish Government has had with them to date. Subject to parliamentary business, I would be pleased to meet with the group to discuss the scheme and our commitment to developing an infrastructure solution to address the landslip risks at the A83 Rest and Be Thankful.

Spend on our trunk road improvement projects is managed within the Capital Land and Works allocation of £121.9 million as part of the Motorway and Trunk Roads Spending Plans set out in the Scottish Budget: 2023-24. This covers preparation and delivery of a range of projects and programmes including A9 Dualling Perth to Inverness, the medium and long term solutions at the A83 Rest and Be Thankful and improvements to the A96 corridor as well as a number of other projects and programmes. Spend on each individual project is managed with the Capital Land and Works allocation budget line which reflects the scope of work anticipated to be taken forward within the financial year.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-15219 on‎ 6 March 2023. 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

Spend on our trunk road improvement projects is managed within the Capital Land and Works allocation of £121.9 million as part of the Motorway and Trunk Roads Spending Plans set out in the Scottish Budget: 2023-24. This covers preparation and delivery of a range of projects and programmes including A9 Dualling Perth to Inverness, the A83 Rest and Be Thankful medium and long options and improvements to the A96 corridor as well as a number of other projects and programmes. Spend on each individual project is managed with the Capital Land and Works allocation budget line which reflects the scope of work anticipated to be taken forward within the financial year.

Private investment from the partnership will cover all capital costs although land managers may also choose to apply to existing grant schemes, in which case there will be a mix of funding. The usual processes and policies for public grants will apply.

Until investment cases have been completed and agreements reached with individual land managers, it is not possible to determine the proportion of funding that will each come from private investment, existing grant schemes and, if applicable, landowners. It is likely that this will vary from project to project.

We expect all investment to adhere to the Interim Principles for Responsible Investment in Natural Capital as a minimum. The ethical framework that is being developed by NatureScot and its partners to guide investments under the Memorandum of Understanding will support this.

The matters referred to cannot be determined until the ethical framework has been agreed and approved and the project design phase, which includes developing investment cases with land managers, has been completed.