Seòmar agus comataidhean

If the Clyde and Hebrides ferry services were not tendered and the European Court of Justice were subsequently to find that such an action was in breach of EU rules the consequences could be severe. In particular, following on from sucha ruling, the Commission could order the immediate cessation of subsidy to Caledonian MacBrayne and that the Executive recover from Caledonian MacBrayne all subsidy that had been declared to be illegal state aid.

I understand that all member states with lifeline ferry services have either tendered them, are in the process of doing so or are in discussion with the Commission about how to bring those services into line with EU rules.

In relation to Public Service Obligations the Commission investigated, in 1998, aid given to the Spanish state owned ferry company Trasmediterranea (Trasmed). When the Commission began the investigation it required the Spanish authorities to suspend payment of state aid to Trasmed until the Commission’s examination of the case had been concluded. The case took three years to complete at which time the Commission found that the tender process had been flawed and breached the non-discrimination principle. Following the investigation, Spain was obliged by the Commission to terminate the existing contract with Trasmed, to suspend any payment of aid and to comply with the Cabotage Regulation in respectof any successor contract. The Commission also required that any subsequent contract enter into force “only after adequate time and publicity have been given to allow all Community shipping companies a fair opportunity to prepare their bids”.

There were 66.1 million rail passenger journeys originating in Scotland, and 449 million passenger journeys (boardings) on local bus services in Scotland, in 2003-04.

The equivalent figures for earlier years appear in table 8.1 (rail) and table 2.2 (bus) of Scottish Transport Statistics no. 23, 2004 edition, copies of which are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 33706).

The information held by the Executive on passenger numbers relates to passenger journeys. The total numbers of journeys made by train and bus passengers (which count each person once for each journey made as a passenger) are given in my answer to question S2W-13395 answered on 27 January 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliaments website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

The Scottish Household Survey provides some information about adults' use of train services, and local bus services, in the previous month. This is given in table 10 of Household Transport in 2003: some Scottish Household Survey results, copies of which are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 34410).

The funding allocated to the Transport Portfolio was published in the Draft Budget 2005-06, a copy of which is available in the Parliaments Reference centre (Bib. number 34133)

The level of funding that has been allocated to be spent on trunk road repairs and maintenance, which includes structural maintenance, in the next three financial years is as follows:

Financial Year	Funding Level (£ Million)
2005-06	97
2006-07	118
2007-08	118

 

The information requested is not held centrally.

Based on the current proposals, the estimated cost of the Glasgow Airport Rail Link is £140 million. Strathclyde Passenger Transport’s consultation gives two options for the St James Spur: building the line either on a viaduct or an embankment. A comparative cost estimate has been made between the two, giving indicative costs of £11,000 and £9,500 per linear metre respectively. For robustness, the estimated total figure of £140 million assumes that the viaduct - the more expensive option - will be implemented. However, no decision has been made about the preferred spur option at this stage, reflecting on-going public consultation and consideration of a number of issues, such as severance of playing fields and the visual impact of the scheme.

Hospitals in rural areas, including district general hospitals and community hospitals, make an important contribution to the well-being of populations in these areas. Maintaining high quality services in rural hospitals provides a number of challenges to NHS boards, who are responsible for planning sustainable services for the whole population of their area. Many boards are looking at strengthening linkages between rural hospitals and hospitals in larger population centres. The Executive has commissioned Professor David Kerr to undertake a review of NHS services, including how best to provide services in rural areas. The result of Professor Kerr’s work is expected in late spring.

Clearly the recruitment, retention and training of clinical staff is vital to the provision of safe and sustainable services. Several initiatives are under way. These include:

· the establishment of a chair of remote and rural medicine in Stornoway, jointly between Western Isles NHS Board and the University of the Highlands and Islands;

• fellowships in remote and rural general practice;
• an intercollegiate group of the Scottish Medical Royal Colleges is developing plans for specific training programmes in remote and rural medicine, and

a short-life working group is currently assessing a range of retention initiatives aimed at all categories of staff.

Yes.

The Executive has regular discussions with the UK Government on a wide range of issues. The requirements for 3G coverage were set in the conditions of the licences auctioned in April 2000 and now administered by the UK-wide regulator, OFCOM. Each 3G operator must be capable of offering a service to cover 80% of the UK population by the end of 2007. Provision beyond this figure is a commercial decision for operators.

The table below gives information provided by police forces for the number of police officers redeployed from court duties. Information on the number of officers freed up from escorting has not been quantified by the police but it is estimated to run to some 100 officers. Also the next phase, implementation of non-core tasks such as inter-force and UK custody transfers, which is scheduled to commence this month, will result in further officers being released.

Number of Officers Redeployed from Court Duties

Central Scotland	14
Dumfries and Galloway	6
Fife	4
Grampian	3
Lothian and Borders	35
Northern	1
Strathclyde	134
Tayside	12
Scotland	209