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The temporary lights on the A76 at Enterkinfoot have ceased to operate as required on five occasions. These were identified through the Operating Company’s daily inspections and were quickly made serviceable again.

The Scottish Government recognises that road infrastructure in Scotland is hugely important in promoting sustainable economic growth. Since 2007, over £8.2 billion has been invested in our Motorways and Trunk Road Network and we are currently committed to the largest road investment programme that Scotland has ever seen.

We also recognise that in order to support this investment in new infrastructure, a considerable part of Transport Scotland's budget must continue to be directed to maintain and safely operate the existing network, despite cuts to the Scottish Government Capital budget by the UK Government. In 2015-16, we allocated £275 million for the maintenance of motorways and trunk roads and strengthened or resurfaced 378 lane-km of trunk road carriageways.

While the responsibility for local road repairs lies with local authorities, we are committed to working with local government through the Road Collaboration Programme to improve the condition of roads throughout Scotland.

Furthermore, Transport Scotland has commissioned a study to estimate the contribution of the motorway and trunk road network to the society and economy. This study will seek to quantify the social and economic cost and benefits of roads maintenance spending in Scotland.

Since 2007 a total of £39,023,818 has been invested in the A76. This figure includes £5,553,485 investment for the Glen Airlie improvement scheme.

The number of temporary traffic signals on the trunk road network changes daily according to demands. On a typical day such as the 21st September 2019 there were 76 sets of temporary traffic signals three of which were in Dumfries and Galloway.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-02824 on 27 September 2016. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

The Scottish Government has regular ongoing engagement with local authorities and Regional Transport Partnerships (RTPs) through a range of fora, including the Association of Transport Coordinating Officers (ATCO), RTP lead officer and chairs meetings and the Bus Stakeholder Group.

Local authorities work together on bus services informally and through formal channels such as ATCO and their RTP's.

The RTPs work together and with key stakeholders in the bus industry on issues of mutual interest. In particular, these RTPs with public transport responsibilities share good practice, for example, in the procurement of bus services; and the RTPs played a key role in the development of smart, multi-operator ticketing in Aberdeen (Grasshopper), Dundee (ABC), Strathclyde (Zone-card) and Sestran (One-ticket).

Our inspection regime is designed to ensure that the trunk road network is safe for use and fit for purpose and to provide the data required to support asset maintenance planning. The regime is set out in the Road Asset Management Plan for Scottish Trunk Roads which can be accessed at: http://www.transport.gov.scot/road/maintenance/road-asset-management-plan

We commission annual machine-based road condition surveys to ensure that we achieve best value from our structural maintenance programme. Deflectograph surveys provide an indication of road structural strength to estimate remaining useful life; Scanner surveys provide an assessment of current surface condition and SCRIM surveys provide a measure of wet skidding resistance.

Also, in accordance with their contractual requirements, our trunk road operating companies are required to carry out safety inspections, safety patrols, night time survey patrols, detailed inspections and condition surveys. Our operating company contracts can be accessed at: http://www.transport.gov.scot/road/maintenance/operating-companies .

Total expenditure on transport infrastructure, as reported within The National Transport Statistics 2015 edition and within the Transport Scotland Annual Report and Accounts, totals £18billion since 2007. The totals for each year are shown in the following table. A breakdown of transport infrastructure expenditure by local authority area is not available.

Source: Years 2007-08-2014-15 = Scottish National Statistics 2015 edition, Years 2015-16 and 2016-17 = Transport Scotland Annual Report and Accounts 2015-16 and published Scottish Budget.

Whilst total expenditure on transport infrastructure, as reported above, totals £18 billion since 2007 to date, a breakdown by local authority area is not possible. This is in part because some investments are of a national nature (Forth Replacement Crossing) and others span a number of local authority areas, such as the M80, the M74 and the M77 construction projects.

The National Out-of-Hours Review Report, Pulling together, was published in November 2015. As part of the implementation of the Review, we are currently considering bids from Health and Social Care Partnerships that explore all aspects of the Review’s recommendations.

We expect NHS boards and Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs) to use the recommendations in the Review to inform local planning. However, since the integration of health and social care in April 2016, it is the responsibility of HSCPs to coordinate health and care services, commissioning NHS boards and councils to deliver services in line with a local strategic plan to meet the needs of its population. Over time, this will lead to a change in how services are provided with a greater emphasis on preventative services and allowing people to receive care and support in their home or local community rather than being admitted to hospital.

Additionally, our Strategic Framework for Action on Palliative and End of Life Care (SFA), which was published in December 2015, sets out our vision that by 2021 everyone who needs palliative and end of life care will have access to it. The SFA was informed by the recommendations in the Review and sets out a series of commitments to realise that ambition including supporting Healthcare Improvement Scotland in providing HSCPs with expertise on testing and implementing improvements in the identification and care co-ordination of those who can benefit from palliative and end of life care.