Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the minutes of the Fiscal Commission Working Group meetings. The minutes and a list of engagements with the Fiscal Commission Working Group can be found at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Economy/Council-Economic-Advisers/FCWG.

The current costs of the leaflet Scotland’s Future – What Independence Means for You are £525,300.

This is broken down in the following table:

These costs will be covered by the strategic communications budget.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-22312 on 19 August 2014. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

I refer the member to page 13 of the Fiscal Commission Working Group – First Report – Macroeconomic Framework.

Details of the full report can be accessed online here:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/0041/00414291.pdf

The costs of producing Scotland’s Future is Everyone’s Business were £1,109.01.

The leaflet is only available online on the scotreferendum and the Scottish Government websites, so there were no printing or delivery costs.

The critical path of the project remains unchanged and the project remains on schedule for completion by December 2016.

Adequate contingencies and allowances are built into all of more than 18,000 activities which comprise the project programme, which continues to show completion by December 2016. Float time is not identified separately.

Yes, the Forth Replacement Crossing project has reached the halfway stage of construction.

The first deck sections of the Queensferry Crossing are expected to start being placed at the towers during autumn 2014.

Piers S1 and S2 are required to support the cable stay bridge deck sections built out from the south tower progressively during 2015. S1 and S2 are expected to be complete in summer 2015, in advance of the time when they are required to support these deck sections.

Pier S3 is the last pier required to support the south approach viaduct. Pier S3 is anticipated to be complete in early 2015, on time to support the final phase of the south approach viaduct incremental push launch. This is in line with the information provided to the Scottish Parliament Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee on 5 March 2014 by the Forth Replacement Crossing project director.