- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Friday, 03 September 2010
-
Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 30 September 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all public bodies, businesses, organisations and individuals that made representations to it in support of an extension to the pilot of Road Equivalent Tariff fares on the ferry services to the Western Isles beyond spring 2011.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-36059 on 30 September 2010. 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/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Friday, 03 September 2010
-
Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 30 September 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all public bodies, including local authorities, it consulted during the period when it was considering extending the pilot of Road Equivalent Tariff fares on the ferry services to the Western Isles.
Answer
The Scottish Government has regular ongoing contact about ferry services in Scotland with a range of public bodies, including local authorities, VisitScotland, Regional Transport Partnerships, Public Corporations such as David MacBrayne Ltd and Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, as well as individuals. Recently this has included engagement through working groups and some 45 events, including 33 public meetings, as part of the Scottish Ferries Review, as well as Road Equivalent Tariff stakeholder meetings.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Friday, 03 September 2010
-
Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 30 September 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive when it began its consideration of an extension to the pilot of Road Equivalent Tariff fares on the ferry services to the Western Isles beyond spring 2011.
Answer
It would have been premature to end the pilot before the final evaluation study had been completed and fully considered. This decision was taken within the context of ongoing consultation and engagement as set out in the answer to question S3W-36059 on 30 September 2010.
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/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Friday, 03 September 2010
-
Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 30 September 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail the outcome of the assessment undertaken of the legality of an extension to the pilot of Road Equivalent Tariff fares on the ferry services to the Western Isles beyond spring 2011 before a decision was made to extent the pilot by one year.
Answer
It is the Scottish Government''s view that the Road Equivalent Tariff (RET) scheme is compliant with EU law. This view is not affected by our recent decision to extend the RET pilot to spring 2012.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Friday, 03 September 2010
-
Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 30 September 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions took place with (a) Orkney Islands Council and (b) Shetland Islands Council regarding its plan to extend the Road Equivalent Tariff pilot on the Western Isles routes for a further 12 months prior to that decision being (i) taken and (ii) announced.
Answer
The decision to extend the Road Equivalent Tariff(RET) pilot was taken on the basis of consultation and engagement as set out in the answer to question S3W-36059 on 30 September 2010. 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/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.
styl
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Friday, 03 September 2010
-
Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 30 September 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail the outcome of the studies made of the social and economic impact on Scottish Islands other than the Western Isles of an extension to the pilot of Road Equivalent Tariff fares on the ferry services to the Western Isles beyond spring 2011 before a decision was made to extent the pilot by one year.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-36067 on 30 September 2010. 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/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Friday, 03 September 2010
-
Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 30 September 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions took place with (a) VisitOrkney and (b) VisitShetland regarding its plan to extend the Road Equivalent Tariff pilot on the Western Isles routes for a further 12 months prior to that decision being (i) taken and (ii) announced.
Answer
The decision to extend the Road Equivalent Tariff pilot was taken on the basis of consultation and engagement as set out in the answer to question S3W-36059 on 30 September 2010. 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/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Friday, 03 September 2010
-
Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 30 September 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has considered extending the pilot of Road Equivalent Tariff fares on the ferry services to the Western Isles to cover additional ferry routes to islands other than the Western Isles.
Answer
The possible extension of the Road Equivalent Tariff (RET) pilot has been under consideration since the pilot was initiated. The impacts of the current pilot scheme are being closely monitored to allow ministers to make informed decisions on a possible wider roll-out of RET once the final evaluation report is completed next year.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Friday, 03 September 2010
-
Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 30 September 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive to detail the outcome of the assessment made of the cost of an extension to the pilot of Road Equivalent Tariff fares on the ferry services to the Western Isles beyond spring 2011 before a decision was made to extent the pilot by one year.
Answer
The estimated additional cost of extending the Road Equivalent Tariff pilot to spring 2012 is £6.5 million.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Friday, 03 September 2010
-
Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 30 September 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has been made of the displacement of traffic from other island routes as a result of the Road Equivalent Tariff pilot on the Western Isles routes.
Answer
The evaluation of the Road Equivalent Tariff (RET) pilot will be completed in early 2011 and the final evaluation report will be published thereafter. Initial findings indicate that there has been no significant displacement of traffic as a result of RET. The interim evaluation report and other relevant documents are available on the Scottish Government website:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Transport/ferries-ports-canals/14342/TARIFF.
The final report on the RET pilot will take into account all of the impacts of the scheme, including any possible displacement of traffic, as well as consideration of the social and economic impacts.
