Seòmar agus comataidhean

I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-33099 on 22 January 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

There is a total of 2,297 street lights on the A90 broken down by local authority area as follows:

Aberdeenshire Council - 637

Aberdeen City Council - 154

Angus Council - 405

Dundee City Council - 474

Edinburgh City Council - 411

Fife Council - 41

Perth & Kinross Council - 175

Justice of the peace courts deal with less serious summary crimes such as speeding, careless driving and breach of the peace. Being a Justice of the Peace is a voluntary role that is filled by lay people from within the local community who receive training in criminal law and procedure. They are assisted by lawyers who can provide advice on the law and procedure.

These courts help improve the overall efficiency of the justice system as they reduce the number of cases that need to be considered at Summary Sheriff level (the next most senior court). Justice of the Peace cases are also less expensive to run than Summary Sheriff cases saving public money which can be spent elsewhere in the justice system. Additionally, by hearing less serious criminal cases in a Justice of the Peace Court this helps prevent backlogs in the Sheriff courts.

Our contractors have upgraded or replaced 227 street lights on the A90 trunk road over the last five years.

All major transport projects are appraised and evaluated in line with the Scottish Public Finance Manual and Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) which are consistent with HM Treasury Green Book guidance. The Green Book (Section 6.1) generally discourages the calculation of macroeconomic impacts (employment and GDP) and it is generally not possible to evaluate the macroeconomic impact of specific transport projects separately from general changes in the economy.

To inform funding decisions, all projects supported by Transport Scotland are required to follow our standard Business Case process, including the Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG). Identified options for Transport Scotland investment are assessed against national and relevant regional economic development strategies to ensure alignment. Options are also assessed against Transport Planning Objectives (TPOs) and the standard STAG criteria. The standard STAG criteria include Economy as well as Climate Change, Environment, Health, Safety and Wellbeing and Equality and Accessibility.

Incidents relating to unexploded ordnance are Police operational matters. Unless unexploded ordnance causes a civil contingencies emergency in Scotland that requires co-ordination on a national level, such incidents are not handled through any Scottish or UK Government mechanisms. In the highly unlikely event of this threshold being met, the Scottish Government Resilience Room (SGORR) would activate to co-ordinate the Scottish Government’s response to the incident, including by liaising closely with the Ministry of Defence and any other relevant UK Government departments.

The disposal of unexploded ordnance is an operational matter for Police Scotland.

Unless unexploded ordnance causes a civil contingencies emergency in Scotland that requires co-ordination on a national level, such incidents are not handled through any Scottish or UK Government mechanisms. Consequently, discussions have not taken place with SEPA, the Ministry of Defence or other stakeholders on this matter. In the highly unlikely event of this threshold being met, the Scottish Government Resilience Room (SGORR) would activate to co-ordinate the Scottish Government’s response to the incident, including by liaising closely with the Ministry of Defence and any other relevant stakeholders.

I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-33028 on 22 January 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Spectrum allocation and management, as with all aspects of telecommunications policy, is a reserved matter and one in which the Scottish Government has no formal role.

Scottish Government has regular engagement with UK Government and Ofcom on spectrum issues, focusing in particular on how this impacts the availability of mobile and wireless services across Scotland.