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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.

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Question reference: S5W-02808

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 29 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what investment it has made in the (a) A75, (b) A7 and (c) A701 in each year since 2007.

The following table contains the total expenditure each year for each trunk road. This figure includes maintenance and major infrastructure project costs (including land, site supervision, utilities, site investigation and construction costs). Higher annual spend levels represent increased investment associated with the delivery of targeted major infrastructure improvements.

trunk road investment since 2007-08 (£ millions)

	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16
A75 (158 km)*	14.881	6.458	8.363	10.868	5.354	11.955	36.863	14.001	7.306
A7 (75 km)*	3.978	5.519	4.61	2.364	2.322	2.578	3.05	2.777	2.458
A701 (30 km)*	0.679	0.923	0.727	1.121	0.854	1.103	1.259	1.597	2.411

*approx. distances

Question reference: S5O-00231

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 September 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 October 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to angling clubs and the rural economy following recent changes to the regulation of wild salmon fishing.

Question reference: S5W-02813

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 28 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to the creation of a new rail service using existing lines between Edinburgh/Glasgow and Carlisle that would allow a local service to call at a re-opened Beattock Station.

The Scottish Government has considered opportunities to provide services between Carlisle and Glasgow/Edinburgh but found that a ScotRail service could not be supported due to the cost of providing this service, the capacity constraints on the route for additional train services and the anticipated level of patronage. However, the Scottish Government is committed to improving connectivity to promote sustainable economic growth and is willing to review the proposal should circumstances change.

Question reference: S5W-02812

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 28 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it gave to smaller rural communities when setting the assessment criteria for the Scottish Stations Fund.

The assessment criteria for the £30 million Scottish Stations Fund, which aims to lever in third party funding to provide new and improved stations, covers both rural and urban communities.

All proposals for stations should firstly be directed to the relevant Regional Transport Partnership (RTP) to assess how it fits with their local and regional transport strategies. If appropriate, the RTP will undertake an appraisal to determine the most suitable transport options for the area. The scope and level of detail required in the appraisal is determined by the nature and scale of the transport problems and the impacts of the potential transport options in a particular area.

Transport Scotland officials are always available to offer advice and guidance on the proportionate application of Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance, if requested.

Funding has already been approved through the Stations Fund for improvements at both urban and rural stations benefiting passengers using ScotRail and Caledonian Sleeper services.

Question reference: S5W-02782

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 28 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what the average cost per mile is of the work to dual the A9.

We will only know the true cost per mile of the A9 once we have taken it to the market, however our current estimates are in the region of £19million per mile, rising to £37million per mile once risk, optimism bias and inflation are included. This produces a £3billion overall estimate (80 miles x £37million). However, this can only be an approximate estimate at this stage in the process.

Question reference: S5W-02833

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 28 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what support it has given to (a) Dumfries and Galloway Council and (b) Dumfries and Galloway NHS board to ensure that adequate transport infrastructure is in place to support the new Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary.

Through the £212 million investment in the replacement Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary, NHS Dumfries and Galloway will discharge the conditions associated with the planning consent for the new hospital, including required improvements to a major trunk road roundabout and road realignments to allowances to the hospital.

Further planning conditions have stipulated that improvements are made to some other existing parts of the road network to accommodate traffic impacts of the new hospital and agreement has been reached that a commuted sum of £220k from the health board for these works would be vested in Dumfries and Galloway Council to allow these works to be completed.

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-02785

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 recent discussions it has had with (a) Transport Scotland and (b) Amey regarding the maintenance of (i) pavements, (ii) road signage and (iii) street furniture in Langholm.

Transport Scotland is part of the Scottish Government and discussions / meetings with occur regularly in the normal course of business.

Transport Scotland continues to have regular and frequent discussions with its Operating Company (Amey) regarding the effective maintenance and management of all trunk roads in the south east of Scotland, including the A7 through Langholm.

The Minister for Transport and Islands met the A7 Action Group in Parliament on 15 June 2016 to discuss their Action Plan, which set out its aspirations for the route and included a number of improvements in the vicinity of Langholm. Transport Scotland has undertaken a review and identified a range of items within the Action Plan that they now propose to take forward further consideration towards. This will be done alongside on-going maintenance and improvement programmes on the route.

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.

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 .