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: S6W-33160

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 22 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent on maintenance and upgrades of the A90 in each of the last five years.

Over the last 5 financial years the following has been spent on the maintenance and improvement of the A90 trunk road.

2019-20	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	2023-24
£12,486,316	£20,673,965	£23,045,538	22,484,864	£21,571,032

The above figures exclude expenditure on the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route / Balmedie 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.

The Scottish Government also remains committed to delivering a new grade-separated junction on the A90 at Laurencekirk as part of the package of additional investment alongside the Aberdeen City Region Deal.

Transport Scotland has been taking forward the necessary design and assessment work, and the project is currently going through the statutory authorisation process, having recently published supplementary draft Orders for formal comment.

As with all infrastructure projects, delivery of the Laurencekirk scheme can only commence when the relevant statutory authorisation powers to do so have been secured. Following completion of the statutory authorisation process we will then be in a position to set a timetable for delivery of the scheme in line with available budgets.

In terms of spend for this scheme in the last five years we record £1,807,404.64

Question reference: S6W-33106

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 22 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what mechanisms are in place to monitor and report on the economic impact of Transport Scotland-funded projects after their completion.

Evaluation is essential to the work of Transport Scotland to assess whether policies and interventions are being delivered as intended, and to help identify ways to improve them.

Transport Scotland follows published evaluation guidance for both rail and road projects. This includes frameworks for the evaluation of road and rail schemes and recommended timescales for each. These are typically at one-, three- and five-years following completion of projects. These reports and data sets are published on the Transport Scotland website and include evaluation of economic impact where relevant.

For projects out with rail and road schemes, Transport Scotland follows general evaluation guidance published by the UK Government which advises on evaluation following project completion. The evaluation approach is tailored to ensure it is proportionate to the scale of the project and will include evaluation of economic impacts where relevant. Reports and data sets from these evaluations are also published on the Transport Scotland website.

Question reference: S6W-33105

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 22 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the economic impact of Transport Scotland-funded projects in Aberdeen and the north east over the last five years.

Question reference: S6W-33108

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 22 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what projects being considered for Transport Scotland funding are expected to have the largest economic impact.

Question reference: S6W-33161

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 22 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many street lamps are installed along each stretch of the A90, broken down by local authority area.

Question reference: S6W-33117

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 22 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how the role of justices of the peace contributes to the overall efficiency of the justice system.

Justice of the peace courts deal with less serious summary crimes such as speeding, careless driving and breach of the peace. Being a Justice of the Peace is a voluntary role that is filled by lay people from within the local community who receive training in criminal law and procedure. They are assisted by lawyers who can provide advice on the law and procedure.

These courts help improve the overall efficiency of the justice system as they reduce the number of cases that need to be considered at Summary Sheriff level (the next most senior court). Justice of the Peace cases are also less expensive to run than Summary Sheriff cases saving public money which can be spent elsewhere in the justice system. Additionally, by hearing less serious criminal cases in a Justice of the Peace Court this helps prevent backlogs in the Sheriff courts.

Question reference: S6W-33177

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 22 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been allocated and spent on the A90 for maintenance and upgrades in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S6W-33171

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 22 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it collaborates with local authorities to manage and maintain the sections of the A90 that pass through their jurisdictions.

Our Operating Companies hold regular meetings with neighbouring Local Authorities to share knowledge and consult on matters that will affect the operation of each road network. For example, road works, winter maintenance, major events and instance of severe weather require a joined-up response or mutual aid. Our Operating Companies are required to consult a wide range of stakeholders to ensure the impacts of their planned works are properly managed and any negative impacts mitigated. Transport Scotland also maintains regular contact with Local Authority colleagues through a range of professional body engagements.

Question reference: S6W-33112

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 22 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it monitors the performance and effectiveness of the justice of the peace system.

Question reference: S6W-33163

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 22 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many accidents have been recorded on the A90 in each of the last five years, and how these have informed maintenance and upgrade priorities.

The following table presents the total number of accidents on the A90 for 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023. However, the information on the total number accidents for 2024 is only available up to the date stated in the following table.

Year	Total
2019	55
2020	40
2021	55
2022	44
2023	44
2024*	34
TOTAL	272

*Data Available to 8-12-24; Fatal Accidents to 31-12-24.

Source: Transport Scotland Accident Manager Database

Notes:

Statistics for Police Scotland

Date Period: 01-01-2019 – 08-12-2024

Date Extracted – 13-01-2025

Please note that the information provided is based on the current figures available. The following are potential reasons for an accident not appearing on our system.

Transport Scotland only holds accident information which is provided to us by Police Scotland.
Transport Scotland does not hold information relating to damage only accidents (i.e. not involving an injury).
The accident information Transport Scotland holds is subject to change. e.g. we receive late returns from Police Scotland, who are responsible for recording details of injury accidents.
Annual Scottish accident figures are published by Transport Scotland on a yearly basis and can be found by entering Reported Road Casualties Scotland into your search engine.
Statisticians within the Department for Transport have devised a method for adjusting the road casualty figures to ensure that they can be compared over time on a consistent basis.
Transport Scotland’s Key Reported Road Casualties and Reported Road Casualties statistics publications will present both adjusted and unadjusted figures.

Road safety is of paramount importance to the Scottish Government. The safety performance of the trunk road network is assessed on an annual basis by screening all locations where three or more personal injury accidents have occurred in a three year period. Alongside accident clusters, accident patterns and rates in the form of Route Accident Reduction Plans (RARP) are also looked at. This ensures that full consideration is given to accidents that may be spread along a corridor. Further investigations are then carried out and, where appropriate, mitigation measures are prioritised for delivery. This robust, evidence-based approach ensures that the funding available is prioritised for those locations with the potential to deliver the greatest casualty accident savings. It is essential that we use the evidence is used in this way to support the delivery of the casualty reduction targets set out in Scotland’s Road Safety Framework to 2030.

From this process the following schemes have been constructed on the A90:

In 2021, new lining was introduced on the central reservation gap at Lochlands junction by Forfar, to assist driver prioritisation.
In 2024, safety barriers and signage were upgraded between Kirriemuir Junction and the B9127 off-slip.
In 2024, road markings and studs were implemented between the B9128 junction and the St Ann's interchange. Further safety barrier and road signs improvements are programmed for delivery in 2025.

Transport Scotland’s Operating Company are currently taking forward signing, lining and safety barrier design work for the A90 section from Emmock Roundabout to A928 Petterden junction as well as for a junction improvement on the A90 at Fowlis to assist drivers in safely exiting the A90.