- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 January 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 25 January 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the tender document which specified the standards required to be met by applicants for the trunk roads maintenance contracts made any stipulation as to the salt content to be used in grit.
Answer
The tender document specified that the Operating Company shall use rock salt complying with BS 3247 for de-icing operations.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 January 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 25 January 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what its policy is on the required level of salt in grit and how it ensures that there is not a low salt content in the grit used on trunk roads which results in a reduced effectiveness of the grit.
Answer
The policy for salt used to de-ice trunk roads is contained in the contract documents. I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-21762 today.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 January 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 25 January 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what monitoring it has carried out into the salt content in the grit used by BEAR Scotland Ltd in performing its obligations under the trunk roads maintenance contract; whether it will place a copy of the results of this monitoring in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre and make it publicly available, and what monitoring it plans to carry out in the future.
Answer
The Performance Audit Group (PAG) is appointed by the Scottish Executive to audit and monitor the activities of BEAR Scotland Ltd, including their winter activities, and I have undertaken to publish a report by PAG on the first year of operation of the new contracts in line with the recommendation of the Auditor General. A copy of the report, once available, will be placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 January 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 25 January 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what representations have been made to it, or what inquiries it has made, into the condition of the pavements in Newtonmore during the week commencing 30 December 2001; whether the salt content of the grit was a factor in the condition of the pavements, and what action it has taken, and with whom, as a result.
Answer
No representations were received by the Scottish Executive concerning the condition of the footways in Newtonmore during the week commencing 30 December 2001.All rock salt used on trunk roads and associated footways complies with British Standard BS 3247 and this material is not considered to be a factor in the condition of the pavements in Newtonmore.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 January 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 25 January 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the salt content of the grit used by BEAR Scotland Ltd in maintaining the trunk roads in the north of Scotland complies with the standards required under its contract; what testing it has conducted to check that BEAR Scotland Ltd are meeting these required standards; what the results of any such testing were, and when the testing was carried out and at what location.
Answer
The contract requires that salt used to de-ice trunk roads must be regularly tested to comply with standards, and the records of these tests must be maintained for inspection. The Performance Audit Group intends to inspect this information as part of their on-going programme of audits.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 January 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 25 January 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what measures BEAR Scotland Ltd has in place to ensure that the highest regard is made to public safety when fulfilling its obligations under the trunk roads maintenance contract and what monitoring there is to ensure that such measures are in place and are complied with.
Answer
BEAR Scotland Ltd has quality systems and operational procedures in place which require safety issues to be addressed, relating both to the public and its employees, whilst ensuring that its other obligations under the terms of the trunk road contract are met. These systems and procedures have been scrutinised by Performance Audit Group and consented to by the Scottish Executive.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 January 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 25 January 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether BEAR Scotland Ltd has any plans to reduce costs by lowering the salt content of the grit used on trunk roads and whether it will give details, including dates, of any representations it has made to BEAR Scotland Ltd on this matter.
Answer
There are no plans to amend the quality of salt specified in the contract documents. I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-21762 today.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 January 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 25 January 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will place in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre and make publicly available copies of any communication between it and BEAR Scotland Ltd in connection with its monitoring of BEAR Scotland Ltd's performance under the trunk roads maintenance contract.
Answer
It would not be appropriate to publish copies of correspondence between the Executive and BEAR Scotland Ltd because of contractual and commercial considerations. However, I have undertaken to publish a report by PAG on the first year of operation of the new contracts in line with the recommendation of the Auditor General. A copy of the report, once available, will be placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 10 January 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 24 January 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated deer population was in each of the last 40 years; by what method any such estimates were determined, and what its position is on figures in respect of deer population provided by the Deer Commission for Scotland.
Answer
Annual estimated deer population figures are not held by the Scottish Executive.The Deer Commission for Scotland (DCS) is the statutory body charged with furthering the conservation, control and sustainable management of wild deer in Scotland and detailed deer data is published in their Annual Report, which is laid before Parliament (Bib. number 17932).Estimates of red deer numbers and densities over previous years are also available from the DCS. General indications are that over the last 40 years, in many areas, red deer numbers and densities have been increasing. Similar information on other species is not collated.Red deer estimates are based on a rolling programme of deer counts by DCS itself as well as counts carried out by estates which they are encouraged to undertake as part of an integral approach to good land management. There are currently no generally accepted methods of estimating numbers of other species over a large area.In recent years, DCS has moved away from national statistics to describe deer populations in Scotland due to the temporal inaccuracy of the data. DCS considers that the best method of deer control is a co-ordinated management approach at local level, where numbers and densities make more sense, through a system of Deer Management Groups. This approach is endorsed by the Scottish Executive.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 10 January 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 24 January 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how many gritters are used by BEAR Scotland Ltd in order to fulfil its obligations under the trunk roads maintenance contract.
Answer
The information requested can be found in the Winter Maintenance Plans published by BEAR Scotland Ltd for the North East and North West Units, copies of which are available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. No's 18110 and 18114).
