Chamber and committees

The details in relation to Fife Council's A90 Ferrytoll Park and Ride scheme and the City of Edinburgh Council's A90 bus priority measures are:

Fife Council's A90 Ferrytoll Park and Ride Bus Scheme

The Scottish Office awarded the council £2.7 million from the 1998-99 Transport Challenge Fund to assist with this project which is expected to commence in early December 2000. The council is contributing £1.186 million to the total cost of £4.3 million with other funding being provided by the European Regional Development Fund, Scottish Enterprise and the Forth Road Bridge Joint Board.

City of Edinburgh Council's A90 (Echline to Barnton) Phase 1 Bus Priority Measures

The Scottish Office awarded the council £1.2 million from the 1998-99 Transport Challenge Fund to assist with this project which is expected to be completed in July 2000. The council is contributing £0.5 million to the total cost of £1.7 million.

City of Edinburgh Council's A90 (Queensferry Road) Phase 2 Bus Priority Measures

The Scottish Executive awarded the council £0.8 million from the 2000-01 Public Transport Fund to assist with a package of measures to improve bus journey times westbound on the A90 (Queensferry Road) between Blackhall and Barnton.

The Scottish Executive does not hold information about the categories of expenditure on these local authority projects.

The Scottish Executive has not received any representations regarding light rail and the ability of light rail vehicles to travel on heavy gauge rail.

Scottish Trade International is the Government agency responsible for trade and exports from Scotland as well as for co-ordinating a Scottish involvement within the overall UK presence at international events and exhibitions. Scotland the Brand promotes Scotland overseas to consumers and potential visitors, and Locate in Scotland to potential inward investors. Scottish Executive representatives, at ministerial and official level, regularly promote Scotland to inward visitors as well as on their visits overseas.

Scotland is, therefore, marketed abroad in a variety of ways, through a variety of agencies. No single budget is specifically assigned for this purpose.

The Scottish Renewables Obligation (SRO) has been the mechanism for supporting the development of renewable energy projects in Scotland. Under its third round or SRO3, three contracts were awarded for wave energy projects in March 1999, the first such awards in the UK.

The funding of research and development of renewable energy technologies is a reserved matter. In March 1999, the Department of Trade and Industry launched a new wave energy programme; under which the development of the SRO3 wave energy projects will be monitored. In addition, the programme is supporting six proposals for research, development and demonstration of wave power.

Four local authorities have sought to participate in the Home Zones pilot study. These are Aberdeen City Council, Dundee City Council, The Highland Council and The City of Edinburgh Council. The original intention had been to identify three sites for the purpose of the pilot. Sites were to be selected on the basis of how well they would implement the broad aims of a Home Zone. The criteria used in this assessment included the degree of local support, the proposed speed reducing measures, the likely visual appearance and the level of traffic flow. In the event, it was impossible to differentiate between the relative merits of each proposal and, therefore, the study will encompass all four sites. The Scottish Executive is funding the research programme. The cost of implementing and constructing the Home Zones is being met by the four local authorities from within existing resources available to them.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-5734.

Royal and VIP visits are often linked to ceremonial events. There have been 59 visits falling into these categories since 1 July 1999.

Lothian and Borders Police are unable to provide figures for any increased overtime costs that might have been incurred. Costs are met from the force's overall GAE provision.

Number of EU tourists to Scotland who arrive by car

	1996	1997	1998
Visitors by car from EU	147,000	166,000	175,000
% all EU Visitors	19%	21%	22%

Source: IPS

% all Visitors (from Britain & Overseas

1.2%

1.3%

1.5%

Source: STBNumber of tourists from selected EU countries to Scotland that arrive by car in 1998.

Country	Tourist who arrive in Scotland in 1998 (% of all visitors from that country)
Germany	59,000 (30%)
France	21,000 (16%)
Netherlands	33,000 (31%)
Spain	7,000 (11%)
Italy	8,000 (11%)

Source: IPSNote: The above five countries represent almost 75% of all car tourists to Scotland from the EU.Comprehensive figures for 1999 will not be available until after the summer.

Research suggests that the Dutch come because of their interest in castles, monuments, galleries and the quiet unspoilt nature of the countryside. There is an increasing interest in coming to Scotland for short breaks outwith the main holiday season. Outdoor enthusiasts consider Scotland as an excellent destination for outdoor activities, in particular for walking and cycling holidays, which are growing in popularity. However, research also suggests that some Dutch people visiting Scotland see it as an expensive destination with unreliable weather.

Fuel costs are only one element in the cost of a holiday. There are no plans to conduct specific research on the effect of fuel prices, but as part of their ongoing monitoring, the Scottish Tourist Board are collecting evidence on factors that affect tourism both to and within Scotland.