- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 23 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how funding for maintenance of the A90 has compared with those for other major roads in Scotland over the last five years.
Answer
Transport Scotland’s trunk road maintenance budget is not allocated on a route or part-route basis. It is distributed based upon need and prioritisation of schemes developed from regular inspections and condition surveys.
Please see below for maintenance spend for all trunk roads in the north east of Scotland over the last 5 full financial years.
Route | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 |
A9 | 20,113,845 | 30,851,626 | 28,231,767 | 28,080,478 | 30,957,836 |
A90 | 12,486,316 | 20,673,965 | 23,045,538 | 22,484,864 | 21,571,032 |
A92 | 6,087,965 | 6,793,875 | 7,187,375 | 7,424,957 | 8,649,723 |
A95 | 3,814,728 | 3,782,976 | 5,220,231 | 3,940,992 | 3,723,032 |
A96 | 5,244,010 | 7,711,004 | 13,408,285 | 11,635,776 | 14,631,896 |
A972 | 591,040 | 171,361 | 150,362 | 326,787 | 231,688 |
A977 | 162,019 | 297,687 | 590,530 | 1,164,008 | 521,511 |
M90 | 19,262,731 | 13,880,928 | 8,936,516 | 14,915,328 | 19,591,128 |
The above figures exclude expenditure on the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route / Balmeddie to Tipperty section of the A90. The contract with the DBFO Company, Aberdeen Roads Limited (ARL), requires it to fulfil the contractual obligations in respect of maintenance at ARL’s own cost. These associated costs are not shared with Transport Scotland.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 23 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what measures are in place to ensure that the drainage systems along the A90 are functioning effectively.
Answer
Transport Scotland contracts for the management, maintenance and operation of the trunk road network contain highly prescriptive requirements to keep drainage assets working and trunk road traffic moving safely. For example, the contracts contain annual routine and cyclic maintenance requirements that are designed to ensure drainage assets are working and checked for deterioration. Transport Scotland contracts also contain requirements for Operating Companies to complete weekly driven inspections of all trunk roads to identify safety critical defects. If any are identified, they are required to address the issue or make it safe within set timescales. In addition to this, Transport Scotland's Operating Companies are required to maintain Disruption Risk Management Registers to identify vulnerable locations subject to frequent disruption. Where such sites are identified, the Operating Companies are required to investigate the issue and look to deliver solutions to improve journey time reliability.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 23 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many serving justices of the peace there are, broken down by local authority area.
Answer
Justices of the Peace are appointed to sheriffdoms not local authorities. The current number of serving Justices of the Peace broken down by sheriffdom is as follows:
SHERIFFDOM | NUMBER OF JUSTICES |
GLASGOW & STRATHKELVIN | 20 |
GRAMPIAN, HIGHLAND & ISLANDS | 46 |
LOTHIAN & BORDERS | 34 |
NORTH STRATHCLYDE | 49 |
SOUTH STRATHCLYDE, DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY | 56 |
TAYSIDE, CENTRAL & FIFE | 49 |
TOTAL NUMBER OF JUSTICES | 254' |
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 23 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how the condition of the A90 has changed over the last five years, based on its annual assessments.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-33162 on 23 January 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 17 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 22 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what steps NHS Grampian has taken to improve healthcare access for rural communities.
Answer
This is a question for NHS Grampian and its planning partners. It is for local health bodies to plan and provide services that best meet the needs of their resident populations, including those that live in rural communities, consistent with clinical best practice, national policies and frameworks.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 17 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 22 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, on average, what percentage of surgeries currently performed at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary involve patients from rural areas.
Answer
The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government the member may wish to contact NHS Grampian directly for information.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 17 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 22 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many patients from rural areas have been referred to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary for treatment in each of the last five years.
Answer
The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government the member may wish to contact NHS Grampian directly for information.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 22 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to involve local communities in efforts to reduce theft from railway stations and lines.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-33028 on 22 January 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 22 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how it monitors the effectiveness of preventative measures against the theft of railway materials.
Answer
This is a matter for Network Rail working in collaboration with the British Transport Police.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 22 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has undertaken of the resource requirements for Police Scotland in responding to public safety threats, including incidents involving unexploded ordnance.
Answer
It is for the Chief Constable, working with the working with the Scottish Police Authority, to determine how to allocate resources to best respond to operational matters such as public safety threats, including incidents involving unexploded ordnance . The Scottish Government is providing record police funding of £1.55 billion this year – an increase of £92.7 million.
You may wish to write directly to Police Scotland on this matter.