Chamber and committees

In terms of regulation 29, and part 1 of schedule 19, of the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2003/3113 and section 36 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 it is an offence for any person driving a vehicle to stop within a bus stop clearway, i.e. a bus stop at certain times as may be specified. As this is an offence under section 36 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, the police may issue any offender with a conditional offer of a fixed penalty for the offence in terms of section 75 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988. If the fixed penalty is not accepted, the case may then be reported to the Procurator Fiscal.As with all crimes reported to the Procurator Fiscal, a prosecution will be commenced where there is sufficient reliable and credible evidence, and where it is in the public interest to do so. In addition to the usual options available to the Procurator Fiscal, section 75 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 also gives the fiscal the power to issue a conditional offer of a fixed penalty for this offence. If any fixed penalty is unpaid, then the offender will generally be prosecuted in the district court.

The Stirling to Alloa to Kincardine project is an essential precursor to a rail link to the port of Rosyth and nothing in that project will preclude the development of a link to the port. However, any link to the port would need to be separately justified and promoted as a project in its own right.

Scottish Executive officials met with representatives of Glasgow Prestwick International Airport last month, to discuss the proposed transfer of Prestwick International Airport railway station to the main network.

The information requested is not held centrally.

This is primarily a matter for the bus industry. Whilst the Scottish Executive is not responsible for the provision of CCTV coverage on buses, resources have been made available under the Public Transport Fund to local authorities such as Dundee City Council and Glasgow City Council for such provision as part of a wider programme of bus improvements.

These are operational matters for Scottish Enterprise.

Projects awarded funding from the first four rounds of the Public Transport Fund are identified in the regional leaflets associated with the Scottish Executive transport delivery report, Scotland's Transport: Delivering Improvements, which was published in March 2002 and is available at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library3/transport/stdi-00.asp. Those projects receiving awards under the fifth and final round of the Public Transport Fund were announced on 14 November 2002 (http://www.scotland.gov.uk/pages/news/2002/11/SEET181.aspx). The relevant authorities in receipt of grant are responsible for delivery of these projects.Angus Council's A92 Arbroath to Dundee upgrading project received an allocation from the Transport Challenge Fund, but has not as yet been completed due to delays in securing the necessary Compulsory Purchase Orders and Road Orders. I understand that the council expects to conclude negotiations with the preferred bidder by the end of July 2003, with a start on site by autumn 2003.

None. This is a matter for the football associations of the four home countries.

Neither the Executive nor any administration or government department in the UK is represented on the British Olympic Association.

The Executive contributed £41,000 in 2002-03 from monies allocated for sport towards the costs of an independent review of youth football development. We will consider the financial implications arising from its recommendations when the study is completed.Football development benefits directly through a wide range of lottery and Exchequer programmes operated by sportscotland such as the Junior Groups Programme, the Sports Facilities Programme and Sportsmatch, and also as part of generic sports programmes such as the School Sport Co-ordinator Programme and the TOP Programme. These programmes are application based and no budget has been set specifically for football.Youth football development was also a core priority of the Football Academy Programme for which a budget of £6 million was established over a three-year period to 31 March 2003. We expect football will benefit significantly from implementation of the National and Regional Facilities Strategy announced in March 2003. Football also benefits from being a core sport within the Scottish Institute of Sport.The Scottish Women's Football Association receives grant aid from sportscotland to assist in the development of women's and girls' football. We anticipate that around £100,000 per annum will be invested over the next few years.