- Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 September 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 30 September 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what budget commitment it will make to improving rural roads other than trunk roads.
Answer
Grant Aided Expenditure (GAE) provision for local roads is to be increased by £60m per annum in 2006-07 and 2007-08 (a 23% increase) as part of Spending Review 2004. The total GAE provision to local authorities for roads maintenance will amount to £320 million per annum by 2007-08.
In addition, £15 million per annum will be available for local roads capital projects, to be distributed through the new Regional Transport Partnerships.
- Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 September 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 30 September 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive how many fatal accidents occurred on each trunk road in the last five years.
Answer
The number of fatal accidents on each trunk road in the last five years (January 2000 to December 2004) is as follows:
| Trunk Road | Fatal Accidents |
| M73 | 5 |
| M74 | 21 |
| M77 | 2 |
| M8 | 19 |
| M80 | 5 |
| M823 | 1 |
| M876 | 1 |
| M898 | 0 |
| M9 | 3 |
| M90 | 5 |
| A1 | 6 |
| A6091 | 0 |
| A68 | 10 |
| A7 | 2 |
| A701 | 2 |
| A702 | 12 |
| A720 | 1 |
| A725 | 3 |
| A726 | 1 |
| A737 | 6 |
| A738 | 0 |
| A75 | 14 |
| A751 | 0 |
| A76 | 10 |
| A77 | 24 |
| A78 | 11 |
| A8 | 6 |
| A80 | 3 |
| A82 | 37 |
| A828 | 1 |
| A83 | 11 |
| A830 | 2 |
| A835 | 4 |
| A84 | 6 |
| A85 | 22 |
| A86 | 0 |
| A87 | 7 |
| A876 | 0 |
| A887 | 0 |
| A889 | 1 |
| A893 | 0 |
| A898 | 0 |
| A9 | 61 |
| A90 | 48 |
| A92 | 13 |
| A95 | 7 |
| A96 | 27 |
| A972 | 0 |
| A977 | 0 |
| A985 | 3 |
| A99 | 3 |
| Total | 426 |
The figures quoted may differ slightly from those published elsewhere because they were extracted on a different date and the database may have changed between the two dates, e.g. due to late returns or corrections to earlier returns.
- Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 September 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 30 September 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what the outcome was of the Minister for Transport and Telecommunications' visit to the Camphill Trust in Aberdeen.
Answer
The visit gave me the opportunity to meet staff and residents of the Camphill community and to get a better understanding of their concerns about the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route.
- Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 September 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 30 September 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what the costs were of snow clearing and ice treatment on each trunk road in each of the last five years.
Answer
It is not possible to provide the costs of snow clearing and ice treatment for each trunk road as winter maintenance is paid for on a unit wide basis. The costs of winter maintenance in each of the four trunk road unit areas for each of the last five years is as follows:
| Unit | 2000-01 (£000) | 2001-02 (£000) | 2002-03 (£000) | 2003-04 (£000) | 2004-05 (£000) | Total (£000) |
| North East | £3,680 | £920 | £1,024 | £974 | £1,017 | £7,615 |
| North West | £5,624 | £1,552 | £1,691 | £1,600 | £1,664 | £12,131 |
| South East | £2,976 | £870 | £905 | £900 | £905 | £6,556 |
| South West | £3,950 | £1,035 | £1,057 | £1,058 | £1,105 | £8,205 |
| Total | £16,230 | £4,377 | £4,677 | £4,532 | £4,691 | £34,507 |
The figures quoted do not include Contract Price Fluctuation (CPF). This is an inflation adjustment to tendered rates and prices.
The winter maintenance costs of the Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) contracts for the A74(M) between Millbank (Junction 12) and the Scottish Border and the M77 between Malletsheugh (Junction 5) and Meiklewood Interchange are included in the monthly payments to each DBFO contractor and cannot be identified separately.
- Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 September 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 30 September 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans are in place to deal with any winter weather problems on each trunk road.
Answer
Comprehensive requirements for dealing with winter weather problems on trunk roads are contained in the contracts with the four trunk road Operating Companies. Each year the Operating Companies are required to translate these into Winter Maintenance Plans (WMPs) which are scrutinised by the Performance Audit Group (PAG) and approved by the Scottish Executive. Copies of the WMPs for 2004-05 are available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. numbers 34250, 34251, 34252 and 34254).
The Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) contracts for the A74(M) between Millbank (Junction 12) and the Scottish Border and the M77 between Malletsheugh (Junction 5) and Meiklewood Interchange, operated by Autolink and Connect, respectively, contain similar requirements for dealing with winter weather which are also translated into WMPs. The WMPs are scrutinised by PAG for the Autolink contract and Renfrewshire Council for the Connect contract.
The WMPs for 2005-06 have recently been approved and copies will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 37611) in the near future.
- Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 September 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 30 September 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive which contractors are responsible for snow and ice treatment on each trunk road.
Answer
The trunk road network is divided into four geographical units, north east, north west, south east and south west. Winter maintenance on trunk roads in the north east and north west units is the responsibility of BEAR Scotland Ltd and winter maintenance on trunk roads in the south east and south west units is the responsibility of Amey Infrastructure Services.
Winter maintenance on the A74(M) between Millbank (Junction 12) and the Scottish Border and on the M77 between Malletsheugh (Junction 5) and Meiklewood Interchange is undertaken by Autolink and Connect, respectively, as part of the Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) contractual arrangements.
A copy of the Trunk Road Units Map showing the trunk roads within each unit area is available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 37527).
- Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 September 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 30 September 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it is having, and with which operators, in respect of developing coastal shipping services linking east coast ports with (a) Orkney, (b) Shetland, (c) Iceland, (d) the Faroe Islands and (e) continental Europe.
Answer
In general, the development of such coastal shipping services is a commercial matter for shipping operators to consider. We do, however, have a role in circumstances where financial support is necessary to maintain essential lifeline services to island communities, which is why we are currently re-tendering the Northern Isles ferry contract and tendering for a new Northern Isles lift-on lift-off freight contract.
We have had no discussions with any shipping operators about shipping services from Scotland to Iceland or the Faroes.
New and improved ferry links to Europe have the potential to increase trade and tourism and take lorry traffic off busy Scottish routes. However, such services must prove commercially viable if they are to succeed as our ability to offer financial support is limited. We shall be considering all possible means of encouraging new developments, in line with our Partnership Agreement commitment to improve ferry links to Europe, including the possibility of Freight Facilities Grant or the Waterborne Freight Grant, where a new service would reduce lorry miles.
- Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 September 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 30 September 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to develop dedicated and affordable livestock sea transport from Orkney and Shetland to mainland Scotland.
Answer
The Executive has set out its plans for the transportation of livestock from the Northern Isles to the Scottish mainland in the Invitation to Tender (ITT) for the next Northern Isles Ferry Services contract issued to short listed bidders. The detail of the plans is given in sections 3.10 and 3.13 of the ITT which was published by the Executive in July 2005. A copy of this is available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 37566).
- Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 15 August 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 28 September 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it was aware of the European Commission's Decision of 15 July 2005 on state aid prior to the Minister for Transport's meeting with Commissioner Barrot on 18 July.
Answer
The Executive was advised of the decision on the day of its publication. However, the decision has no relevance for the tendering of the Clyde and Hebrides ferry services and the Executive was aware of this from its involvement in the lengthy consultation leading up to the publication of the decision. Paragraph 18 of the preamble to the decision makes it clear that subsidies in the maritime area must “also respect the sectoral rules contained in Council Regulation (EEC) No 3577/92 when applicable”. It is to comply with Council Regulation 3577/92 (the Maritime Cabotage Regulation) that the Executive has decided to tender the services currently provided by Caledonian MacBrayne.
- Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 15 August 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 28 September 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the statement made by the UK Government in its response to the European Commission's Green Paper on Services of General Interest of May 2003, that the proposed model of splitting Caledonian MacBrayne into an infrastructure-owning company and an operating company creates "an artificial barrier" that "distances the development of the fleet from its operation".
Answer
The UK Government’s response reflected the Scottish Executive’s position at that time in relation to the Clyde and Hebrides ferry services. Given the constraints that European law imposes, this does not detract from the Executive view that the best way to tender the Clyde and Hebrides ferry services is through the establishment of a publicly-owned vessel and harbour owning company. This will ensure that the assets are retained in public ownership and made available on a long-term basis to the operator of the services.
