Chamber and committees

There is no set programme for the replacement of lay-bys on dual carriageways on the trunk road network. The programming of lay-by improvement schemes are considered based upon; condition inspections, whether there are other improvement schemes planned adjacent to the lay-by, and whether the annual review of road safety statistics has identified a lay-by replacement as a priority scheme. All trunk road works are developed and programmed against competing priorities across the network.

Our most recent statistics show that there have been no fatal or serious accidents at the southern Laurencekirk junction since 2005. As such, we have no plans for further measures at this time, however we will continue to monitor road safety.

In the longer term, Transport Scotland is developing the design of the A90/A937 Laurencekirk Junction Improvement, which will bring improved road safety and economic benefits to road users and the local community in Laurencekirk and the wider north east.

Since the Average Speed Camera system was introduced on the A9 Dunblane to Inverness in October 2014, the latest figures indicate:

a) an annual average reduction of over 65% in the number of drivers being detected speeding; and

b) a reduction of over 32% in the number of fatal and serious collisions, and a reduction of over 30% in the number of all injury collisions.

Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd is responsible for the procurement of ferries on behalf of the Scottish Government.

Safety is paramount and, as such, the Scottish Government has made that the top priority for new vessel design.

After safety, reliability is a key criteria in vessel design. For example, Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd have confirmed that the 100 metre vessels that are currently being constructed by Ferguson Marine Engineering Ltd at Port Glasgow are designed with superior manoeuvring ability and are equipped with twin controllable pitch propellers, twin high lift flap type rudders, fin stabilisers, one stern thruster and three bow thrusters.

The vessels are to be capable of berthing in a 50 knot beam wind, this is Beaufort 9-10 (storm force); weather conditions that a vessel is very unlikely to sail in. As part of the shipyards’ required tender documentation, station holding capability diagrams were submitted. Sea keeping evaluations were also submitted.

Berthing and manoeuvring computer simulations are also being carried out at Glasgow City College’s state of the art maritime facility.

The Scottish Government has no responsibility for managing such ports. Any such assessments are the responsibility of the appropriate harbour authority.

Information regarding the Performance Monitoring Regime in respect of the Northern Isles Ferry Services, operated by Serco NorthLink Ferries, and the Gourock-Dunoon Ferry Service, operated by Argyll Ferries Ltd, are available on the Transport Scotland website by following the link below.

http://www.transport.gov.scot/ferries/northern-isles

http://www.transport.gov.scot/water/ferries/gourock-dunoon

The new Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services contract operated by CalMac from 1 October 2016 will be published on the Transport Scotland website in due course. The contract contains details of the Performance Monitoring Regime.

Under the terms of the new Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Service contract operated by CalMac, the company has made almost 350 commitments to improve the services. These commitments aim to help drive economic growth and improve customer service. This includes increasing passenger and vehicle traffic by 10% and increasing commercial vehicle traffic by 12% over the course of the contract.

The design of new lay-bys on the Trunk Road Network are required to adhere to the standards detailed within the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB) which states that lay-bys must not be sited between a junction advance direction sign and the junction diverge. It should be noted however that, as standards within the DMRB are regularly reviewed and updated, existing lay-bys with historical layouts may not conform to the current requirements for new laybys.

The design of new lay-bys on the Trunk Road Network are required to adhere to the standards within the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB) which states that lay-bys should not be sited on the outside of a right hand curve with a radius less than the appropriate values provided.

In my Statement to Parliament I announced a policy review to identify and consider the legal, policy and financial implications relevant to the procurement of ferry services. I made clear that we could not pre-judge the outcome of that review. If the Teckal exemption applies, if the approach complies with state-aid rules and, crucially, if communities agree, then the Government is minded to make a direct award to an in-house provider in respect of ferry services.

Railway services operate in a different legal context – a specific, largely reserved legal framework, primarily governed by the Railways Act 1993. In 2016, the 1993 Act was amended to lift the prohibition on public sector bodies bidding for rail franchises in Scotland. The Scottish Government has initiated work with relevant stakeholders to consider the potential suitability of various parts of the public sector to bid for a rail franchise. Any such bid would be subject to relevant public procurement requirements and would be in competition with any private sector bids that came forward. The Scottish Ministers, as franchising authority, would evaluate all such bids fairly and properly, in accordance with those requirements. On railway infrastructure, I continue to press the UK Government to provide greater operational devolution of Network Rail functions to Scotland to ensure that our rail industry is better placed to deliver the best possible outcomes for passengers.