Kenny MacAskill

27 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) (i) reports and (ii) proceedings taken by procurators fiscal and (b) convictions there have been in each of the last three years under section 56(1) of the British Transport Commission Act 1949 as amended.

Answer · Elish Angiolini: This information is not held centrally at present, but action is currently being taken to improve how this type of information is recorded. It is hoped that it should be possible to complete the improvements to our record keeping systems within the next few m…

27 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) (i) reports to and (ii) proceedings taken by procurators fiscal and (b) convictions there have been in each of the last three years under section 19(1) of the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995.

Answer · Elish Angiolini: This information is not held centrally at present, but action is currently being taken to improve how this type of information is recorded. It is hoped that it should be possible to complete the improvements to our record keeping systems within the next few m…

26 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans to introduce a scheme similar to the Business Insight Initiative funded by the Department of Trade and Industry and sponsored by Yorkshire Forward to provide small- and medium-si'ed businesses with free enhanced satellite broadband connection for 12 months, and…

Answer · Iain Gray: There is already a comparable one-year pilot managed by our Enterprise Networks which is currently operating across the Highlands and Islands and in three Scottish Enterprise LEC areas. The Yorkshire initiative and the Scottish scheme share the objective of a…

26 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what directions and guidance it has issued regarding any necessary repairs to the east coast main line; to whom any such directions and guidance were issued; what the optimum date is for carrying out and completing such repairs; what assessment it has made of any consequential increase in…

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The maintenance, replacement and repair of track and signalling equipment, whether routine or unscheduled, is an operational matter for Railtrack. The Scottish Executive has no direct locus or powers to intervene, but we are in regular contact with Railtrack …

26 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive who is funding current studies on upgrading and improving Edinburgh Waverley Station; in particular, what funding it has made available to the studies and what the reasons are for its position on this matter, and what the cost is of the studies.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive announced on 20 May 2002 that we would make up to £1 million available to fund development work at Waverley Station. This is to fund technical investigation work that has to be undertaken to assess site conditions. This work will help i…

26 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what (a) freight facilities grants and (b) track access grants it has provided and what track access grants the Strategic Rail Authority has provided in Scotland in each of the last three years.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Since 1999 the Scottish Executive has made 12 awards of Freight Facilities Grant (FFG) totalling almost £34 million. Over the last three complete financial years the breakdown of these awards is:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=2 WIDTH=351><TR><TD WIDT…

26 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will undertake a survey of shipping and, in particular, associated employment, traffic flows, investment, cluster effect and strategy and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive recognises the importance of shipping for the Scottish economy and welcomes the development of the shipping sector in Scotland. The Executive also maintains regular contact with the United Kingdom Government on a wide range of issues in…

26 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-28938 by Iain Gray on 16 September 2002, whether sub-postmasters or their representatives can bid for the loan guarantees strand of funding from the Phoenix Fund; what funding has been made available for assisting sub-postmasters in each of the last …

Answer · Iain Gray: The loan guarantee element of the Phoenix Fund is not available to individual businesses or social organisations. This strand is accessible only to UK based non-profit Community Development Finance Initiatives. <P>Consignia, post offices and postal services a…

26 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it plans to take to monitor and address the social and economic implications of closures of sub-post offices; whether it is aware of how many sub-post offices closed in each month in 2001; if it is not, whether it will gather and publish this information, and whether it is aw…

Answer · Allan Wilson: The Scottish Executive takes a wide range of factors into account in formulating its social and economic policies. Consignia, post offices and postal services are reserved to the UK Government.

26 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the additional funds for Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd under its spending plans for 2003-06 will be used to attract further flights by low cost carriers to Inverness Airport.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The additional funding to Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd, which was recently announced in the Spending Review settlement, will allow the company to operate 10 airports in the Highlands and Islands, and keep airport charges at a level that will encourage t…

26 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the additional funds for Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd under its spending plans for 2003-06 are dependent on any other criteria being met and, if so, whether it will detail such criteria.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: As with all publicly funded bodies, the additional funding for Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd will be dependent on the company meeting its corporate targets.

25 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will advise the Forth Estuary Transport Authority to support an initiative for fast ferry crossings between Fife and Edinburgh and what financial assistance it will provide to any such initiative.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: At their meeting on 21 June 2002 the Forth Estuary Transport Authority (FETA) considered a request from Fife Council to provide support funding to update a study into the viability of a cross-Forth ferry service. I understand that FETA agreed to provide £15,0…

25 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it has requested from the British Airports Authority (BAA) towards the cost of rail links to Edinburgh and Glasgow airports and what funding BAA has committed or pledged to date for such links.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: BAA are co-funders of the study and key stakeholders in the discussions about rail links to both Glasgow and Edinburgh airports. The consultants are currently looking in depth at funding and procurement options and will report on that before the end of the ye…

25 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it gathers and holds on shipping on an annual basis.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Statistical information on shipping is provided in chapter 10 of <I>Scottish Transport Statistics No 21, Edition 2002</I>. A copy is available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 23316.) Information is also gathered through regular liaison with …

25 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when its transport division last met Scottish Enterprise regarding rail services and on how many occasions since May 1999 any such formal meetings have taken place.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive meets with Scottish Enterprise on an as required basis to discuss railway issues.

20 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what contribution it has made to the Marine Motorway Study and what plans it has to promote the outcome of the study.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Executive has discussed with the research team the Marine Motorway Study, which is being undertaken by Heriot Watt and Napier Universities to establish the viability of freight ferry services on UK coastal routes as an alternative to long-distance road tr…

20 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what funds are available to support the Scottish Shipping Initiative and what plans it has to promote and support shipping as an employment sector as well as a mode of transport.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive, and the UK Government with its reserved responsibilities, work together to provide integrated shipping, ports and transport policies. These offer a framework for the shipping industry to develop transport opportunities and create emplo…

20 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to promote short sea shipping and what funds are available, and what its strategy is in respect of any such plans.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Shipping is one of the most environmentally sustainable means of transport available, and the Scottish Executive is keen to encourage a modal shift of freight transport away from road onto water and rail. A significant funding mechanism for encouraging such m…

20 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what advice it has issued to the Strategic Rail Authority about a high-speed, non-stop, direct, early (a) morning and (b) evening service between Edinburgh and London on the east coast main line; what the estimated journey time of such a service would be (i) currently and (ii) following u…

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: No advice has been given to the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) about such a service between Edinburgh and London, nor are there any plans to do so.<P>Journeys from Edinburgh to London currently take around four and a half hours. The SRA indicate that there is…

20 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list each railway station and provide any information it has on who owns and operates each station.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The railway station at Prestwick is owned by Prestwick International Airport. Scotland's remaining railway stations are the responsibility of Railtrack, and are either managed directly by them or leased to train operating companies.

20 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met English, Welsh and Scottish Railways and on how many occasions it has met the company since May 1999.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive meets representatives of rail industry operating companies in Scotland on a regular basis, including English, Welsh and Scottish Railways.

19 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what funding has been (a) spent on and (b) committed to reopening the Stirling/Alloa/Dunfermline link; by which organisations such funding has been spent or committed, and what the amount of funding is in each case.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: So far Clackmannanshire Council has been awarded £6.5 million from the Public Transport Fund (PTF).<P>Actual spend on the project, as with all PTF awards, is a matter for the promoting authority - in this case Clackmannanshire Council.<P>The Stirling/Alloa/Ki…

19 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive on how many days rail links have been inoperable owing to flooding in each year since 1999, broken down by railway line.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Railtrack is responsible for the running of the railway infrastructure. The information requested is not held centrally.

19 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions there have been in respect of vandalism and attacks on trains in each sheriff court in each year since 1999 and what sentences were imposed as a result of such prosecutions.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The Information requested is not held centrally.

19 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance it will provide, and to whom, in respect of the New St Andrew's House site and, in particular, whether it will give any financial assistance for the building's demolition or any construction costs.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The Scottish Office moved out of New St Andrew's House in 1995. The building was the responsibility of Property Holdings, the UK agency then responsible for government buildings. Property Advisers to the Civil Estate, the successor body to Property Holdings, …

19 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what advice, guidance or instructions it has issued regarding the interoperation of rail and bus at Edinburgh Waverley Station.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: An extensive programme of preparatory and investigative work is currently under way at Waverley Station and outputs from this are required before any detailed design work can begin. The work is addressing a wide range of issues including how best to integrate…

19 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what projects have been supported by the Strategic Rail Authority in Scotland and how much funding the authority has given to each such project in each of the last five years.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) was established in February 2001. The SRA published their Strategic Plan in January 2002, a copy of which is available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 18609). The Strategic Plan sets out the projects that t…

19 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what companies have been approached regarding the use of the proposed Stirling/Alloa/Dunfermline rail link for freight trains.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Extensive consultation with local and national companies has been undertaken over the past two years.

19 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what sections of track on the railway line from Edinburgh to Glasgow via Shotts need to be upgraded and electrified; what distance such sections cover; what the cost of such upgrading and electrification is estimated to be, and what action it plans to take in respect of this matter.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The 22 mile section of track between Midcalder Junction and Holytown on the Edinburgh Waverley to Glasgow Central (via Shotts) line is not electrified. The Scottish Executive has currently no plans to progress further electrification of the rail network in Sc…

18 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to the Department for Transport and the Driver Vehicle Licensing Agency about the impact on its responsibilities of any conjoining of the Traffic Commissioner and the Vehicle Inspectorate.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government on a wide range of issues, including those relating to the merger of the Traffic Area Network (which supports the Traffic Commissioners in the fulfilment of their statutory responsibilities) …