Chamber and committees

Under Schedule 5 of the Scotland Act 1998, the provision and regulation of railway services, which includes railway safety, is a reserved matter. This reservation applies to appointments to and supervision of relevant bodies.

The Scottish Executive of course attaches importance to transport safety, and is therefore in regular contact with the Department of the Environment, Transport and Regions, the Health and Safety Executive, Her Majesty's Railways Inspectorate, the Rail Regulator, the British Transport Police, and the Railway industry on matters relating to rail safety in Scotland.

Glasgow Prestwick International Airport is not excluded from the Public Service Obligation (PSO) procedures for the tendering process for lifeline air services. A member state can impose a PSO on any route which meets the stated criteria set out in EC Regulation 2408/92.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The provision of public transport to the Braehead Shopping Centre is a matter for individual operators and Strathclyde Passenger Transport, as local transport authority.