- Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 16 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sam Galbraith on 20 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement on page 19 of Making a Difference for Scotland: Spending Plans for Scotland 2001-02 to 2003-04 on waste disposal, what resources will be made available to local authorities in each financial year to 2003-04 for "increased investment to secure modern facilities"; whether these sums will be separately identified in level III budget tables; whether funding will be made available to local authorities on a pro rata or competition basis; in what form resources will be made available to local authorities; what criteria will be laid down for any competitive bidding process or awards of specific grants or borrowing consent, and whether local authorities will be eligible in principle to obtain assistance for meeting the one-off costs of lining landfill sites.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer Sarah Boyack gave to question S1W-10588 on 25 October 2000.
- Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 16 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Angus MacKay on 20 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether a record has been kept of the final value of all contracts relating to the construction of its offices at Victoria Quay; in what form the information is recorded; who has access to the records; whether the records have been made public; whether it is intended that the records will be made public at a future date and, if so, when.
Answer
Victoria Quay was developed by Victoria Quay Ltd, a joint venture between Forth Ports PLC and Godfrey Bradman. The company was responsible for tendering the construction contracts. In 1995 Victoria Quay was purchased by Property Holdings Scotland (part of the Department of the Environment then responsible for the management of the Government estate) for occupation by the Scottish Office. The purchase price was £46.78 million excluding VAT.
The construction contracts are a matter for Victoria Quay Ltd and have not been placed in the public domain.
The Scottish Office became fully responsible for Victoria Quay from 1 April 1996 following the recommendations of the Review of the Management of the Government's Civil Estate making departments directly responsible for the buildings they occupied.
- Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 16 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 20 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement by the Minister for Transport and the Environment on 28 September 2000, whether bridge replacement schemes, such as that for Montrose harbour, will be eligible for awards from the #70 million fund for road and bridge repairs.
Answer
I refer Murray Tosh to the answer to question S1W-10435. The decision to fund a replacement bridge at Montrose harbour is a matter for the relevant local authority.
- Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 16 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 20 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement by the Minister for Transport and the Environment on 28 September 2000, what estimate it has made of additional costs which local authorities will incur as a result of the new national concessionary fares scheme and how local authorities will be resourced to meet any such additional expenditure.
Answer
The Scottish Executive commissioned consultants, Colin Buchanan and Partners, to carry out a research study into the likely costs of various options for enhancing concessionary fares arrangements. Their report will be made available shortly to the Transport and Environment Committee. The Executive will shortly enter into discussion with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and bus operators to clarify the actual costs associated with the introduction of the enhanced arrangements I announced on 28 September in question S1W-10099. It is envisaged that any additional resources required will be distributed through the GAE mechanism.
- Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 16 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 20 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement by the Minister for Transport and the Environment on 28 September 2000, whether the national concessionary fares scheme will include free rail and bus travel for eligible groups on morning and evening peak services.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer I gave to question S1W-10099 on 28 September.
- Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 16 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 20 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement by the Minister for Transport and the Environment on 28 September 2000, whether it will make direct payments to transport operators under the new national concessionary fares scheme and, if so, how much it has budgeted in each financial year to 2003-04 for such expenditure.
Answer
No.
- Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 21 August 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 15 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive how many staff it employs at all locations in the City of Edinburgh other than Victoria Quay, how many workplace parking spaces it provides at each location and what steps it is taking to reduce the number of spaces and promote car sharing and modal switch at each location.
Answer
The information about staff numbers and normally available car parking spaces is laid out in the table below.
| Location | Permanent core Scottish Executive staff (as at 1 August 2000) | Available car parking spaces |
St Andrew's House | 495 | 122* |
Pentland House | 457 | 183 |
Saughton House | 405 | 224** |
16 Waterloo Place | 171 | 8 |
James Craig Walk | 142 | - |
Greenside Lane | 75 | 6 |
17 Waterloo Place | 23 | - |
Governor's House | 21 | 10 |
Picardy Place | 9 | 5 |
*Due to ongoing refurbishment, there are currently 68 spaces in use.
**Saughton House is shared with a number of other Government Departments and agencies and car parking is not specifically allocated between the Departments. The Scottish Executive accounts for 60% of total staff occupying the building and the figure shown is pro-rata.
The Scottish Executive is committed to encouraging its staff to consider using more sustainable transport modes in getting to and from work. A Green Travel Plan covering our main Edinburgh buildings is currently being prepared, for publication in the autumn.
A range of initiatives are underway or planned to encourage more sustainable travel practices by Scottish Executive staff based at the buildings listed above, including:
- an intranet-based Green Travel website, which has areas for car-sharers and bicycle users, public transport timetable information and links, and other information of practical use for members of staff;
- interest-free loans for purchasing annual travel tickets and bicycles and cycling equipment;
- discounted annual travel tickets for Lothian Buses services; and
- the provision of pre-paid books of bus tickets for business travel.
- Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 14 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive when the A77 Fenwick to Floak and Floak to Malletsheugh de-trunking orders, announced in the public notices in The Herald on 27 October 2000, come into effect.
Answer
The de-trunking orders will come into effect on 1 April following the date on which the new motorway is open for through traffic on the lengths of road described in the Schedules to the orders.
- Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 14 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive when the M77 Special Road Extinguishment of Public Right of Way Orders, announced in the public notices in The Herald on 27 October 2000, will come into effect.
Answer
The dates that the rights of way will be extinguished will be determined by the speed of construction of the new motorway. The dates will be published by notice or order in due course.
- Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 26 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jackie Baillie on 9 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive how much was budgeted to be spent in 1999-2000 under (a) the empty homes initiative and (b) the rough sleeper initiative; what the actual outturn was for each initiative; whether any under-expenditure was carried over into 2000-01 or subsequent financial years, and what the current projection is for expenditure under each initiative in the current and coming financial years.
Answer
In 1999-2000 £6.7 million was budgeted to be spent by local authorities on the Empty Homes Initiative which included £1.3 million of underspend carried over from the previous year. The actual outturn spend in 1999-2000 was £3.8 million. The underspend of £2.9 million has been carried forward into 2000-01 where budgeted spend is £7.9 million. In 2001-02 budgeted spend is £5 million.
In 1999-2000, £10.7 million was budgeted to be spent by local authorities on the Rough Sleepers Initiative, which included £3.18 million underspend carried over from the previous year. The actual outturn spend in 1999-2000 was £5.6 million. The underspend of £5.1 million has been carried into 2000-01 where the budgeted spend is £15.1 million. In 2001-02 budgeted spend is £10 million.
