Questions · Alison McInnes

22 Jan 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated costs are for the A90 Balmedie-Tipperty dual carriageway.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The current cost estimate for the scheme is in the region of £51 to £64 million, exclusive of VAT.

22 Jan 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated start date is for work on the A90 Balmedie-Tipperty dual carriageway.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: Draft Road Orders for this Scheme were published on 1 November 2007, with the Draft Compulsory Purchase Order following on 10 July 2008. A number of statutory and non-statutory objections were received and whilst Transport Scotland and their agents have worke…

22 Jan 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated cost breakdowns are for improvements to the A96 at the (a) Inveramsay Bridge and (b) Haudagain roundabout.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-20136 on 5 February 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps…

22 Jan 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated costs are for land purchases that will be required for the improvements to the A96 at the Inveramsay Bridge.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-20136 on 5 February 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps…

22 Jan 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what preparatory work has been commissioned for improvement works on the A96 at the (a) Inveramsay Bridge and (b) Haudagain roundabout.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-20136 on 5 February 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps…

22 Jan 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated costs are for improvements to the A96 at the (a) Inveramsay Bridge and (b) Haudagain roundabout.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-20136 on 5 February 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps…

22 Jan 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated completion date is for improvements to the A96 at the (a) Inveramsay Bridge and (b) Haudagain roundabout.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The Inveramsay Bridge was recognised in the Strategic Transport Projects Review and will be taken into account when a programme of improvements to the A96 is developed. The Inveramsay Bridge is the responsibility of Network Rail; however a safety barrier is t…

22 Jan 2009 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to ensure that the Rural Aberdeenshire LEADER programme is properly resourced.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: This PQ was answered in the Chamber. The answer can be viewed in the Official Report using the following link: <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-09/sor0122-01.htm">http://www.scottish.pa…

16 Jan 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it would cost to adapt the hard shoulder of the Forth Replacement Crossing into multi-modal capacity after the bridge has been constructed.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The hard shoulder which forms part of the current proposals for the replacement crossing will have built in the capability of carrying multimodal public transport should there be some future reason why this cannot be accommodated on the existing Forth road br…

16 Jan 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it would cost to build a multi-modal element into the Forth Replacement Crossing during construction.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The additional cost of the third corridor to accommodate multimodal traffic, which was part of the original proposal announced in December 2007, were put at between £450 million and £580 million in 2016 outturn prices.

16 Jan 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give details of how the Scottish Futures Trust will be actively engaged with Transport Scotland and its advisers on all its major road and rail projects, including the Forth Replacement Crossing, as indicated by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth duri…

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) is already actively engaged with Transport Scotland as sponsors of a number of major projects including the Forth replacement crossing. The SFT will continue to provide expert advice to Transport Scotland, as it does to other …

16 Jan 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-18821 by Stewart Stevenson on 14 January 2009, whether the reduction in the cost estimate for the Forth Replacement Crossing is wholly attributable to the reduced width of the bridge, the use of ITS and more refined estimating in light of further det…

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The new proposals come within an outturn price range of £1.7 billion to £2.3 billion, an average saving of around £1.7 billion on the previous estimate of £3.2 billion to £4.2 billion. This has come principally from: 1. the reduced cost for…

16 Jan 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what evidence exists to show that the reduction in the cost estimate for the Forth Replacement Crossing is due to its choice of funding mechanism, as indicated by the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change during the Forth Crossing debate on 15 January 2009 (Official Re…

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The value for money of a range of funding and procurement options was tested by Transport Scotland and their consultants using the prevailing view of the cost of finance in autumn 2008. Both a design and build contract with conventional funding and a PPP/NPD …

16 Jan 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of the reduction in the cost estimate for the Forth Replacement Crossing is due to its choice of funding mechanism.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The quoted range of outturn prices for the project represents the estimate of the cost for the delivery of the project by the most efficient procurement means. The choice of procurement options other than a publicly funded design and build contract would incr…

16 Jan 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has changed its plans for contracting the design, preparation and construction of the Forth Replacement Crossing and, if so, for what reasons.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: I announced our plans for contracting the construction of the Forth Replacement Crossing on 10 December 2008 and these plans have not changed.

16 Jan 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has commissioned a tender for the design and preparation of the construction operation for the Forth Replacement Crossing and whether this tender will be separate from the construction contract, as indicated by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth to the Tra…

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: Yes. A Contract for the Multi-Disciplinary Management Consultancy Commission for the design and preparation of the Forth replacement crossing was awarded in January 2008. This is separate from the construction contract which has yet to be procured.</…

16 Jan 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it took to explore the use of European funds in relation to the funding of the Forth Replacement Crossing and for what reasons this was not successful, as indicated by the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change on 15 January 2009 (Official Report c. 14133).

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: Transport Scotland secured the submission of an application for Trans-European Network (TEN-T) funding by the Department for Transport (DfT) as one of the two applications that they made for UK projects in 2008. The application was for support for the feasibi…

16 Jan 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the European Commission regarding funding for the Forth Replacement Crossing.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: Transport Scotland secured its submission of an application for funding under the Trans-European Network (TEN-T) scheme by the Department of Transport in June 2008. The Department for Transport have responsibility in the UK for TEN-T funding applicat…

19 Dec 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will report to the Parliament with draft proposals for reinvesting the £73.1 million accrued through the ScotRail franchise extension.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The ScotRail franchise extension secured £73.1 million for reinvestment in the railways through a number of Priced Options as outlined in the franchise amendment agreement. A consultation exercise into how best the Priced Options can be implemented h…