Chamber and committees

Gas safety, including the installation of gas fittings and the registration of gas engineers, is a reserved matter dealt with by the Health and Safety Executive.

Gas safety, including the installation of gas fittings and the registration of gas engineers, is a reserved matter dealt with by the Health and Safety Executive.

The installation of gas fittings is regulated by the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, made by the Secretary of State under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The maximum penalty on conviction on indictment for failure to comply with the regulations is two years imprisonment, an unlimited fine, or both.

The Scottish Government is taking action to improve access to British Sign Language (BSL)/English interpreting services by supporting measures to increase the number of BSL/English interpreters available across Scotland. In 2003 there were 39 registered interpreters in Scotland and there are now 60 interpreters and 10 apprentices currently registered in Scotland.

Over the period 2008-11, the Scottish Government has committed £1.5 million to support an innovative package of measures to increase the number of registered BSL/English interpreters working in Scotland and to develop a work-based route to becoming an interpreter. This will complement the already established academic route, and make becoming an interpreter more accessible. Part of this funding will also support the teaching of BSL at all levels to increase access to services either directly though BSL, or through appropriately qualified interpreters.

The Scottish Government funded Deaf Connections to conduct a time-limited online British Sign Language (BSL)/English interpreting pilot during 2007-08. The pilot was funded to test the new approach to interpreting provision and to start to explore if it could contribute to a better deployment of the limited number of interpreters available in Scotland.

Whilst the evaluation suggested that an online interpreting service can be useful in a number of situations, particularly in rural areas or when the interpreting assignment is of a short duration the service should not be seen as an alternative to the existing traditional, face-to-face service. The evaluation suggested that the deaf people who used the online interpreting service preferred it to online services delivered in English. Interpreters felt the pilot had allayed their initial professional concerns.

The pilot demonstrated that an online interpreting service can work and that technical difficulties and professional concerns can be overcome. The lessons from the pilot are helpful to policy makers and have contributed to the government''s understanding of online services for people who use BSL.

A copy of the evaluation of the pilot carried out by Deaf Connections is available on the Scottish Government website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/People/Equality/disability/remit/projects/.

The Scottish Government is interested to note the progress in multimedia technology which will benefit deaf people who use British Sign Language (BSL). A number of voluntary organisations and private companies in Scotland are testing the market by offering online BSL/English interpreting and other products. These services are at an early stage of development and while advancing technology will offer opportunities for online interpreting services to be developed, online interpreting may not be appropriate for all occasions and safeguards need to be built in to any future developments.

The timetable for Airdrie to Bathgate is currently under detailed development by First ScotRail and until such time as this is concluded we are unable to confirm individual trains which will comprise of six coaches.

The detailed development will identify the most suitable trains for 2 x 3 coach units.

(a) The original business case assumed 12,678 passenger boardings for the hours between 7 am to 7 pm.

(b) Daily passenger numbers (boarding and alighting combined) for the existing lines (Helensburgh/Drumgelloch and Bathgate to Edinburgh Waverley) are as follows:

Helensburgh/Drumgelloch 2008-09	Total Daily Passenger Count
Helensburgh Central	2,442
Cardross	618
Craigendoran	722
Dalreoch	1,221
Dumbarton Central	2,558
Dumbarton East	1,509
Dalmuir	2,497
Hyndland	3,522
Partick	5,797
Charing Cross	7,139
Glasgow Queens Street	18,077
High Street	2,255
Bellgrove	1,792
Springburn	662
Carntyne	823
Shettleston	2,143
Garrowhill	1,665
Easterhouse	1,270
Blairhill	1,690
Coatbridge Sun	1,621
Coatdyke	1,275
Airdrie	3,195
Drumgelloch	721

Note: Where a station is used on more than one route it is not possible to split out the specific data for a particular route.

Bathgate/Edinburgh Waverley 2008-09	Total Daily Passenger Count
Edinburgh Waverley	2,757
Haymarket	1,520
Edinburgh Park	803
Uphall	860
Livingston North	1,729
Bathgate	1,801

Note: Where a station is used on more than one route it is not possible to split out the specific data for a particular route.

Patronage growth for the Airdrie to Bathgate route was assumed to be 3% year-on-year when planning the procurement of rolling stock. In addition, Transport Scotland has taken account of modelling work which allows for a further 750 passengers per day at the peak times between 7 am to 9 am.

The current assumption is that class 334''s will be used between Airdrie and Helensburgh from the commencement of services in December 2010.