- 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, whether it will detail how the extra #200 million for local authorities in the period to 2004 will be paid, identifying the budget headings and specific funds through which the resources will be provided in each financial year in question and specifying each amount in both current and real prices.
Answer
Decisions on the allocation of the additional £200 million for local authorities, including decisions on the specific budget heads or funds affected, the timing of the allocations and the method of payment in each case will be taken following discussions with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and, where appropriate, individual councils and transport operators. Details will be published in the full budget document for 2001-02 in the New Year.
- 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.
- 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 it intends to commit to the construction of a Kincardine bypass before final decisions are taken on the proposed new crossing enhancements and whether it intends to provide a Kincardine bypass separately from any bridge procurement.
Answer
Consultants are due to report shortly on the proposed Eastern Link Road bypassing Kincardine. A decision on whether or not to start construction of this road in advance of the new crossing will be taken in the light of that report.
- 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 it will support the M74 option which currently has planning permission in the event that the transport corridor study shows that the full scheme is necessary to accommodate projected traffic flows.
Answer
In my statement on 28 September I made it clear that the M74 option which currently has planning permission is not acceptable, in terms of both its environmental impact and value for money. Nor would it deliver the strategic transport link that the west of Scotland needs. That remains my view.
- 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 #200 million additional funding for local authorities in the period to 2004 will be supplemented by additional borrowing consents or Grant Aided Expenditure allocations to local authorities in this period and, if so, what the relevant capital and revenue amounts will be in each financial year, in current and real prices.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer I gave to question S1W-10435.
- 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 it will consider bids from local authorities for resources from the Public Transport Fund for local roads projects, where such projects bring environmental benefits, reduce traffic congestion, promote road safety and increase travel choices.
Answer
No; the Public Transport Fund was specifically created to assist local authorities in providing key value for money developments to their public transport network. Some of the public transport projects supported include improvements to the local road infrastructure bringing associated environmental and safety benefits. Scottish Ministers provide local authorities annually with a block allocation for capital expenditure on a number of services, including roads and transport. It is entirely a matter for local authorities to decide the priority to be given to local roads projects, in terms of all the services for which they are responsible, and allocate resources 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 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, what precisely it is committed to delivering at Kincardine, in relation both to the village and to the river crossing.
Answer
I refer Murray Tosh to my answer to question S1W-10434. The Executive's commitment regarding Kincardine will clearly depend on the recommendations of the consultants' study.
- 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, whether the M74 northern extension will be adopted as a trunk road/motorway.
Answer
The Executive, directly and with our partners, is committed to the delivery of the M74 Northern Extension as a strategic link for the west of Scotland. It is too early to say what form the route will take. We will consider adoption of the route as a trunk road when we have taken decisions on the way forward.
