- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 27 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 19 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to answer to question S2W-3452 by Nicol Stephen on 12 November 2003, what the 12 road projects referred to in the answer are, showing in each case the (a) road, (b) part of the road being upgraded and (c) total amount of spending from (i) local authorities and (ii) European structural funds.
Answer
The twelve road projects fundedfrom European Structural Funds are listed below with the associated local authoritycontributions to each project. Other local authority roads expenditure, given inthe Provisional Outturn Estimate, is managed locally.
| Road Being Upgraded | European Structural Funds Award | Local Authority Contribution | Total |
| Strategic timber transportation road network for Argyll (25.2 km of public road). | £730,820 over 5 years | £742,404 | £1,473,224 |
| Arran economic enhancement project (phase 1) road improvements. Including upgrading sections of A841 Brodick- Corrie- Lochranza and the B880 Brodick to Blackwaterfoot. | £166,000 over 1 year etc | £635,000 | £801,000 |
| A832 Achnasheen to Kinlochewe. | 710 over 2 years | 2130 | 2840 |
| A851 Broadford to Armadale (phases 3,4,5). | 1,816.6 over 5 years | 7,266.4 | 9083 |
| Gartcosh regeneration phase 2 link road and access corridor reclamation. | 1,490 | 1,200 | 2690 |
| Glasgow harbour transport Infrastructure. | 3,844.37 | 192 | 4036.37 |
| Inchinnan business park access road completion and structural landscaping. | 782.60 | 0 | 782.6 |
| Gartcosh access road. | 282.15 | 282.15 | 564.3 |
| Inchinnan access road phase 1. | 526.64 | 0 | 526.64 |
| West of Scotland Science Park road access phases 3 and 4. | 315.72 | 0 | 315.72 |
| Objective 2 South – projects including realignment of road to access Selkirk regeneration. | 90 | 0 | 90 |
| Objective 2 East – Rosyth strategic rail link access road. | 1,133.7 | 2400 | 3533.7 |
| Total | 11,888.6 | 14,847.954 | 26,736.554 |
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 December 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 18 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-32334 by Allan Wilson on 17 December 2002, whether it has made any recent representations to Her Majesty's Government in respect of any transfer of power to the Parliament with regard to the Crown Estate Commission and what the reasons are for its position on the matter.
Answer
No such representations havebeen made.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 27 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 18 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to ensure that the working practices and hours of grit lorry drivers comply with all legal requirements and guarantee the safety of the driver and a minimum resting period.
Answer
The way in which drivers are organised is a matter for BEAR Scotland Ltdprovided all contractual and legal obligations are met. The Scottish Executive Is in regular contact with BEAR Scotland Ltd to ensure safe and efficientwinter maintenance of the trunk road network.
The performance audit groupregularly audit operations carried out by the trunk road operators to ensurethat they comply with the requirements of the contract. Any concerns would beraised with the operating company.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 December 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 17 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has with regard to the locations within Scotland where the 1% sample of national insurance records were taken which were used as a basis for calculating Scotland's share of social security contributions, as referred to in Government Expenditure and Revenues in Scotland 2000-2001 (GERS).
Answer
We do not have informationavailable as to the locations within Scotland where the 1% sample was taken. The figures used in GERSwere derived by the Office of National Statistics. Specific details of thesample data are not available to the Executive.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 December 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 17 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what figures it has for viral and other infections passed to haemophiliacs through contaminated blood products since 1970; how many people were affected by each such virus or other infection, and whether it expects these figures to change.
Answer
This information is not heldcentrally.
The routine screening ofblood by the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service for HIV, hepatitis Band C, syphilis and Human T-cell lymphotropic Type 1 (HTLV1) and the viralinactivation undertaken during the manufacture of blood products means thattransmission of these particular viruses by blood transfusion should now bevery rare.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 December 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 17 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has estimated the funding that will be lost in matched funding from the block grant when Objective 1 transitional money ends.
Answer
It is too early to predictthe outcome of the debate on the future of the European Structural Funds forthe Highlands and Islands or anywhere else when the current programmes ceasein December 2006. The European Commission’s third cohesion report due to bepublished early next year will give an indication of the Commission’s thinkingahead of their draft regulations expected next May. Negotiations between memberstates will take place thereafter and are likely to last at least a year.
Public sectormatch funding for structural fund projects comes from the relevant domesticspending programme within the assigned budget. Whatever the future of the funds,public bodies will continue to be able to set their own priorities includingallocating money either to match fund projects they sponsor or to fund themoutright.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 December 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 17 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the methodology used to calculate Scotland's revenues from other taxes and royalties will take into account an estimated Scottish share of the extra-regio territory in this year's Government Expenditure and Revenues in Scotland report.
Answer
North sea revenues do notinclude other taxes and royalties.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 December 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 17 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the presentation of the Scottish share of UK income tax liability was based on payments to income tax collection offices in Scotland or as a proportionate share of total receipts from the UK in last year's Government Expenditure and Revenues in Scotland report.
Answer
The Scottish share is basedon Inland Revenue statistics on the income tax liabilities of Scottish residentsas reported in the Inland Revenue’s Survey of Personal Incomes .
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 December 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 17 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the methodology that allocates Scotland's share of corporation tax revenues will take into account an estimate of Scotland's share of extra-regio territory in this year's Government Expenditure and Revenues in Scotland (GERS) report and what the reasons are for its position on the matter.
Answer
Extra-regio corporation taxis not allocated to Scotland’s share of corporation tax revenues.
The UKcontinental shelf is not regarded as part of mainland UK or itsconstituent countries and therefore it is not possible to attribute a share of the extra-regio corporation tax to Scotland.
However, GERS considersthe effects on the Scottish fiscal position of different assumptions on theallocation of North sea revenues (including North sea corporation tax) in table8.2 (GERS 2001-2002).
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 December 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by George Reid on 16 December 2003
To ask the Presiding Officer how many trade packages have been awarded for the Holyrood project; of these, how many were awarded following a recommendation by the construction managers, and in how many cases was such a recommendation rejected.
Answer
The Convener of the HolyroodProgress Group has informed me that 64 construction trade packages have beenawarded, all of which were recommended by the construction managers andappropriate members of the design team and accepted by the Scottish ParliamentaryCorporate Body.
