Chamber and committees

Following demolition of the old Scottish & Newcastle buildings on the Holyrood site 390 pallets of stone were retained for possible use in the construction of the new Scottish Parliament building. This stone will be quantified and quality tested before use. All other materials were removed from the site by the demolition contractor, who had responsibility for its disposal. Amounts or percentage comparisons are not known.

As I explained in my answer to question S1W-2912, questions about the FADEC software were first brought to the attention of the Crown Office by solicitors acting for the family of one of those killed in the accident. As I explained in my answer to question S1W-2585, that was on 30 December 1997. As I explained in my answer to question S1W-3010, the Crown Office immediately sought and obtained from the Ministry of Defence a full account of the issue and that account included information about the litigation. As I also explained in my answer to question S1W-2585, that information was received on 17 March 1998. As I explained in my answer to question S1W-2587 the details and basis of the settlement are a matter for the Ministry of Defence. So are the details of the litigation. As was also explained in my answer to questions S1W-2120 and S1W-3010, there is no evidence to suggest that information about that litigation would have made any difference to the outcome of the Fatal Accident Inquiry. And, as I explained in my answer to Question S1W-2002, the allegations in relation to the FADEC software were considered fully by the House of Commons Defence Committee in March 1998. That Committee concluded that there was no evidence to support claims that design flaws in the aircraft or its components contributed to the crash.

These questions were answered on 17 January.

Questions S1W-1364 and S1W-1366 were answered on 17 January.

The Scottish Executive cannot provide information about the actions of the previous administration.

The answer to this question is covered by S1W-1354.

On 2 September 1999 the Lord Advocate and I gave Parliament a full account of the significant events in relation to Mr Ruddle's appeal. The additional details sought would mean disclosing confidential medical and legal advice which I am not prepared to do.

I understand that last year Railtrack, ScotRail and the City of Edinburgh Council explored the potential for a station at Abbeyhill as part of the Crossrail proposal, but that the idea was abandoned at the pre-feasibility stage as estimated costs were deemed prohibitive.

I understand that Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive has commenced investigation into the economic viability of a Glasgow Cross Link but has not yet commissioned a formal study. The Glasgow CrossRail project was abandoned at the feasibility stage as the estimated costs were deemed prohibitive.

The £2.5 million will be distributed as set out in the following table:

Distribution of £2.5 million for the National Waste Strategy - 2000-01

Council	Grant Aided Expenditure	GAE Share
	£000	%
Aberdeen City	101	4.1
Aberdeenshire	107	4.3
Angus	52	2.1
Argyll & Bute	43	1.7
Clackmannanshire	23	0.9
Dumfries & Galloway	70	2.8
Dundee City	75	3.0
East Ayrshire	57	2.3
East Dunbartonshire	52	2.1
East Lothian	42	1.7
East Renfrewshire	42	1.7
Edinburgh, City of	213	8.5
Eilean Siar	31	1.2
Falkirk	68	2.7
Fife	165	6.6
Glasgow City	296	11.9
Highland	99	3.9
Inverclyde	40	1.6
Midlothian	38	1.5
Moray	41	1.6
North Ayrshire	66	2.6
North Lanarkshire	155	6.2
Orkney Islands	22	0.9
Perth & Kinross	63	2.5
Renfrewshire	84	3.4
Scottish Borders	50	2.0
Shetland Islands	25	1.0
South Ayrshire	54	2.2
South Lanarkshire	146	5.8
Stirling	39	1.6
West Dunbartonshire	48	1.9
West Lothian	91	3.7
TOTAL	2,500	100