Parliamentary questions
Liam Kerr
2,176 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
16 Jun 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much Transport Scotland has raised from speed camera fines in each year since 2010.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Through targeted safety camera enforcement and improving driver behaviour, the purpose of the Scottish Safety Cameras is to contribute to Scotland’s road safety vision and road safety targets as set out in the Scottish Government’s Road Safety Framework to 20…
16 Jun 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many patients at the Mulberry Unit at Stracathro Hospital were (a) transferred to the Carseview Centre in Dundee and (b) given alternative non-medical accommodation.
Answer · Shona Robison: There were 12 patients who transferred to Mulberry Unit in February 2017. All patients admitted to inpatient psychiatric units require the degree of input to understand, assess and treat their condition that is only available as an inpatient. In-patient admis…
16 Jun 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is providing financial assistance to cover the travel costs of the families of patients who were transferred from the Mulberry Unit at Stracathro Hospital to the Carseview Centre in Dundee and, if so, what proportion of the costs it is meeting.
Answer · Shona Robison: Assistance with travel expenses relates principally to patients on benefits. Following implementation of the contingency arrangements for the Mulberry Unit currently situated in Carseview Centre, Dundee; a caveat has been put in place where families are entit…
16 Jun 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how the recruitment of clinical staff to the Carseview Centre in Dundee is progressing.
Answer · Shona Robison: NHS Tayside continues to fill all vacant Consultant posts in Mental Health with appropriately trained qualified locum Consultant staff. NHS Tayside also has an active and on-going recruitment process in place aimed at targeted opportunities to recruit Consult…
16 Jun 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government by what date the patients who were transferred to the Carseview Centre in Dundee are expected to return to the Mulberry Unit at Stracathro Hospital.
Answer · Shona Robison: A formal consultation on the future shape and provision of mental health services within the Tayside region will be launched on 3 July 2017. Whilst this is taking place, Integration Joint Boards along with NHS Tayside will continually review the temporary arr…
14 Jun 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that people from diverse backgrounds are encouraged to pursue careers in HGV driving, in light of statistics that reportedly reveal that only 1% of HGV drivers are women and an estimated 3% are from black, Asian or minority ethnic backgrounds.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The Scottish Government is committed to increasing the participation of underrepresented groups in the labour market and the haulage industry. We recently announced the Workplace Equality Fund to reduce employment inequalities and barriers to employment, part…
31 May 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Aberdeenshire Council regarding what impact the reported reduction in the local authority’s budget has had on its ability to deal with road safety issues, including the A952, Cortes Junction and the A90, between Mintlaw and Fraserburgh, on which it has be…
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Along with other north east road safety stakeholders, we regularly meet with Aberdeenshire Council and others to discuss and refresh the North East Road Casualty Reduction Strategy. At this forum, all stakeholders are focussed on casualty reduction and we com…
31 May 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action (a) it and (b) Transport Scotland is taking in light of reports that the A952, Cortes Junction and the A90, between Mintlaw and Fraserburgh, sees at least one person killed or seriously injured every two months.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The A952 is a local road and Aberdeenshire Council is responsible for the maintenance and safety of this route. As trunk road authority, we have undertaken a study of the A90 between the A90/A952 Cortes Junction and Fraserburgh and have a further investigatio…
31 May 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that the opening of the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary Major Trauma Centre has been delayed, and when it will be open to the public.
Answer · Shona Robison: There has been no delay. I refer the member to the answer that I gave to Ross Thomson, MSP's question in the chamber when we discussed my statement on trauma on 18 January. In reply to his question I said: “I laid out in my statement the initial priorities …
31 May 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the budgeted ongoing costs were for Edinburgh Gateway station, and what the actual ongoing maintenance costs have been.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The operational and maintenance costs for individual stations on the ScotRail network is commercially sensitive information.
31 May 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the projected construction costs were for Edinburgh Gateway station, and what its actual construction costs have been.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The projected construction costs for the Edinburgh Gateway Rail/Tram Interchange station were £41million. The project has yet to conclude final accounting, however, I can confirm that it will be delivered under budget.
31 May 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the projected monthly passenger use was for Edinburgh Gateway station, and what its actual use has been in each month since its opening.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The projected use for the station in the first year of its operation was in the range of 500,000 to 600,000 passengers; a projected monthly or four-weekly patronage was not advised. Railway station demand is reported in four-week periods. Since the station o…
30 May 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what (a) legislation, (b) regulations and (c) guidance there is regarding the purpose and use of mobile, police-operated camera vans; who has the authority to determine where they are located, and what consultation it has with community groups regarding their location and installation.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The legislation and regulations regarding the use of mobile speed cameras is covered by the Road Traffic Offenders’ Act 1988 (amended by the Road Traffic Act 1991). This legislation allows for the evidence from equipment that is awarded Home Office Type Appro…
30 May 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reasons mobile, police-operated camera vans are deployed; how many (a) officers and (b) civilian staff are required to operate them, and what the average hourly cost is of operating a unit.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Mobile camera vans are deployed to contribute to Scotland’s road safety vision and road safety targets as set out in the Scottish Governments Road Safety Framework to 2020 through targeted camera enforcement and improving driver behaviour. The minimum require…
30 May 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what (a) legislation, (b) regulations and (c) guidance there is regarding the purpose and use of fixed speed cameras; under what circumstances and for what reasons they are installed, and what consultation it has with community groups regarding their location and installation.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The legislation and regulations regarding the use of fixed speed cameras is covered by the Road Traffic Offenders’ Act 1988 (amended by the Road Traffic Act 1991). This legislation allows for the evidence from equipment that is awarded Home Office Type Approv…
24 May 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government where residential patients at the Mulberry Unit at Stracathro Hospital have been transferred to since it was temporarily closed in February 2017.
Answer · Maureen Watt: Since 1 February 2017, inpatient mental health services have been transferred out of the Mulberry Ward at Stracathro Hospital as part of temporary contingency arrangements which were put in place to ensure patient safety. This is resulting in inpatient servic…
24 May 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the average length of time classroom teachers remain in the profession after qualification, and what analysis it has carried of how many leave (a) before one year, (b) between one and five years and (c) after five years.
Answer · John Swinney: This information is not held centrally.
24 May 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it takes to raise classroom teachers’ esteem and morale.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government is committed to supporting teaching as a high status profession that plays a critical role in society. We are aiming to raise moral and esteem through our inspirational ‘Teaching Makes People’ recruitment campaign which aims to genera…
24 May 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many additional support needs teacher places (a) were filled and (b) remained vacant in each year since 2007, broken down by (i) local authority and (ii) parliamentary region.
Answer · John Swinney: Information on the number of additional support needs teachers which are filled (Full Time Equivalent) by local authority since 2007 is provided in the following table below: Additional Support Needs Teachers by Local Authority, 2007-2016 Full Time…
24 May 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out of the reasons given by (a) classroom and (b) additional support teachers for leaving the profession.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government does not hold information on the reasons for classroom teachers and additional support teachers have for leaving the profession. Therefore no analysis is possible of this information.
4 May 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether a procedure is in place to ensure that all planning appeal reporters are issued with specific timescales for issuing decisions.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: Planning and related appeals are decided by independent reporters from the Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals (DPEA) balancing competing interests in decision making and are subject to published targets for the issue of their decisions.
24 Apr 2017 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's position is on the accuracy of the GERS figures.
19 Apr 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of recent fatal accidents, what its position is on installing street lighting at the Toll of Birness junction on the A90.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: In the last five years, no injury accidents at the A90 Toll of Birness junction have occurred in the hours of darkness, therefore there is no evidence to suggest that street lighting would reduce the risk of accidents occurring and we have no plans to install…
10 Apr 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it took to ensure that transport (a) to, (b) from and (c) within the United States for the First Minister's recent visit was completed in the most environmentally sustainable way possible.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The First Minister visited the United States between 2 and 7 April attending events and meetings in California and New York. The visit focused on promoting trade and investment, boosting tourism, sharing best practice across the public and private sector an…
29 Mar 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5T-00479 by Keith Brown on 28 March 2017 (Official Report, c. 5), on what date the cabinet secretary was advised of the possible delay to the opening of the Queensferry Crossing; how much the delay will add to the overall cost of the project, and what …
Answer · Keith Brown: I met with the contractor, Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors, on Monday 27 March 2017 when they advised me that, due to the continued impacts of wind on the construction operations, they were unlikely to be able to achieve an opening date in May for the Quee…
23 Mar 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-07768 by Keith Brown on 23 March 2017, in what month during the winter period the route will be opened.
Answer · Keith Brown: The AWPR/B-T is currently scheduled to open to traffic in Winter 2017-18. As with all complex civil engineering contracts of this scale, delivery and completion of certain elements of work are dependent on a variety of factors project wide including weather, …
23 Mar 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of any revisions made to the original plans for the A944 South Kingswells Junction.
Answer · Keith Brown: There has been no change to the plans for the A944 South Kingswells Junction which were published in September 2007.
23 Mar 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update regarding the construction of the A944 South Kingswells Junction.
Answer · Keith Brown: The construction of the AWPR/B-T is now well underway. The project currently remains on schedule to open to traffic in Winter 2017-18.
23 Mar 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the initial estimated cost was for the A944 South Kingswells Junction, and whether it will provide a breakdown of any subsequent revisions to that estimate.
Answer · Keith Brown: Due to the Design Build Finance and Operate (DBFO) procurement model for the AWPR/B-T project, the costs associated with construction works on specific junctions cannot be disaggregated from the cumulative cost information held for the project.
23 Mar 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the comment by a Transport Scotland spokesman in The Courier on 23 March 2017 regarding the date of the opening of the Queensferry Crossing that “it is difficult to give a cast iron guarantee at this stage”, whether it will provide an update regarding what date it expects th…
Answer · Keith Brown: As the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Jobs and Fair Work announced in his statement to the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee in Parliament on 29 March 2017, the Queensferry crossing is expected to open to traffic between mid-July and the end of August.