- 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 6 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement by the Minister for Transport and the Environment on 28 September 2000, how much money will be paid through Freight Facilities Grant, in current and real prices, in each financial year from 2000-01 to 2003-04 and how much money it will add to the funding automatically available as a pro rata share of the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions' allocation from its own resources in each of these years.
Answer
Details of the amount of money that will be allocated through the Freight Facilities Grant in each financial year up to 2003-04 will be published early next year in the full budget document for 2001-02 and beyond. Further details about specific grant awards will be announced in due course.
- 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 6 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has carried out any studies specific to Scotland to establish probable levels of traffic growth over the next 30 years; whether it will project traffic growth in Scotland over this period by vehicle type, road type and area type, as defined by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions for the UK as a whole; whether it will forecast for the same period growth in car ownership per head of population and by household, and whether it will identify and quantify the main factors it expects to drive traffic growth over this period.
Answer
A research project is currently underway to assess the impacts of Travel Choices for Scotland, the Transport White Paper published in July 1998. Part of this involves a scoping exercise to identify an appropriate methodology to forecast traffic growth in Scotland. The Scoping Report will inform the Executive's decision on the most appropriate way forward.
- 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 David Steel on 6 November 2000
To ask the Presiding Officer whether and how information concerning the 91 works packages which comprise the Holyrood Project is being recorded; who has access to these records; whether successful contractors are being asked for consent to publish figures for the gross value of contracts awarded, now or at some future date, and whether any such information which contractors ask to remain confidential will be made public at a future date, on a basis comparable to the release of other public records.
Answer
Copies of all paperwork relating to the procurement of works packages for the Holyrood Project are retained by the Holyrood Project Team, the Construction Managers, the Design Team and the cost consultants for the project as appropriate. This information is available to personnel working on the project who require to have access to it in the course of their duties and to members of the Holyrood Progress Group. My answer to question S1W-9469 made it clear that tender information was regarded as commercially confidential while the possibility remains of similar packages being tendered. I also indicated that it may become appropriate, in due course, to release information of this nature with the consent of the relevant contractors. I understand that the Progress Group will be making these assessments on an ongoing basis as the project progresses and consulting with contractors accordingly.
- 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 David Steel on 6 November 2000
To ask the Presiding Officer, further to his answer to question S1W-9552 on 19 September 2000, whether the SPCB and the Holyrood Progress Group (HPG) consider that it might be appropriate to benchmark any of the works packages for the Holyrood Project against the Scottish Executive offices at Victoria Quay, the National Museum for Scotland or the replacement Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and whether the SPCB and HPG have, or have sought, access to any data which would facilitate benchmarking against these projects.
Answer
I have consulted the Convener of the Holyrood Progress Group. He has confirmed the view of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body that a benchmarking exercise of this nature would be time consuming, expensive and would inevitably divert valuable resources away from the task in hand. Bearing in mind the unique nature of many of the Parliament building's specifications, such an exercise would be unlikely to lead to many meaningful or useful conclusions. For these reasons, neither the SPCB nor the HPG has sought access to data on the projects mentioned.
- 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 6 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement by the Minister for Transport and the Environment on 28 September 2000, which of its budget headings and funds will in future include resources for allocating grants to local authorities which propose to develop road user charging schemes under the Transport (Scotland) Bill.
Answer
Funding is included within the Other Transport Programmes set out in our spending plans Making a difference for Scotland, published on 20 September. A breakdown of that programme will be provided in the full budget to be published early next year. The Integrated Transport Fund will be the primary funding mechanism for such assistance.
- 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 6 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive how it classifies road traffic as (a) local and (b) through traffic and what its criteria are for classifying "A" roads as (i) trunk roads or (ii) local roads.
Answer
Local traffic has its origins and destinations within the area, which is being considered. Through traffic does not.
Trunk roads form the national system of routes for through traffic. They are routes which were so designated in the Trunk Road Acts of 1936 and 1946 and which have not been subsequently detrunked, and those roads which the Minister for Transport, and previously the Secretary of State, have deemed it expedient to become trunk roads under the terms of these Acts and the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984. A comprehensive review of the trunk road network was undertaken in preparation for Local Government Reform in 1996 and the findings were published in 1995. A copy is in SPICe.
- 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 6 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement by the Minister for Transport and the Environment on 28 September 2000, how much money, in current and real prices, will be allocated through the new Integrated Transport Fund in each financial year up to 2003-04; whether local authorities will be eligible to receive resources from this fund; whether funding will be on a competition basis; whether projects which include major local road projects will be eligible for funding, and what other eligibility criteria it intends to use.
Answer
Details of the amount of money that will be allocated through the Integrated Transport Fund in each financial year up to 2003-04 will be published in the full budget document for 2001-02 and beyond in the New Year. Further details about the Integrated Transport Fund will be announced in due course.
- 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 6 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive when traffic was last surveyed by or on behalf of the Scottish Executive or Scottish Office on the section of the A71 which links the A77 with the M74, and on those sections of the A70 between Ayr and Cumnock and between Cumnock and the M74 and what proportion of (a) car, (b) light goods vehicle, (c) heavy goods vehicle and (d) bus traffic on these sections is classified as (i) local traffic and (ii) through traffic.
Answer
The Scottish Executive does not hold the information requested as the A70 and A71 are local roads. Gathering such information would be a matter for the relevant local roads 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 6 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 #70 million to be made available to local authorities for repairs to local roads and bridges will be allocated on a pro rata basis or through a bidding process.
Answer
There will not be bidding process for these resources. These resources will be included within councils' single non-housing capital allocations, which are distributed on a formula basis, agreed following consultation with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities.
- 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 6 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 #70 million to be made available to local authorities for repairs to local roads and bridges will be provided through specific capital grants or consents, non-ring fenced capital consents or enhanced Grant Aided Expenditure allocations and whether any upper limits will be set for awards to local authorities either in cash terms or in terms of a percentage share of the cost of individual projects.
Answer
The additional allowance for local authority investment in local roads and bridges will be included within the single allocation for their non-housing capital programme, covering roads and transport, social work, private housing and general services. I expect that councils, at the very least, will maintain this year's level of current and capital spending on roads, street lighting and bridge maintenance. The new resources must be used as additional funding and not as a way to make up the existing budget.
