- Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 20 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 10 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions or representations it has held with or made to Her Majesty's Government in (a) the last six months and (b) the last two months about Railtrack in Scotland and the issue of rail safety and their safety record; when they were held or made, and whether it will provide details.
Answer
The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the United Kingdom Government on a wide range of issues, including railway safety.
- Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 20 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 10 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has held with Her Majesty's Government about Railtrack's method of inspection and repair of rail track in Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the United Kingdom Government on a wide range of issues, including the state of the railway infrastructure.
- Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sam Galbraith on 8 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish its response to the Strategic Review of Organic Waste Spread on Land produced by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency in October 1998.
Answer
I refer Mr Crawford to the answer I gave to question S10-2461 on 2 November.
- Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 7 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities have been awarded capital allocations from the Public Transport Fund, how much they each received, when they received it and for what projects.
Answer
The table below lists the awards made to date from the Public Transport Fund. In addition, commitments from the previous Government's Transport Challenge Fund and South Fife Rail are being met from the PTF.
| Authority | Project | Total PTF Award (£ million) | 1999-2000 (£ million) | 2000-01 (£ million) | 2001-02 (£ million) | 2002-03 (£ million) |
| Aberdeen | A96/A956 Bus Priority and Park & Ride | £4.000 | £1.000 | £2.000 | £1.000 | |
| Aberdeen | Bus Priority and Park & Ride | £3.300 | | £0.800 | £1.500 | £1.000 |
| Aberdeenshire | Ellon Park & Ride | £0.600 | £0.300 | £0.300 | | |
| Aberdeenshire | Peterhead and Mintlaw Park & Ride | £0.745 | | £0.660 | £0.085 | |
| Argyll & Bute | Port Askaig Harbour Redevelopment | £3.750 | | £3.000 | £0.750 | |
| Clackmannanshire | Alloa Town Centre Transport Interchange | £0.300 | £0.300 | | | |
| Dumfries & Galloway | Stranraer Public Transport Interchange | £2.350 | | £0.020 | £1.000 | £1.330 |
| Dumfries & Galloway | Dumfries Transport Initiative | £0.900 | £0.400 | £0.300 | £0.200 | |
| Dundee | Bus Priority and Real Time Information | £0.475 | £0.475 | | | |
| Dundee | North East Arterial Corridor | £1.325 | | £0.250 | £0.525 | £0.550 |
| East Ayrshire | Kilmarnock and Cumnock Bus Stations | £0.590 | | £0.590 | | |
| East Lothian | Railway Stations Improvements | £0.312 | | £0.245 | £0.067 | |
| East Lothian (on behalf of SESTRAN) | South East Scotland Travelticket | £0.300 | £0.075 | £0.125 | £0.100 | |
| East Renfrewshire | Disabled Access to Railway Stations | £0.467 | | £0.467 | | |
| Edinburgh | Crossrail | £8.000 | £0.500 | £3.000 | £4.500 | |
| Edinburgh | A90 Phase 2 Bus Priority | £0.800 | | £0.800 | | |
| Eilean Siar | Eriskay Causeway | £4.100 | £0.900 | £2.000 | £1.200 | |
| Falkirk | Railway Station Access Programme | £0.350 | £0.230 | £0.120 | | |
| Falkirk | Bus Station and Bus Priority | £0.345 | | £0.245 | £0.100 | |
| Fife | Inverkeithing Interchange and Airport link | £1.020 | | £0.250 | £0.770 | |
| Glasgow | Baillieston to Faifley Bus Priority * | £4.750 | £1.300 | £2.200 | £1.250 | |
| Glasgow | Quality Bus Corridors | £6.600 | | £1.000 | £2.800 | £2.800 |
| Highland | Corran Ferry Replacement Vessel | £0.265 | £0.265 | | | |
| Midlothian | Sheriffhall Roundabout Cycle Bridge | £0.802 | | £0.802 | | |
| North Lanarkshire | Gartcosh Interchange | £1.260 | | £1.260 | | |
| Orkney Islands | North Isles Airfields | £0.323 | | £0.323 | | |
| Perth and Kinross | Perth Bus and Cycle Priority | £0.423 | | £0.423 | | |
| Renfrewshire | Integrated Transport Improvements | £0.650 | | £0.650 | | |
| South Ayrshire | Ayr Bus Priority | £1.850 | | £0.750 | £1.100 | |
| Stirling | Stirling Bus Priority | £0.447 | | £0.150 | £0.297 | |
| Strathclyde Passenger Transport Authority | Partick Interchange | £3.500 | £2.000 | £1.500 | | |
| Strathclyde Passenger Transport Authority | Improved Rolling Stock | £1.400 | | £1.400 | | |
| West Dunbartonshire | Baillieston to Faifley Bus Priority * | £1.300 | £0.750 | £0.300 | £0.250 | |
| West Lothian | Forthtrip Express | £0.270 | £0.270 | | | |
| National Public Transport Timetable | £0.500 | | £0.350 | £0.150 | |
*Joint Project
- Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 7 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive when the report on rail links to Edinburgh and Glasgow airports will be published and what the remit is for those drawing up the report.
Answer
Strategic surface access links to Edinburgh and Glasgow Airports are being considered as part of the Scottish Airports and Air Services Study. The findings of that study will be made publicly available as part of the supporting documentation of the Regional Air Service Co-ordination Study when the consultation documents are published.
- Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 7 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive how much money will be allocated to Scotland during the current financial year under the (a) Freight Facilities Grant, (b) Track Access Grant, (c) Public Transport Fund, (d) Rail Passenger Partnership Fund and (e) Infrastructure Investment Fund.
Answer
The public expenditure provision by the Scottish Executive in the financial year 2000-01 is £7.1 million for Freight Facilities Grants and £30 million in additional capital consents via the Public Transport Fund.
The level of Track Access Grant allocated to Scotland has not been finalised with the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions.
The allocation to Scotland from the Rail Passenger Partnership Fund during the financial year 2000-01 is £800,000. The implementation of the Infrastructure Investment Fund has been deferred by the shadow Strategic Rail Authority.
- Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 7 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to improve the waiting times for a hernia operation in the Fife Health Board area both in the short and long term.
Answer
Waiting times for specific treatments in individual health board areas are matters for the boards and Trusts. The Scottish Executive has provided additional funding for the Health Service this year, and we have announced further real terms funding increases over the years 2003-04. We are also working with NHS Trusts to encourage them to develop and adopt new processes and ways of working which are designed to suit patients and to reduce avoidable waiting.
- Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 7 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive how many projects have received support from the (a) Freight Facilities Grant, (b) Rail Passenger Partnership Fund and (c) Infrastructure Investment Fund since their inception, what the projects were, how much each project received and when.
Answer
There have been nine awards of Freight Facilities Grant since 1990 by the Secretary of State for Scotland and Scottish Ministers and one award in Scotland from the Rail Passenger Partnership Fund. There have been no awards from the Infrastructure Investment Fund as its implementation has been deferred by the shadow Strategic Rail Authority. The table below shows the details of each project.
Freight Facilities Grants Awarded Since 1990
Company | Project Description | Amount of Total Grant Awarded £ | Date Awarded |
| Deanside Transit | Develop existing rail terminal facilities at Hillington | 3,045,000 | August 1997 |
| Safeway Stores | To move goods by rail from Bellshill to five stores in the Inverness area. | 680,000 | November 1998 |
| H J Banks | Provide facilities to move coal by rail to various locations from Lanarkshire | 873,000 | July 1999 |
| LAW Mining | Provide facilities to move coal by rail to various locations from Ayrshire | 2,548,000 | September 1999 |
| TDG Nexus | Towards an open-access multi-modal railfreight facility at Grangemouth to distribute chemical products GB wide | 9,700,000 (DETR to pay two-thirds) | September 1999 |
| Associated British Ports | To provide freight handling facilities at the port of Ayr and the lease of a vessel to move timber from Ardishaig and Campbeltown to Ayr | 4,410,000 | February 2000 |
| ST Services | Develop a rail terminal at Leith docks to transport chemical products to Dalry and Irvine in Ayrshire | 874,000 | March 2000 |
| Forth Ports | Re-instatement of railway line to move Blue Circle cement from Leith Docks to Dunbar | 81,000 | March 2000 |
| Safeway Stores | A second award to extend services to Thurso, Wick, Kirkwall and Ullapool | 896,000 | March 2000 |
Rail Passenger Partnership Fund AwardsProject | Project Description | Amount Awarded £ | Date Awarded |
| Edinburgh Crossrail | Development of rail passenger services in Edinburgh | 800,000 | March 2000 |
- Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 7 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive how much it spent on road safety campaigning during financial year 1999-2000 and how much it intends to spend in 2000-01.
Answer
The Scottish Executive provides funding to the Scottish Road Safety Campaign for the development of key road safety educational resources and publicity messages. The campaign has produced a range of excellent resources and conducted highly effective publicity campaigns.
In the financial year 1999-2000, Scottish Executive funding to the Scottish Road Safety Campaign was £1,752,000
At present in the financial year 2000-01, there is a provision of £1,745,000. This will be increased to £2,269,000 subject to the agreement of the Scottish Parliament to The Budget (Scotland) Act 2000 (Amendment) (No.2) Order 2000.
- Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 12 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 2 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects the new bridge at Kincardine-on-Forth to be completed and how the building of the bridge will be funded.
Answer
I refer to my answer to question S1W-10375. Once construction has started the new bridge will take between two and three years to construct.
A decision has not yet been taken on how the bridge will be funded.
