- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 15 March 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 23 March 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide financial assistance to the Highland Council to progress work in relation to the proposed Inverness trunk link route and, if so, what the amount will be of such assistance and for what purpose and in which financial years it will be provided.
Answer
Highland Council is currently taking forward the Inverness SouthConnectivity Study which is a Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidelines appraisalof the transport options for transport connectivity in the transport system aroundthe south of Inverness. An official fromTransport Scotland is on the working group to represent trunk road interestsin relation to the connections between the Inverness Southern Distributor Road andthe existing trunk road network.
Once the work on the optionsis completed this will be available to feed into the Strategic Transport ProjectsReview which is on-going and is due for completion in the summer 2008.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 15 March 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 23 March 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether Transport Scotland has published all relevant information that it possesses in respect of factors about which it has been made aware that make it likely that costs of strategic transport projects will rise above the stated estimates and, if not, whether it will publish such information, or require Transport Scotland to do so, prior to May 2007.
Answer
I refer the member to the answerto question S2W-32425 on 23 March 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions areavailable on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can befound at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 15 March 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 23 March 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the costs of any planned strategic transport projects are set to rise, or considered likely to rise, over the stated estimates and, if so, whether it will provide full details of any such rises.
Answer
The estimated costs of eachof the planned strategic transport projects are provided in the reply to the answer to question S2W-29718 on 23 March 2007, which is available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility forwhich can be found at:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.These are our latest best estimates based on the variousrisks currently identified for each of these projects. The final costs will notbe known until tenders have been returned and contracts completed.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 15 March 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 23 March 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive in respect of each of the projects contained in Scotland’s transport future, what the current estimate is of the total cost of each project and how much expenditure will be incurred in each year from 2006-07 to 2012-13.
Answer
I refer the member to the answerto question S2W-29718 on 23 March 2007, which provides our current best estimates for eachproject contained in Scotland’s transport future. All answers to written parliamentaryare available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can befound at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 15 March 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 23 March 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding remains undistributed from the fund earmarked for Scottish Bus Group pensioners; whether further payments will be made and, if so, when and how much, and whether payment of equal shares will be made to the widows or widowers of members of the pension scheme.
Answer
There is £158,000 remaining fromthe £126 million surplus which arose from the Scottish Transport Group pension funds.This sum has been reserved for distribution to identified eligible former pensionscheme members and claims continue to be made. There are no other funds to distributeand no further payments will be made. Widows and widowers have received 100% oftheir entitlement under the pension scheme rules and therefore will not receiveany additional payments.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 15 March 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 23 March 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of the costs of the proposed Inverness trunk link route will be met by (a) it and (b) the Highland Council and others.
Answer
Highland Council is currently taking forward the Inverness SouthConnectivity Study which is a Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidelines appraisalof the transport options for transport connectivity in the transport system aroundthe South of Inverness.
The study will be available tofeed into the Strategic Transport Projects Review that will determine the futureprogramme for transport investment.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 November 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 23 March 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what the current estimated costs are of each of the projects in its strategic transport programme.
Answer
I refer to the statement I madein Parliament on 16 March 2006 (see
Official Report, c 24049) in which Iprovided an update on progress on our capital transport plan for new rail and roadinvestment. The following table lists the estimated costs mentioned in my statementtogether with the current estimated costs for the road projects included in theplan.
| Project | Anticipated Out–Turn Forecast* (or Grant Limit Where so Noted) (£ Million) |
| Rail Projects | |
| Edinburgh Airport Rail Link | 550 - 650 |
| Glasgow Airport Rail Link | 170 - 210 |
| Airdrie - Bathgate | 300 - 375 |
| Edinburgh Tram Lines 1 & 2 | 450 - 500 Proposed grant limit |
| Edinburgh Waverley | 150 |
| Borders Rail | 155 Proposed grant limit |
| Larkhall - Milngavie | 25 |
| Stirling – Alloa - Kincardine | 65 – 70 |
| Road Projects | |
| Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route | 295 – 395 |
| Kincardine Bridge | 102 plus VAT |
| M74 Completion | 375 – 500 |
| M74 Raith | 56-61 plus VAT |
| M8 Baillieston - Newhouse | 170 – 210 plus VAT |
| M8 Associated Network Improvements | 43 – 57 plus VAT |
| M80 Stepps - Haggs | 130 – 150 plus VAT |
Note: *The anticipated costswill depend on the out-turn of the various risks associated with each of these projects,subject to limits of grants proposed for some public transport works.
I wrote to the Local Governmentand Transport Committee on 13 March 2007 to explain that the anticipated outturnforecast of the Kincardine Bridge has risen from the tender cost of £93.5millionplus VAT (as indicated in my statement on 16 March) to £102.5 million to includea number of items that do not form part of the core contract estimate such as provisionsfor grouting underground mine workings, public utilities works and engineering costs.Otherwise, the anticipated out-turn forecasts for all other projects in the programmeare the same as those quoted in my statement last March.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 08 March 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 22 March 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will respond to NHS Highland in respect of the application to close Glencoe Hospital prior to dissolution of the Parliament
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-32291 on 22March 2007. 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/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 08 March 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 22 March 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what alternative provision has been made for elderly people in south Lochaber by NHS Highland in respect of its application to close Glencoe Hospital; how many nursing care beds NHS Highland assesses will be sufficient to meet the needs of the south Lochaber area following closure of the hospital and whether it will make public the information on which this assessment was made, including any analysis of the demographic trend in numbers of elderly people until 2024, and whether the Executive considers that such analysis will meet the needs of those who are expected to provide nursing care in the future.
Answer
NHS Highland and The Highland Council have submitted a jointproposal for the future delivery of care for elderly people in the Lochaberarea to Scottish ministers.
The details of these proposals,including the number of nursing care beds needed for the future andconsideration of population changes, are operational matters for NHS Highlandand The Highland Council. In considering these proposals, ministers will needto be satisfied that they are consistent with the principles set out in Deliveringfor Health and Executive policy for planning services for older people, andthat they have been developed with the full involvement of planning partnersand are based on robust evidence and best practice. Ministers will also need tobe satisfied that the board has undertaken public consultation in line withScottish Executive guidance.
The Scottish Health Council has yet to submit a report onNHS Highlands engagement and consultation process. Once all of the informationis available then ministers will consider the matter very carefully, includingall representations received, before coming to a final decision.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 08 March 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 22 March 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it will make of the suitability of residential homes to provide nursing care in considering NHS Highland's application to close Glencoe Hospital and whether such assessment will consider the number of nursing beds that will be require to be provided and when the necessary work to adapt residential homes is likely to be completed.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-32291 on 22March 2007. All answers to written hospitals are available on the Parliament’swebsite, the search facility for which can be found at:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
