- Asked by: Andrew Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 November 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 20 December 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what specific mechanisms have been put in place to ensure "cross boundary co-operation," as specified in section 11.4 on snow clearance of carriageways and hardshoulders of Schedule 7, Part 2 of the Term Contract for Management and Maintenance of the Scottish Trunk Road Network, by Amey Highways Ltd and BEAR (Scotland) Ltd in respect of each contract area.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-20202 on 19 December 2001.
- Asked by: Andrew Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 November 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 20 December 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how many lorry miles have been removed so far per year as a consequence of projects approved under the Freight Facility Grant scheme and whether it will provide details of each of these projects and rank them in order of pound/pence per mile/kilometre of support received under the scheme.
Answer
Projects awarded grant under the Freight Facilities Grant scheme will remove a total of 13.4 million lorry miles from Scotland's roads each year. Details of each of these projects in order of grant cost per lorry mile removed is shown in the table.
Company | Total Amount of FFG Awarded (£) | Lorry Miles Removed from Scotland's Roads Each Year | Date of Award |
WH Malcolm1 | 246,000 | 872,000 | December 2000 |
Iggesund Paperboard | 693,000 | 479,000 | December 2000 |
JG Russell Transport Ltd | 3,045,000 | 2,040,000 | August 1997 |
Forth Ports plc | 81,000 | 87,000 | March 2000 |
HJ Banks & Co Ltd | 873,000 | 1,080,000 | July 1999 |
BP Oil UK Ltd | 10,044,000 | 3,675,000 | December 2000 |
LAW Mining Ltd | 2,548,000 | 1,673,000 | September 1999 |
ST Services Ltd | 874,000 | 400,000 | March 2000 |
Safeway Stores plc | 680,000 | 480,000 | November 1998 |
TDG Nexus2 | 3,233,000 | 667,000 | September 1999 |
Safeway Stores plc | 897,000 | 567,000 | March 2000 |
Associated British Ports | 4,410,000 | 1,400,000 | February 2000 |
Total | 27,624,000 | 13,420,000 | |
Notes:1. Excludes a contribution of £0.632 million from the Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions for benefits secured in England.2. Excludes a contribution of £6.467million from the Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions for benefits secured in England.
- Asked by: Andrew Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 08 November 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 20 December 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive on what dates, for each contract area, it received the relevant information required under Schedule 3, Part 4, paragraphs 5 and 6 of the Term Contract for Management and Maintenance of the Trunk Road Network.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-20202 on 19 December 2001.
- Asked by: Andrew Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 03 December 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 19 December 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what the implications will be for the police and the courts of prosecuting motorists who have displayed Scottish national symbols on vehicle registration plates and whether it is aware of any guidance issued to the police and the courts on this matter in advance of the outcome of the consultation by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.
Answer
We are not aware of any direct implications for the police or courts in connection with this matter. The Scottish Executive has not issued any guidance along the lines described.
- Asked by: Andrew Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 November 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 18 December 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to the statement released by email directly to a selection of ministers and MSPs by Amey Highways Ltd on 15 November 2001, whether the company's motorway maintenance programme "has met the exacting standards laid down by the Scottish Executive"; how many default notices have been issued to the company since 1 April 2001; why any such notices were issued in each case, and what impact any such notices have had on the extent to which Amey Highways Ltd meets the standards required by the Executive.
Answer
The Scottish Executive and the Performance Audit Group (Halcrow Group Ltd in association with PricewaterhouseCoopers) monitor the performance of Amey Highways in order to see if this performance meets the standards required by the trunk road contract. Where contract obligations are not met, there is a provision within the contract for a Default Notice to be issued and/or for money to be withheld. A Default Notice identifies a specific issue where an Operating Company is not meeting its contractual obligations and requires the Operating Company to set in train a programme to remedy the situation. To date seven Default Notices have been issued to Amey Highways in South East Unit and 12 to South West Unit. They have been issued in respect of management issues such as compliance of computer systems and operational issues such as cutting of grass verges.Default Notices are taken very seriously by the Operating Company and are therefore an effective tool in ensuring that performance is improved. However, in a contract as large and diverse as the trunk road maintenance contracts it is most unlikely that the contractor would at all times meet all of its contractual requirements. Whilst the issue of Default Notices is disappointing, it should not be seen as indicating a general underperformance of the Operating Company.
- Asked by: Andrew Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 15 November 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 17 December 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has provided, or plans to provide, any financial support to any rail projects associated with the BP Amoco plant at Grangemouth, which projects these are, and what safety mechanisms have been built into the conditions for any such financial support to protect the public interest in the light of the recent announcement of job losses at the plant.
Answer
A Freight Facility Grant (FFG) award totalling £9.7 million was made in September 1999 to TDG Nexus for the development of rail freight facilities at Grangemouth. The main flow of traffic to be handled by the facility was as regards the production of polyethylene and polypropylene at the BP Amoco plant. An award of £10 million was also made in December 2000 to BP Oil UK Ltd for the transportation of fuel by rail from Grangemouth to various locations in Scotland. The conditions attached to FFG awards include provision for Scottish ministers to require the repayment of the whole, or part, of any grant already paid if the project is not completed or targets not met.
- Asked by: Andrew Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 16 November 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 17 December 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received representations from any organisation or individual regarding the winding down or cessation of the Railway Modernisation Fund and, if so, on what date and from whom.
Answer
I am not aware of any such representations.
- Asked by: Andrew Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 16 November 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 17 December 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive when it last had consultations with Her Majesty's Government on the Railway Modernisation Fund and whether it was informed in these consultations whether this fund was either in the process of being wound down or had ceased to operate.
Answer
I understand from the Executive's discussions with the UK Government that future arrangements for investing and promoting private investment in the railway will be set out in the Strategic Rail Authority's Strategic Plan which is to be published shortly.
- Asked by: Andrew Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 03 December 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 17 December 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to paragraph 2.10 of the Appendix to Annex A of Audit Scotland's The new trunk road contracts, what provision it has made to prevent any situation arising in which different organisations would have gritters and snow-clearing lorries attempting to travel on, but not being able to treat, each other's roads, in order to reach and start work on their own roads.
Answer
I refer the Member to the answer given to Question S1W-20533, in response to publication of the Auditor General's report.
- Asked by: Andrew Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 03 December 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 17 December 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to paragraph 2.10 of the Appendix to Annex A of Audit Scotland's The new trunk road contracts, whether management and maintenance of trunk roads has become a less customer-oriented service under the new trunk roads maintenance contracts and what the reasons are for the position on this matter.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-20533 on 29 November 2001, in response to publication of the Auditor General's report.
