Kenny MacAskill

14 Aug 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what funding is or will be available for individuals and companies seeking to provide a tram or light rail scheme for the City of Edinburgh.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: I refer Mr MacAskill to my answer to question S1W-3450 on 7 February 2000.

14 Aug 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to ensure adequate public transport access to the Ocean Terminal development.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-9174.

14 Aug 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive to provide a breakdown of the anticipated modal forms of access to the Ocean Terminal development at Leith.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: Planning consent for the Ocean Terminal Development was given subject to conditions and to the satisfactory conclusion of an agreement under section 75 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 between City of Edinburgh Council and the applicant. T…

14 Aug 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to support and encourage tram or light rail links to the Waterfront development at Granton.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: I refer Mr MacAskill to my answer to question S1W-3450 on 7 February 2000.

14 Aug 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps have been taken to ensure adequate public transport links to the Waterfront development at Granton.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: This is a matter for the City of Edinburgh Council. The Scottish Executive is represented alongside the City of Edinburgh Council and Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothians on the Edinburgh Waterfront Monitoring Group. This group has identified traffic an…

14 Aug 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will insist on a deadline by which the City of Edinburgh Rapid Transit scheme must be operative as a condition of the payment of the public funds already committed or of any future funds to be made available.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: No. The implementation of the project is a matter for City of Edinburgh Council.

14 Aug 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the costs of the public inquiry and planning appeal into the route of the City of Edinburgh Rapid Transit scheme will be met from funding already allocated to the project or from other public funds, what the anticipated costs are of these inquiries and who will meet these costs.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: Each party to the planning appeal process is required to meet its own expenses. The Scottish Executive Inquiry Reporters Unit meets the cost of providing a Reporter and associated administration of the inquiry including advertising the inquiry arrangements an…

14 Aug 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive under what expenditure headings public funding has been made available to the City of Edinburgh Rapid Transit scheme.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: Funding for the City of Edinburgh Rapid Transit Scheme has been made available from the Transport Challenge Fund. The resources from this fund form part of the local authority non-housing capital allocation provision. The council has therefore been issued wit…

14 Aug 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has requested that the City of Edinburgh Rapid Transit scheme be implemented by a particular date, and if so, what this date was.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: The original bid by the City of Edinburgh Council to the Transport Challenge Fund envisaged that the project would be operational by 2001. Subsequently, the council requested that the Transport Challenge Fund award should be re-phased to take account of delay…

14 Aug 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what contribution is being made by First Group to the City of Edinburgh Rapid Transit scheme.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: The amount of any financial contribution by private sector partners towards the development of City of Edinburgh Rapid Transit Scheme is a matter for the City of Edinburgh Council.

14 Aug 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive on the basis of what costings and timetabling public funding has been allocated to the City of Edinburgh Rapid Transit scheme.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: The City of Edinburgh Council submitted its detailed bid for the City of Edinburgh Rapid Transit Scheme to the Transport Challenge Fund competition in June 1996. That bid contained estimated costs of and a projected timescale for development. The then Governm…

14 Aug 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the amount is of proposed future private investment in the City of Edinburgh Rapid Transit scheme.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: When the application for Transport Challenge Fund support was submitted to the Scottish Office in June 1996, the council envisaged that the private sector contribution would be £28.5 million. The precise amount of private sector investment in any contract agr…

14 Aug 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what matching funding has been sought from private investors for the City of Edinburgh Rapid Transit scheme.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: I refer Mr MacAskill to my answer to question S1W-9165.

14 Aug 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give an undertaking that no public sector jobs will be lost as a consequence of the current tendering process relating to the management and maintenance of trunk roads.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: It is not possible to give such an undertaking.

14 Aug 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its estimate is of the maximum number of public sector jobs which could be lost as a consequence of the current tendering process relating to the management and maintenance of trunk roads.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive does not have such an estimate. The numbers of workers employed on the existing contracts for at least 40% of their time which have been disclosed by the existing contractors and councils is 1,272 public sector employees and 74 private …

14 Aug 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what additional finance it will make available to local authorities in order to meet any redundancy or other associated costs in the event that any local authorities lose contracts for management and maintenance of trunk roads and the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Re…

Answer · Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive does not intend to make finance available to local authorities or private sector contractors to cover redundancy costs should they be unsuccessful in securing new contracts.

14 Aug 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it regards the current tendering process for term contracts for the management and maintenance of trunk roads as a re-tendering process and, if so, what the reasons are for regarding the process in this way.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: Most, although not all, of the work covered by the current tendering process is re-tendered.<FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=2><P>Until 1996 the majority of maintenance operations on trunk roads were managed and undertaken by local authorities. In 1995 competitions we…

14 Aug 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it has given to local authorities regarding the application of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981 to the term contracts for the management and maintenance of trunk roads which are currently being considered and whether it considers that …

Answer · Sarah Boyack: I refer Mr MacAskill to the answer given on 25 August to question S1W-8984 which explains the guidance the Scottish Executive will be giving to both local authority and private sector bidders and that account has been taken of the Cabinet Office Statement of …

11 Aug 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much increased funding will be made available for transport in Scotland under the comprehensive spending review and when will this be available.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: I refer Mr MacAskill to answer given to S1W-9019.

11 Aug 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to support improved rail access from Lanarkshire to Edinburgh.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: Under the provisions made in the UK Transport Bill, introduced on 1 December 1999, the Scottish Ministers will be able to issue directions and guidance to the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) for passenger rail services that begin and end in Scotland (effective…

11 Aug 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether current modal studies on the M8 corridor include park and ride rail facilities.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: Yes.

11 Aug 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has for park and ride railway stations on the M8.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: I refer Mr MacAskill to my answer to question S1W-5369 on 13 April.

8 Aug 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to support and promote light rail in Scotland.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: I refer Mr MacAskill to my answer to question S1W-3450 on 7 February 2000.

2 Aug 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to publish the Crown Counsel's report to the Lord Advocate on the review of the Fatal Accident Inquiry into the 1994 Chinook helicopter crash on the Mull of Kintyre and what the reasons are for its position in relation to the publication or otherwise of this report.

Answer · Colin Boyd: The advice given by Crown Counsel to the Law Officers is done so on a confidential basis. Consequently, there are no plans to publish the advice which Crown Counsel submitted to the Law Officers in connection with the Chinook helicopter crash.

2 Aug 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-5734, by Mr Jim Wallace on 24 July 2000, how many VIP and Royal visits each police force other than Lothian and Borders has dealt with since 1 July 1999 and what the anticipated number of such visits is for the forthcoming year, broken down by police…

Answer · Jim Wallace: This is a matter for individual police forces. The information requested is not held centrally, but all forces have to handle Royal/VIP visits as necessary.

2 Aug 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many liquid petroleum gas outlets are available to members of the public (a) on the M74; (b) on the A9 south of Perth; (c) in the City of Glasgow; (d) in Edinburgh; (e) in Aberdeen; (f) in the Borders; (g) in Dumfries and Galloway, and (h) on the A9 from Inverness to Perth.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: This information is not held centrally.

2 Aug 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many visitors to Scotland from abroad come in liquid petroleum gas fuelled vehicles and, if it does not hold this information, whether it proposes to carry out a study on this.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: This information is not collected. We do not propose to carry out such a study.

2 Aug 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what effect it estimates an increase in public liquid petroleum gas outlets would have on tourism in Scotland, in particular in the Highlands and Islands, and what the reasons are for its view.

Answer · Henry McLeish: No specific research has been carried out into the impact of an increase in LPG outlets on the tourism industry in Scotland. I would expect, however, that the impact would be a positive one.

2 Aug 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has for the bulk buying of liquid petroleum gas.

Answer · Jack McConnell: The Scottish Executive already uses a contract for motor vehicle fuels, including liquid petroleum gas (LPG), which ensures that fuel is bought at competitive prices. This contract was arranged as a result of collaboration with UK Government Departments.

2 Aug 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many public liquid petroleum gas outlets there are in each local authority area.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: The information is not held by the Scottish Executive. The Liquid Petroleum Gas Association website (<A HREF="http://www.lpga.co.uk/">http://www.lpga.co.uk/</A>) lists known sites of Automotive liquid petroleum gas fuelling points in the UK.