- Asked by: Lord James Douglas-Hamilton, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 17 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 2 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied that Midlothian Council met all statutory requirements in relation to public consultation on its proposals to construct the new A701 through the Edinburgh green belt.
Answer
The responsibility for meeting all the statutory requirements in relation to public consultations on these proposals rests with Midlothian Council.
- Asked by: Lord James Douglas-Hamilton, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 17 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 2 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is any statutory obligation for Midlothian Council to put in place each of the public transport elements, including extra bus services, real time information and bus priority measures that formed a part of Midlothian Council's original Private Finance Initiative based proposals to upgrade the A701.
Answer
There are no statutory obligations on the Council to implement the original Private Finance Initiative based proposals. However, the Notice of Intention to Develop in respect of improvements to the A701, which was submitted to the Scottish Ministers, was accompanied by a statement by the Council which detailed measures to improve public transport and enhance bus services.
- Asked by: Lord James Douglas-Hamilton, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 17 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 2 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether details of alternatives to the proposed upgrading of the A701 and details of the cost benefit analysis of the project were made available during public consultation.
Answer
The Scottish Executive does not have this information. These are matters for Midlothian Council.
- Asked by: Lord James Douglas-Hamilton, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 17 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 2 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-2285 by Sarah Boyack on 22 November 1999, which of the documents referred to are available to the public and which are restricted and for what reasons.
Answer
The documents relating to the outline bid for Transport Challenge Funding and the outline business case for upgrading of the A701 are not available to the public since these contain commercial in confidence information. Relevant documents in relation to the Notice of Intention to Develop are available at the public libraries in Roslin, Penicuik and Loanhead and at the Council offices at Fairfield House, Dalkeith.
- Asked by: Lord James Douglas-Hamilton, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 17 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 2 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether all details of the outline business case for the A701 improvements were made available to the public during consultation at the planning stage.
Answer
The Scottish Executive does not have details on the availability of documents to the public at stages prior to their submission to the Scottish Ministers.
- Asked by: Lord James Douglas-Hamilton, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 17 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 2 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the outline business case for the A701 and details of the cost/benefit analysis of the multi-modal corridor will be made available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.
Answer
It is for Midlothian Council to decide which documents are made available to the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.
- Asked by: Lord James Douglas-Hamilton, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 17 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 2 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive why it did not require Midlothian Council to undertake a full multi-modal corridor study prior to allowing the council to proceed with the A701 project.
Answer
The Scottish Ministers took the view that the proposals, which were in accord with the statutory development plan, did not merit call-in.The letter intimating this decision to Midlothian Council emphasised that the Scottish Ministers were aware that the Council is committed to pursuing other initiatives as part of a package of measures to improve transportation within and outwith Midlothian. The Scottish Ministers encouraged the Council to pursue these initiatives with a view to delivering a comprehensive and sustainable package of transport improvements as soon as possible.
- Asked by: Lord James Douglas-Hamilton, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 2 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the provisions of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976 (as amended) are compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights within the meaning of section 1 of the Human Rights Act 1998 and, if not, what plans it has to amend the 1976 Act.
Answer
We are systematically reviewing all of our activities to identify issues where there is a risk of ECHR challenge. If we believe it is necessary to amend existing legislation in order to comply with the Convention, then we will bring forward proposals for that purpose at the appropriate time.
- Asked by: Lord James Douglas-Hamilton, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 2 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the provisions of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1997 (as amended) are compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights within the meaning of section 1 of the Human Rights Act 1998 and, if not, what plans it has to amend the 1997 Act.
Answer
We are systematically reviewing all of our activities to identify issues where there is a risk of ECHR challenge. If we believe it is necessary to amend existing legislation in order to comply with the Convention, then we will bring forward proposals for that purpose at the appropriate time.
- Asked by: Lord James Douglas-Hamilton, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 2 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the provisions of section 41 of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (as amended) relating to the granting of public entertainment licences are compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights within the meaning of section 1 of the Human Rights Act 1998 and, if not, what plans it has to amend the 1982 Act.
Answer
We are systematically reviewing all of our activities to identify issues where there is a risk of ECHR challenge. If we believe it is necessary to amend existing legislation in order to comply with the Convention, then we will bring forward proposals for that purpose at the appropriate time.
