- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 16 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 2 July 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what it considers to be a sufficiently high cost-benefit ratio to enable a transport project to be prioritised as part of its strategic transport projects review.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-14235 on 2 July 2008. Answers to written parliamentary questions can be found on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 16 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 2 July 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the upgrade of the Redhouse Roundabout on the A92 is being considered as part of the strategic transport projects review.
Answer
Yes.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 16 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 2 July 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will prioritise transport projects with higher cost-benefit ratios over those with lower ratios as part of its strategic transport projects review.
Answer
The appraisal and subsequent prioritisation of transport projects within the strategic transport projects review is being carried out in accordance with the requirements of the Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG).
In terms of the economic criteria within STAG, the cost-benefit ratio is not the sole indicator of the worth of a scheme. Other factors taken into account include impacts on the environment, safety, integration, accessibility and social inclusion. Also, STAG now enables the wider economic benefits to be taken into consideration.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 16 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 2 July 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-13700 by Stewart Stevenson on 11 June 2008, in what month in the summer it expects Transport Scotland to deliver its initial findings from the strategic transport projects review to ministers and whether these findings will be made public.
Answer
Transport Scotland expects to deliver its initial findings from the strategic transport projects review to ministers in August 2008. Ministers will need to give careful consideration to these findings before being in a position to make any public announcement.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 16 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 2 July 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what transport projects are being considered by Transport Scotland for recommendation to be prioritised as part of its strategic transport projects review.
Answer
The transport projects being considered by the strategic transport projects review (STPR) include those that have been developed specifically to meet the objectives of the STPR, through internal and external workshops, including the regional transport partnerships, and projects that have been suggested by various external interests which ministers have agreed to include.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 16 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 1 July 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what it considers to be a sufficiently high cost-benefit ratio to enable a transport project to receive central government funding.
Answer
An appraisal using Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) is required when government funding, support or approval is sought for justified proposals to change the transport system. There is no minimum benefit to cost ratio threshold set within STAG. STAG ensures that the contribution of transport improvements to the economy is fully assessed alongside contributions and impacts on the environment, accessibility and social inclusion, safety, and integration. Approval for funding is based on the assessment of the proposal across all five STAG criteria.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 20 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 26 June 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-13919 by Fiona Hyslop on 16 June 2008, when statistics on staff employed by colleges and universities will be available for 2007-08.
Answer
Staffing numbers for colleges and universities for the academic year 2007-08 will become available in January 2009.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 20 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 26 June 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-13919 by Fiona Hyslop on 16 June 2008, how many staff were employed in (a) colleges and (b) universities in (i) 2007-08, (ii) 2006-07, (iii) 2005-06 and (iv) 2004-05, broken down into academic and non-academic staff numbers.
Answer
Further to the answer to question S3W-13919 on 16 June 2008, the number of staff at Scottish higher education institutions and colleges during the past three academic years broken down by employment function is shown in the following table.
Number of Staff at Scottish Institutions
| Academic Year | HEIs | Colleges |
| Academic Staff | Non-Academic Staff | Teaching Staff | Non-Teaching Staff |
| 2006-07 | 16,360 | 21,935 | 12,695 | 8,891 |
| 2005-06 | 16,020 | 21,845 | 12,781 | 8,723 |
| 2004-05 | 15,310 | 21,690 | 13,170 | 8,445 |
Sources: HESA, excluding “atypical” staff; Scottish Funding Council.
Data for 2007-08 will become available in January 2009.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 05 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 25 June 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on how many instances of signal failure that have prevented trains crossing the Forth Rail Bridge (a) between 1 May 2007 and 3 April 2008 and (b) from 3 April 2008.
Answer
This information is not held centrally. It is a matter for Network Rail.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 20 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 25 June 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to change how discretionary funds are distributed.
Answer
We have no plans to change how discretionary funds are distributed. The funds for higher education have now been allocated for academic year 2008-09. These funds are continually monitored and the guidance is updated on an annual basis. This allows us to regularly introduce any changes or improvements to the way the funds are allocated or the guidance underlying them.
