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Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S5W-02838

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 27 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions ministers have had with Transport Scotland regarding outstanding repair works on the A76.

Question reference: S5W-02799

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 27 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what the cost would be of extending the Borders Railway to Carlisle; what the timescale would be to complete the extension; what financial resources it has set aside to explore whether to proceed with this; what the cost of the feasibilty study would be; what criteria would be used to determine the prefered route, and when the preferred route would be announced.

Transport Scotland will lead a multi modal study assessing transport constraints and opportunities in the Borders, including examining the case for extending the railway. Procurement of the study is currently under way, funding will come from existing budgets and it is currently expected that the study will be complete by the end of 2017. As this work is at an early scoping stage it is not currently possible to estimate costs or timescales.

Question reference: S5W-02843

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 27 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what assurances it has had or sought from Scotland TranServ regarding the timetable for completion of the works on the A76 between Sanquhar and Thornhill.

Question reference: S5W-02827

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 27 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that local authorities share best practice regarding road repair and maintenance.

Question reference: S5W-02798

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 27 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what investment it has made in the Dumfries-Kilmarnock rail line in each year since 2007.

Investing in rail is a key priority of the Scottish Government, with over £7 billion committed since 2007 to support Network Rail’s operation, maintenance, renewal and enhancement of the rail infrastructure, and to deliver the economic and social benefits of the ScotRail franchise contract across the full network. This core investment is not disaggregated to individual route levels.

With respect to improvements between Kilmarnock and Dumfries, additional capacity has been provided as patronage levels have grown with longer trains operating at peak periods, and station facilities have been enhanced along the route. Further improvements for passengers are also planned from 2017, with the introduction of refurbished rolling stock and additional weekday and weekend services.

Question reference: S5W-02816

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 27 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many square meters of the land adjacent to the M74 between Moffat and Gretna are in its ownership and what plans it has for this land.

Question reference: S5W-02834

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 27 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many Transport Scotland staff have been based in each local authority area in each year since 2007.

Transport Scotland has two main office locations, one in Glasgow and one in Edinburgh, with additional staff on site at the Forth Replacement Crossing, Fife. Both the main Glasgow and Edinburgh locations are where the bulk of Transport Scotland staff are permanently based. Transport Scotland staff travel across Scotland to fulfil their duties in the planning and delivery of infrastructure projects, engaging with communities as well as providing oversight to the performance and operation of service contracts including those for rail and ferries services.

The following table details the staff numbers by year and local authority area.

Year	Local Authority Area	Number of TS staff
2007	Glasgow	255
2008	Glasgow	291
2009	Glasgow	319
2010	Glasgow	338
	Edinburgh	76
2011	Glasgow Edinburgh Fife	292 77 14
2012	Glasgow Edinburgh Fife	284 75 13
2013	Glasgow Edinburgh Fife	293 82 16
2014	Glasgow Edinburgh Fife	303 86 15
2015	Glasgow Edinburgh Fife	284 91 12
2016	Glasgow Edinburgh Fife	286 96 11

Question reference: S5W-02824

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 27 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what technical advice and support it offers local authorities to assist with local road repairs.

The Scottish Government is continuing to co-fund the Road Collaboration Programme. The Programme was established in December 2013 to explore opportunities for road authorities to share services and is overseen by a Board comprising Transport Scotland, members of the Society of Chief Officers of Transportation in Scotland (SCOTS), SOLACE, COSLA and the Improvement Service. The Programme's aims include encouraging and supporting authorities to share best practice, innovation and expertise.

Furthermore, the Scottish Road Research board meet quarterly to commission and co-ordinate research projects.

to deliver improvements in safety, construction, operation and maintenance to both the trunk and local road network. The Board's objectives include promoting and delivering innovation, sharing new products, techniques and knowledge across Scotland’s road sector.

Question reference: S5W-02805

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 27 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what targets it has set for the completion of remedial repairs on trunk roads across the Transport Scotland network.

Transport Scotland’s Road Asset Management Plan (RAMP) sets out how our trunk road network is maintained safely, strategically and efficiently to protect our assets and ensure maximum value for money from our road maintenance activities. The RAMP can be accessed at: http://www.transport.gov.scot/road/maintenance/road-asset-management-plan

Trunk road defects are repaired in accordance with the timescales specified in the Operating Company contracts. These can be accessed at: http://www.transport.gov.scot/road/maintenance/operating-companies .

Question reference: S5W-02806

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 27 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what triggers and warning systems are in place to alert it when delays to essential repair works on trunk roads exceed a (a) six- (b) twelve-month period.

Transport Scotland has regular programming meetings with its Operating Companies to ensure all safety-critical work is prioritised, so that risks to delivery and public safety are effectively mitigated and managed. The criteria for inspection and repairs on the trunk road network are set out in the Operating Company contracts, which can be accessed at: http://www.transport.gov.scot/road/maintenance/operating-companies.