Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S4W-12857

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 February 2013
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 4 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether it expects the remaining unallocated amounts from the £394 million in additional capital resources allocated in the 2012 Autumn Statement to accelerate the delivery of the (a) A9 dualling works, (b) A96 improvements, (c) Edinburgh and Glasgow to Inverness rail improvement works or (d) Edinburgh and Glasgow to Aberdeen rail improvement works.

Question reference: S4W-12856

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 February 2013
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 4 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government which projects have been accelerated in the Infrastructure Investment Plan 2011: Updated Programme Pipeline (January 2013) compared with the Infrastructure Investment Plan 2011 as a result of the £394 million in additional capital resources allocated in the 2012 Autumn Statement.

Question reference: S4W-12860

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 February 2013
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 4 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many projects of what value in the Infrastructure Investment Plan 2011 had been completed by the time the Infrastructure Investment Plan 2011:Updated Programme Pipeline (January 2013) was published and how many additional projects of what value were added by the update.

Over 2012, nine of the major infrastructure projects included in the IIP, with a value of £644.5 million, have been completed and are now in use. These include:

Three transport projects:

the Paisley Corridor rail improvements,

the Fife Intelligent Transport System (part of the Forth Replacement Crossing project); and

A96 Fochabers to Mosstodloch Bypass.

Four health projects:

NHS Lanarkshire - Airdrie Community Health Centre

NHS Tayside - Mental Health Developments Project,

NHS Lothian – Royal Victoria Hospital; and

NHS Grampian - Emergency Care Centre.

Two prison projects:

HMP Low Moss; and

HMPShotts – Redevelopment Phase 2.

Individual schools projects forming part of the Scotland’s Schools for the Future Programme (£1.25 billion) have been added to the pipeline, as have hub community health projects with a capital value over £5 million which form part of the wider hub programme.

Over 100 individual “live” projects are included in the project pipeline, and it will be the most comprehensive overview of all major infrastructure projects under development that has to date been put in the public domain, and should serve to inform the market of upcoming investment opportunities and give information to all stakeholders who are interested in the progress of infrastructure investment in Scotland.

Question reference: S4W-12852

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 February 2013
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 4 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether (a) the dualling works on the A9, (b) A96 improvement works, (c) Edinburgh and Glasgow to Aberdeen rail improvement works and (d) Edinburgh and Glasgow to Inverness rail improvement works have been accelerated in the Infrastructure Investment Plan 2011: Updated Programme Pipeline (January 2013) compared with the Infrastructure Investment Plan 2011 as a result of the £394 million in additional capital resources allocated in the 2012 Autumn Statement.

The Scottish Government wrote to the Chancellor ahead of the Autumn Statement on 5 December calling on the UK Government to provide an immediate targeted boost to capital investment to protect the recovery in the short term and provide the infrastructure necessary to facilitate long term economic growth.

The Scottish Government therefore welcomed that the Chancellor finally heeded Scotland’s calls to boost capital spending, and that an additional £394 million in capital funding has been allocated over the three years, we note however that this was accompanied by reductions in our resource budget, and the capital budget is still being cut by 26 per cent in real terms over the period of the UK Spending Review.

The Scottish Government announced on 19 December 2012 that a £205 million package of construction and maintenance projects will be taken forward, allocating the additional capital consequentials for 2012-13 and 2013-14 arising from the Autumn Statement 2012. This package focused on smaller, “Shovel Ready” projects that could start work by the end of 2013-14, in order to boost jobs and economic activity. The Infrastructure Investment Plan pipeline includes larger projects, with a capital value over £20 million to be delivered over the period through to 2030. These larger projects require significant planning and preparation, and were unlikely to be able to be accelerated sufficiently to deliver by the end of 2013-14. Further information on the shovel ready projects that are being taken forward can be found at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2012/12/jobs192012. A total of £21.2 million was allocated to transport projects over the period 2012-13 – 2014-15.

We also announced that we would not at this stage allocate the additional funds available for 2014-15. The Chancellor is planning a UK Spending Review in the first half of 2013, and this may impact on the overall budget available to the Scottish Government in 2014-15. We wish to reflect on the outcome of the UK Spending Review before allocating the additional capital consequentials for that year, and will make further announcements in due course.

The table below gives additional information about the progress being made with the projects specifically highlighted.

Dualling works on the A9

The Scottish Government announced a commitment to dual the A9 between Perth and Inverness by 2025 as part of the IIP announcement in December 2011. There are 80 miles of single carriageway to be dualled

Work is now well underway and progressing on strategic engineering and environmental assessments. Ministers have announced two schemes that will be brought forward for earlier completion - A9 Kincraig to Dalraddy will start construction in 2015-16 and A9 Luncarty to Birnam will start construction in 2017. A series of corridor wide exhibitions were held in December 2012 to inform the public of the Scottish Government’s plans for dualling and the process and challenges involved.

A96 improvement works

The Scottish Government has made a commitment to complete the dualling of the A96 between Inverness and Aberdeen by 2030.

The A96 between Inverness and Aberdeen is nearly 100 miles long and consists mostly of single carriageway and climbing lanes in places. Dualling the remaining 84 miles of this important road between Scotland's two northern most cities is a significant undertaking which will require careful, in-depth planning and design to ensure that we deliver the right scheme to help tackle congestion and provide better journey time reliability and road safety for motorists.

Transport Scotland has undertaken a series of workshops with key agencies to discuss how the dualling work might be phased and share experience of the route and the benefits dualling will bring. This work will culminate in a strategy for dualling the A96 between Inverness and Aberdeen with the objective completing the full dualling by 2030.

A96 Inshes to Nairn

Following the Scottish Government’s commitment to dual the A96 between Inverness and Aberdeen by 2030, Transport Scotland is in the process of updating the A96 Inshes to Nairn proposals, including a Nairn Bypass, to reflect that commitment. This work is being progressed and is being informed by the feedback from the consultation held in 2012 as we consider how best to address the future needs of the strategic road network around Nairn and Inverness.

Edinburgh and Glasgow to Aberdeen rail improvement works

Aberdeen to Central Belt Rail Enhancement Scheme - the project aims to deliver, reduced passenger journey times, improved service frequency and connectivity and more efficient freight operations in phases from 2020.

Edinburgh and Glasgow to Inverness rail improvement works

Highland Main Line Rail Improvements - the first phase of the project has been completed delivering two extra passenger trains per day each way from December 2011 and journey time improvements of up to 18 minutes between Inverness and the central belt from December 2012. Phase 2 of the project will deliver further improvements to passenger journey times and service frequency and more efficient freight operations between 2014 and 2019.

Question reference: S4W-12859

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 February 2013
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 28 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Glasgow to Edinburgh high-speed rail plans set out in the Infrastructure Investment Plan 2011: Updated Programme Pipeline (January 2013) have displaced as a priority any of the projects in the Infrastructure Investment Plan 2011.

Question reference: S4W-12861

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 February 2013
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 28 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what its timescale is for setting out details of the (a) termini, (b) route, (c) cost and (d) date of the works on high-speed rail between Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Outline business case appraisal will report in 2014. The outline business case will consider broad route alignment and indicative cost/benefits analyses of options.

Those analyses will support the consideration of the decisions necessary to progress the scheme, and subsequently secure Parliamentary approval through Bill processes.

Preparation for that Bill would require further development of a detailed proposal, including detailed design of route, termini options, and environmental and social reporting.

Our ambition is that a new line linking Edinburgh to Glasgow, including a new route alignment for rail services to and from the South, would be operational by 2024.

This would indicate a preparation and construction period, allowing for a period of final operational testing, between 2016 and 2023.

Further detail on the timing of these processes is available from the following report, prepared by independent consultants, and placed on Transport Scotland’s website on 21 December 2012:

http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/files/documents/rail/Commnetary_on_Outline_Programme.pdf.

Question reference: S4W-12863

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 February 2013
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 28 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how it will compare the potential benefits of its high-speed rail proposals between Edinburgh and Glasgow against projects currently in the project pipeline.

Question reference: S4W-13130

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 18 February 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 28 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government when officials developing proposals for a travel subsidy scheme for school visits to First World War battlefield sites will inform schools of these proposals.

Question reference: S4W-13129

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 18 February 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 28 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what funding it or its agencies will provide for pupils to visit First World War battlefields in 2014.

As part of the WWI Commemoration Programme, arrangements for a travel subsidy scheme to support all Scottish secondary schools who wish to visit WWI Battlefield sites are being developed. It is anticipated that the scheme will be managed by Historic Scotland. Information is being gathered from schools and others involved in Battlefield tours to ensure the proposed scheme is fair and equitable. An announcement will be made in due course.

Question reference: S4W-13131

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 18 February 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 28 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether recent budget decisions include funding for school visits to First World War battlefields and, if so, (a) how much will be allocated and (b) whether rural schools will be allocated additional funding for any additional travel costs.