Richard Baker

3 Dec 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many students aged (a) 16 to 19 and (b) 20 to 25 were enrolled in colleges in (i) Aberdeen and (ii) Aberdeenshire in each of the last five years.

Answer · Michael Russell: The latest data on students in colleges in Scotland is Scottish Funding Council data for 2010-11. Students (FTEs) enrolled in colleges in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire by age Colleges Age 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 Aberdeen College …

26 Nov 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the energy academy will begin its work.

26 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the cost of completion of each of the elements of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route.

Answer · Keith Brown: The estimated total cost of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route can be broken down into £245 million for the Northern Leg, £303 million for the Southern Leg and £105 million for the Fastlink section at 2012 prices and excluding VAT.

26 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it calculated the updated estimated cost of £693 million for the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route.

Answer · Keith Brown: The estimated total cost of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route is £653 million at 2012 prices. The breakdown of how this figure is made up is contained within the answer to question S4W-10756 on 7 November 2012. All answers to written parliamentary questi…

26 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the outline business case for the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route.

Answer · Keith Brown: As a result of the preparatory work already progressed, two days after the Supreme Court Judgement was handed down a Prior Information Notice was published signalling to the market that we will be seeking expressions of interest from contracting parties early…

26 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the procurement process was for the (a) dualling of and (b) awarding of contracts for the A90 Balmedie to Tipperty.

Answer · Keith Brown: The A90 Balmedie to Tipperty scheme will be taken forward in a non-profit distributing model form of contract alongside the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR). The agreed indicative timetable for the combined project is:-: 19 October 2012 – Prior info…

26 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the timetable is for the dualling of the A90 Balmedie to Tipperty.

Answer · Keith Brown: The A90 Balmedie to Tipperty scheme will be taken forward in a Non-Profit Distributing Model form of contract alongside the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWRP). The agreed indicative timetable for the combined project is:-: 19 October 2012 – prior info…

12 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the average travel time for commuting in Aberdeen in each year since 2007.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government does not annually assess data on average travel times for commuting in Aberdeen. The statistical bulletin Scottish Household Survey: Travel Diary 2009-10 summarises a range of transport statistics at a national level, including journey…

12 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of traffic congestion in Aberdeen in each year since 2007.

Answer · Keith Brown: Transport Scotland collects information on traffic flows across the trunk road and motorway network and this is held in the Scottish Roads Traffic Database and is available on the Transport Scotland website: http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/road/traffic-co…

12 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding has been provided to colleges in (a) Aberdeen and (b) Aberdeenshire in each of the last five years.

Answer · Michael Russell: Decisions on the allocation of funding to individual colleges are the responsibility of the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council. I have asked the chief executive of the Funding Council to write to the Member.

9 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of bus fares in (a) Aberdeen and (b) Aberdeenshire since 2007.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government is not involved in the setting of fares for local bus services and fare information is not held centrally. Statistics on fare trends nationally are published (Bus and Coach Statistics) but they are not broken down by local authority ar…

9 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much in pence per mile the bus fares have been in (a) Aberdeen and (b) Aberdeenshire in each of the last five years.

Answer · Keith Brown: Statistics on bus fare trends nationally are published (Bus and Coach Statistics) but they are not broken down by local authority area and the Scottish Government has not carried out an assessment of fares in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.

9 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent on Aberdeen roads in each of the last five years.

Answer · Keith Brown: The following table shows the gross revenue expenditure by Aberdeen City Council on roads for the last five available years. 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 £m £m £m £m £m Aberdeen City 20.742 21.424 21.745 22.070 21.449 Source: L…

5 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Aberdeen and Banff and Buchan colleges regarding the possible merger and subsequent creation of a regional college.

Answer · Michael Russell: The Scottish Government has had no discussions with either college on possible merger. We do however keep in close touch with the many discussions currently taking place between the Scottish Funding Council and colleges throughout Scotland who are exploring r…

5 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making on clarifying the law relating to letting fees.

Answer · Margaret Burgess: The Private Rented Housing (Scotland) Act 2011 (Commencement Order No.4) Order 2012 and the Rent (Scotland) Act 1984 (Premiums) Regulations 2012 were laid before Parliament on 2 October 2012. The Commencement Order brings section 32 of the Private Rented Hou…

5 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support has been given to homeowners to install solar panels in (a) Aberdeen and (b) Aberdeenshire in each of the last five years.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Over the last 5 years, the Scottish Government has sponsored the Energy Saving Trust Scotland (EST) to deliver a number of programmes to support domestic microgeneration, including managing the Energy Saving Scotland advice centre (ESSac) networks. SCARF run …

31 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-10615 by Keith Brown on 29 October 2012, whether it will provide a breakdown of what led to the increased costs of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route project.

Answer · Keith Brown: As detailed in the answer S4W-10615, the revised costs of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route following scope changes, the inclusion of standard risk costs and rebasing to 2012 prices totals £653 million. Cost increases due to inflation total £230 million.…

31 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what costs it incurred as a result of the public local inquiry on the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route project and what information it has on the costs incurred by other parties.

Answer · Keith Brown: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-26029 on 13 August 2009. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentary…

26 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to direct NHS boards to establish local centres to diagnose and treat patients with foetal alcohol spectrum disorder.

Answer · Michael Matheson: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-10626 on 8 November 2012. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Def…

26 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that patients with foetal alcohol spectrum disorder can be diagnosed locally rather than have to travel to Surrey to be diagnosed.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government recognises that diagnosis of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) can be complex and difficult, especially as children grow older and become adults. As part of the paediatric surveillance programme currently underway, all paediatric…

26 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that each NHS board has adequate funding to support a consultant post specialising in foetal alcohol spectrum disorder.

Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Government is taking forward work on FASD (Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder) in a phased way. This approach is being taken in order that we are able to understand the scale of the problem in Scotland and to ensure that appropriate services will b…

26 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address any gaps in the medical profession's awareness, knowledge and understanding of foetal alcohol spectrum disorder.

Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Government recognises that there are gaps in the knowledge and awareness of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) amongst health professionals in Scotland. We are addressing this situation by taking forward work on FASD in a phased way. This ap…

22 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many homes were considered to be in fuel poverty in (a) Aberdeen and (b) Aberdeenshire in each of the last five years.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Local authority level fuel poverty analysis is performed on three years of data to include enough cases to be statistically significant. As such fuel poverty figures are not available for each calendar year. These figures represent the mid point of the data c…

22 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to tackle fuel poverty in (a) Aberdeen and (b) Aberdeenshire.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Energy Assistance Package (EAP), Universal Home Insulation Scheme (UHIS) and Boiler Scrappage Scheme (BSS) are currently available in Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire to reduce fuel poverty by assisting households to increase their energy efficiency and re…

22 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many boilers have been replaced each year under the boiler scrappage scheme and how many it expects to be replaced in each of the next four years.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Boiler Scrappage Scheme was launched in 2010. Figures for actual and expected installations are in the following table: Number of Boilers Replaced Under the Boiler Scrappage Scheme Financial Year Notes 2010-11 7,044 Actual 2011-12 12,078 Es…

22 Oct 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth has had with the Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure and Capital Investment to ensure that the 2012-13 budget for housing supports its ambition for new affordable and socially rented homes.

17 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish details of the procurement process for the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route and award contracts in relation to this.

Answer · Keith Brown: A Prior Information Notice was published on 19 October 2012 which signalled the start of the procurement process. As published on Transport Scotland’s Website, the indicative timetable in relation to the procurement process is: Early 2013 - Hold industry da…

17 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when work on improvements to the Haudagain roundabout will (a) commence and (b) be completed.

Answer · Keith Brown: The commitment to start improvements to Haudagain following completion of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route remains firmly in place. The Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route is due to be completed in Spring 2018 and the current estimated construction duratio…

17 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the timetable for the construction of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route.

Answer · Keith Brown: An indicative timetable for construction of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route was published on Transport Scotland’s website on 17 October 2012. Further details are available at: http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/news/AWPR-decision-just-ruling.

17 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when construction on the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route will (a) commence and (b) be completed.

Answer · Keith Brown: An indicative timetable for construction of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route was published on Transport Scotland’s website on 17 October 2012. This timetable indicates construction commencing in Autumn 2014 with construction completion in Spring 2018. Fu…