Parliamentary questions
Douglas Lumsden
1,891 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
14 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-32904 by Fiona Hyslop on 14 January 2025, in light of the cabinet secretary's comment that "No full review of this [the Experimental Traffic Order (ETRO)], process has been undertaken since 2021 but officials have had a number of discussions with lo…
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: While no formal post-legislative review has yet to be undertaken, my officials have been informally monitoring the use of Experimental Traffic Regulation Orders (ETROs) by local authorities. Given the initial low uptake of ETROs following the legislative chan…
14 Jan 2025 · SPCB Written Question
To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether any MSP spouses who work for MSPs in an unpaid capacity and have a Parliament IT account would be bound by the Scottish Parliament’s acceptable use of IT policy.
Answer · Claire Baker (on behalf of the SPCB): The current Acceptable Use of IT Policy does not explicitly apply to Members and their staff, though all Parliament IT account holders are bound by the SPCB's Use of Resources Policy which states that resources, including IT resources, are provided to support…
14 Jan 2025 · SPCB Written Question
To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether any MSP spouses who work for MSPs in an unpaid capacity and have a Parliament IT account would be required to complete General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) training.
Answer · Claire Baker (on behalf of the SPCB): The SPCB strongly advises that all Members and their staff, whether paid orvoluntary, complete GDPR training. Each Member, as the data controller, isultimately responsible for their staff's compliance with UK GDPR and the SPCBprovide a variety of resources to…
9 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many complaints it has received regarding the condition of the A90 in each of the last five years, and what actions were taken as a result.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: There have been no official complaints logged regarding the overall condition of the A90 in the last five years. However, there has been a total of 171 individual complaints with resulting reports:Financial YearNumber of ComplaintsAction Taken2019-2037Cat 1 /…
9 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many new safety measures, such as barriers or signage, have been introduced on the A90 in each of the last five years.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: 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. A…
9 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what studies have been conducted over the last five years to assess the environmental impact of the A90’s maintenance and usage.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: There have been no specific studies undertaken over the last five years to access the environmental impact of the A90’s maintenance and usage. As part of the network management contract obligations, the Operating Companies that manage the Trunk Road Net…
9 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many junctions or road connections have been added to the A90 over the last five years.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: No new junctions or connections have been added on the A90 trunk road or within the Aberdeen Western Periphery / Balmedie to Tipperty boundary in the last five years.
9 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many road surface repairs have been conducted on the A90 in each of the last five years, broken down by location.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Over the last 5 full financial years there has been the following number of surface repairs on the A90 trunk road:Financial YearNo. of Road Surface Repairs2019-204232020-216742021-226072022-236932023-24847For location details please see information which has …
9 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how traffic volume on the A90 has changed over the last five years, and what impact this has had on the road’s condition.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: As carriageways are designed for a specific period (a ‘design life’) based on the predicted numbers of vehicles passing over that section over a specific number of years, increased traffic volumes (particularly commercial vehicles) can accelerate …
9 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many bridges and overpasses are located along the A90, and what the current condition is of these structures.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: There is a total of 140 overbridges and overpasses (including footbridges on the A90 trunk road and within the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Road / Balmeddie to Tipperty Project boundary. All are in an acceptable condition. They are subjected to regular inspect…
9 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to upgrade or replace sections of the A90 to meet modern road infrastructure standards.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government published the second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2) in December 2022. STPR2 prioritises maintaining and safely operating existing assets over targeted infrastructure improvements. STPR2 did not recommend any major upgrades…
9 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many lay-bys and rest areas are located along the A90, and what plans there are to expand these facilities.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: There are 241 laybys on the A90 trunk road (including bus stops). There are currently no plans to expand these facilities at this time.
9 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how the condition of the A90 has changed over the last five years, based on its annual assessments.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: 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-committ…
9 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how often the condition of the A90 is assessed for maintenance purposes, and what criteria are used to determine necessary repairs.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Our Operating Companies are required to carry out a range of inspections and surveys to assess the condition and performance of the trunk road network. For example, safety inspections are completed at 7-day intervals. These are primarily to identify defects t…
9 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what improvements have been made to lay-bys and rest areas on the A90 in the last five years.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The following improvements have been made to laybys adjacent to the A90 carriageway to improve the trunk road network in the last five years:2020-21A90 Glamis SB Layby 0309 – Concrete Plinth for HGVSA90 South Tarbrax SB Layby 0309 Concrete Plinth for HG…
9 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many signs are located along the A90, and what proportion meet current standards for visibility and effectiveness.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: There are a total 4,552 road traffic signs on the A90 trunk road network. Of these, a total of 185 signs do not meet the current standards for visibility and effectiveness and are on a works programme for future replacement. Where regulatory signage and warni…
9 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it monitors and evaluates the road surface quality of the A90, and what the findings have been for each stretch of the road in each of the last five years.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Transport Scotland conducts machine-based surveys using specialist vehicles each year to gather information on the surface integrity of the road; the friction characteristics of the surface; and the structural capacity (strength) of the underlying road constr…
9 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent on maintenance and upgrades of the A90 in each of the last five years.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Over the last 5 financial years the following has been spent on the maintenance and improvement of the A90 trunk road.2019-202020-212021-222022-232023-24£12,486,316£20,673,965£23,045,53822,484,864£21,571,032The above figures exclude ex…
9 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the current average road quality rating is for the A90, and how this compares with other major roads in Scotland.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Transport Scotland conducts machine-based surveys using specialist vehicles each year to gather information on the surface integrity of the road; the friction characteristics of the surface; and the structural capacity (strength) of the underlying road constr…
9 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has conducted on the impact of severe weather on the condition of the A90, and what measures are in place to address weather-related damage.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Transport Scotland’s Approach to Climate Change and Resilience (ACCAR) was published in August 2023 setting out a strategic framework to secure a well-adapted future for Scotland’s transport system. It includes an ambitious Vision for “A tra…
9 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of the A90 is illuminated by street lighting, and whether there are plans to extend coverage.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: There are 38.25 miles of street lighting over 150.1 miles of the A90 trunk road and the junctions of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route. There are currently no plans to extend this coverage.
9 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many street lamps along the A90 have been replaced or upgraded in the last five years.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Our contractors have upgraded or replaced 227 street lights on the A90 trunk road over the last five years.
9 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that the maintenance of the A90 is conducted in a way that minimises disruption to road users.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Our Operating Companies are required to undertake a series of activities aimed at improving journey time reliability by minimising the risk of disruption to the operation of the trunk road network.To minimise disruption, we programme work to take place during…
9 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many street lamps are installed along each stretch of the A90, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: There is a total of 2,297 street lights on the A90 broken down by local authority area as follows:Aberdeenshire Council - 637Aberdeen City Council - 154Angus Council - 405Dundee City Council - 474Edinburgh City Council - 411Fife Council - 41Perth & Kinros…
9 Jan 2025 · Written Question
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 · Fiona Hyslop: 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…
9 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what measures are in place to ensure that the drainage systems along the A90 are functioning effectively.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: 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 routi…
9 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the average cost has been for maintenance per mile of the A90 over the last five years, and how this compares with other trunk roads.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-33187 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-committe…
9 Jan 2025 · Written Question
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.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: 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.YearTotal2019552020402021…
9 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it monitors and manages the environmental impact of maintenance and upgrade works on the A90.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: All potential schemes and projects on the trunk road network, including those intended for the A90 trunk road, are screened for environmental effects by environmental specialists. A record of the assessment is prepared which includes the mitigations to be imp…
9 Jan 2025 · Written Question
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.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-33160 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-an…