Chamber and committees

There have been two meetings with the UK Government on high speed rail. The first was in Edinburgh on 28 May 2008, to discuss cross border rail links, including opportunities for high speed rail.

The second meeting also took place in Edinburgh on 23 April 2009, in which I continued to press the case for a high speed rail connection between Scotland, London and Europe.

Transport Scotland officials have also met with the UK Government company, High Speed 2, on two occasions (once in London and once in Glasgow with stakeholders present). Dialogue will continue over the coming months as the case for high speed rail is developed.

When horses are exported from the UK their export health certificates are recorded on the TRACES (Trade Control and Expert System) database. TRACES is an integrated web-based system maintained by the European Commission which assists in the management of intra and extra Community trade of live animals and animal products.

The UK, Ireland and France have a tripartite agreement which allows the free movement of registered horses without export certificates. In these instances the movements will not be recorded.

The information available relates to the audited number of Conditional Offer of Fixed Penalty Notices (COFPN) paid for each of the eight safety camera partnerships which operate under the Scottish Safety Camera Programme. Audited data for 2008-09 is not yet available. Information provided relates to the financial years 2006-07 and 2007-08 and includes speeding and red-light violation offences.

In 2006-07, 114,107 COFPN were paid for fines generated through the Scottish Safety Camera Programme. In 2007-08 this figure was 88,427.

Transport Scotland officials recently met with Network Rail representatives concerning proposed gauge enhancements on the East Coast Main Line from the border to Mossend/Coatbridge, including the section between Edinburgh and Berwick-Upon-Tweed. When the result of Network Rail''s study into this proposal is made available, it will be considered by ministers and discussions will continue between Transport Scotland, Network Rail and key stakeholders.

The information requested is a matter for the delivery body - sportscotland. As such this information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

Funding for squash is routed through the relevant governing body via sportscotland and I refer the member to their Financial Summary within the Annual Review 2007-08. The Annual Review can be found at:

http://www.sportscotland.org.uk/ChannelNavigation/Resource+Library/Publications/Annual+Review+200708++Moving+Forward+Together.htm.

The road upgrades prioritised for the remainder of the parliamentary session remain those set out in our statement of 27 June 2007. An updated programme is due to be published on the Transport Scotland website before the Easter recess.

The Waverley Project Board (consisting of Network Rail, City of Edinburgh Council and Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothians) decided in August 2006 not to proceed with earlier proposals for Phase 2.

This government is continuing to work with Network Rail to improve the passenger facilities and station infrastructure at Waverley Station.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-20443 on 24 February 2009. 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/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

The two projects identified in the Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR) which are also designated as national developments in the Proposed National Planning Framework 2 are: The Forth Replacement Crossing and the West of Scotland Strategic Rail Enhancements.

There are a number of STPR projects that that support other national developments in the Proposed National Planning Framework 2 (NPF2). These projects, along with the remaining projects identified as part of the STPR recommendations can be found in Report 4 on the Transport Scotland website http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/stpr.

Details of the assessment of candidate national developments against the criteria which the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth announced to Parliament in his statement on 13 September 2007 can be found on the Government''s website http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2009/01/13143421/0.

Statements of need in respect of each of the national developments are set out in the Annex to the Proposed NPF2 which is available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (laying number, SG/2008/252).

The STPR has been undertaken to identify priorities for Government spending on transport infrastructure over the next 20 years, whereas the Proposed NPF 2 is concerned with Scotland''s spatial development in general. While the focus of the two exercises is different, they are components of a single strategic agenda.

There are currently no plans to legislate to introduce carcass tagging of commercially caught salmon.