Seòmar agus comataidhean

There are 241 laybys on the A90 trunk road (including bus stops). There are currently no plans to expand these facilities at this time.

Details are provided in the following table.

Registers of Scotland is a non-Ministerial Public Body answerable to the Scottish Parliament.

The work of the Registers of Scotland is demand led, depending on the volume of activity in the housing market. RoS is continuously working to improve its efficiency and thereby keep its running costs as low as possible. The costs of running RoS are largely covered by the fees charged for its services, and that is expected to remain the position.

Allocating spectrum and assessing appropriate levels of local content is the responsibility of Ofcom. While spectrum regulation is not a devolved matter, the Scottish Government maintains a close interest in stakeholder and audience views in relation to reception and spectrum allocation because of the wider implications for the economic, creative and cultural sectors in Scotland.

We continue to set out to Ofcom and the UK Government that maintaining and developing a radio network in Scotland that meets the specific needs for both urban and rural areas across the country, is key to ensuring audiences in Scotland are kept informed and entertained, and we will continue to do so. Our view remains that it is essential that local voices and coverage of local issues are protected and enhanced, and that the regulatory framework should allow for clear and effective regulation of the requirements.

Fundamentally, we believe that broadcasting should be devolved so that the decisions that impact audiences and the creative industries in Scotland can be determined by the Scottish public through the Scottish Parliament.

Scottish Government marketing and advertising spend is published each year and can be found at https://www.gov.scot/collections/marketing-spend/ including a breakdown by media type, portfolio and individual campaign, including public health campaigns.

I have asked Alison Byrne OBE, Chief Executive of National Records of Scotland (NRS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

Access to NRS Services is set out in our Public Access Policy - National Records of Scotland (NRS) .

For the range of services delivered by NRS, assessments including the EQIA, Island Communities Impact Assessment and Digital Scotland Service Standard Assessment are undertaken at the point of service change and improvement to help improve accessibility for citizens across all communities.

The Scottish Government does not provide guidance to local authorities specifically about support for community radio stations. We are however clear that community radio is a valuable resource across many communities in Scotland and we will persist in championing the continuation and strengthening of these vital services for Scottish listeners through our engagement with relevant stakeholders, including the UK Government and the regulator Ofcom.

The theft of railway materials is an important issue. It is for the police to enforce criminal laws such as theft and the Scottish Government fully supports the police taking the necessary action to hold perpetrators to account.

In terms of the resale of stolen railway materials, attempts may be made to sell these to metal dealers.

There is a licensing scheme for metal dealers and itinerant metal dealers under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (“the 1982 Act”). The Scottish Government has taken action to raise standards within the industry, and make it more difficult for metal thieves to convert the proceeds of crime into cash. These changes were made via the Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2015 (“the 2015 Act”), which amended the 1982 Act, strengthening and modernising the existing regime.

The 2015 Act provided new definitions for metal dealer and itinerant metal dealer, thereby extending the scope of the regime. It tightened record keeping arrangements and required proper identification of customers. It also increased penalties for licensing offences.

In more detail, the 2015 Act raised the penalties for failure to have an appropriate metal dealer or itinerant metal dealer licence, or failure to comply with licence conditions. The maximum penalty on summary conviction for operating without a licence without reasonable excuse, or for operating in breach of a condition of a licence, was increased to a fine not exceeding £20,000 and/or imprisonment of no longer than six months. The 2015 Act also amended the 1982 Act to provide for forms of payment that may be accepted by a metal dealer or itinerant metal dealer. This permits payment by bank transfer or cheque and means cash is not an acceptable method of payment.

Registers of Scotland is a non-Ministerial Public Body answerable to the Scottish Parliament.

RoS is predominantly funded by the fees which it charges for the services it provides. In FY 23-24 RoS’s income from fees was £94.6m.

Beyond that RoS are currently allocated a capital (CDEL) budget each year, a budget to cover non-cash costs such as depreciation (RDEL) and a budget to cover forecast movements in accounting provisions (AME).

During 23-24 these three budget lines totalled £11.2m, which is 10.7% of RoS’s total expenditure of £104.8m.

The Scottish Government contracts experienced media planning and buying agencies to create media strategies and to buy media schedules. The media agency will recommend the best combination of media channels based on the aims of the campaign, allocated budget and audience. The media agency will take into account the following factors: