Chamber and committees

ScotlandTranServ took over thetrunk road term maintenance contract for the A82 and other trunk routes in the NorthWest Unit on 1 April 2006 and their contractual duties will be managed and monitoredby staff within Transport Scotland with assistance from the independent Performance AuditGroup.

Transport Scotland hasthe operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more informationif required.

The publication of the RouteAction Plan will have no impact on the on-going maintenance works on the sectionof the A82 between Tarbet and Ardlui.

Transport Scotland hasthe operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more informationif required.

The Scottish Executive treatseach existing or proposed lifeline ferry contract on its merits, taking accountof economic and social needs in formulating the service specification for the routes.On the basis of past experience, knowledge of the routes and research, the Executiveis able to reach a broad conclusion on the likely subsidy levels required. Thiswill reflect, for example, the type of vessels required, the route distances involved,the service levels required (e.g. in terms of frequency) and the fares to be charged.However, the final level of subsidy is determined through a competitive tenderingprocess, required under European law, in which shipping operators bid for the subsidycontract.

In cases where a service couldnot be seen as “lifeline”, in that the communities involved are not wholly or mainlydependent on the service for their transport connections, a different approach maybe taken. In such cases, a cap may be placed on the subsidy to be offered, reflecting,for example, the scale of economic benefits that the service would be expected togenerate.

The Scottish Executive providesvery significant funding for all modes of public transport, including for the airportsoperated by Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd (HIAL) and for air routes subsidisedunder Public Service Obligations, which benefits all travellers to and from theHighlands and Islands. Assistance to HIAL in 2005-06 is estimated at £22.1million and for Lifeline Air Services is similarly estimated at £1.2 million.

In addition, we have consistentlyrestricted Caledonian MacBrayne’s annual fares increases in line with inflation.NorthLink’s annual fares increases have also been restricted on a similar basisunder arrangements in the Northern Isles lifeline ferry contract. The new NorthernIsles contract, and the proposed contract for the Clyde and Hebrides lifelineferry services, will contain similar restrictions. Assistance to CalMac in 2005-06is estimated at £31.4 million and to NorthLink is similarly estimated at £26.0 million.

The ScotRail franchise subsidyis not easily broken down route by route. However, a proportionate sum is appliedto ensure that regulated fares, including saver fares, are maintained at a reasonablelevel with the franchisee restricted in the amount by which these fares can be increased.

This information is not collectedcentrally.

The Scottish Executive is reimbursedfor the expenditure it incurs in relation to European Structural Funds by the EuropeanCommission. Such reimbursements are requested on a regular basis, however, at anygiven time the amount disbursed by the Scottish Executive will be greater than thatreceived from the European Commission. This cash flow issue is mitigated by anadvance payment which was received at the start of the current programmes. It isanticipated that such an arrangement will be followed in the new programming period.

In 2006-07 and subsequentyears structural funds income from the European Union will be offset againstthe Scottish Assigned Budget to fund expenditure incurred under the relevantregulations.

The latest cash estimates ofGross Value Added (GVA or GDP at basic prices) available for Scotland arepresented in the Office for National Statistics Regional Accounts. These providea provisional estimate of GVA at current prices for Scotland in 2004of £82 billion, an increase from £78.5 billion in 2003; 2004 is the latest yearfor which figures are available.

Estimates of GVA at current pricesare not available at local authority level, however the Office for National Statisticsprovides sub-regional estimates to Eurostat based on a geographical framework knownas NUTS (Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics). The lowest level geographyat which GVA estimates are made is NUTS Level 3, but these geographical units donot correspond exactly to local authority areas.

The latest sub-regional estimatesfor Scotland from the Regional Accounts are for 2003 and are presentedthe following table.

Table 1: Sub-Regional CurrentPrice GVA¹ Estimates for Scotland, 2003

	GVA at Current Prices 2003 (£ Million)
Scotland2	78,504
North Eastern Scotland3	10,599
Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and North East Moray4	10,599
Eastern Scotland3	29,841
Angus and Dundee City4	3,461
Clackmannanshire and Fife4	4,490
East Lothian and Midlothian4	1,758
Scottish Borders4	1,185
Edinburgh, City of4	11,613
Falkirk4	1,969
Perth and Kinross and Stirling4	2,990
West Lothian4	2,374
South Western Scotland3	33,858
East and West Dunbartonshire and Helensburgh and Lomond4	2,274
Dumfries and Galloway4	1,775
East Ayrshire and North Ayrshire Mainland4	2,714
Glasgow City4	12,829
Inverclyde, East Renfrewshire and Renfrewshire4	4,862
North Lanarkshire4	3,921
South Ayrshire4	1,545
South Lanarkshire4	3,936
Highlands and Islands3	4,206
Caithness and Sutherland and Ross and Cromarty4	878
Inverness and Nairn and Moray, Badenoch and Strathspey4	1,467
Lochaber, Skye and Lochalsh and Argyll and the Islands4	1,064
Eilean Siar (Western Isles) 4	285
Orkney Islands4	231
Shetland Islands4	281

Source: Office for NationalStatistics.

Notes:

1. Estimates are presented ona workplace as opposed to a residence basis.

2. NUTS Level 1.

3. NUTS Level 2.

4. NUTS Level 3

Information on localauthority rents is available online in the publications of the ScottishExecutive website www.scotland.gov.uk.

The latest statisticalbulletin HSG-2006-1 shows average local authority rents for 2003-04, 2004-05and estimates for 2005-06 and can be accessed through the following link:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/02/07092332/0

The previous bulletin showsdata back to 2002-03 and can be accessed through the following link:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/housing/lahie2-00.asp.

Information on local authorityrents is available online in the publications of the Scottish Executive websitewww.scotland.gov.uk.

The latest statistical bulletinHSG-2006-1 shows average local authority rents for 2003-04, 2004-05 and estimatesfor 2005-06 and can be accessed through the following link:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/02/07092332/0.