- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 May 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 11 June 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what standard and detail of public consultation is required by regional transport partnerships in preparing plans for submission to ministers.
Answer
The Transport Scotland Act2005 section 6(1)(a) states that each Regional Transport Partnership, beforearriving at its Regional Transport Strategy must consult its constituentcouncils, each Health Board in its area and other persons as it thinks fit.
Scotland’s TransportFuture: Guidance on Regional Transport Strategies states that meaningful and effective engagement withregional stakeholders, including community planning partners and the widerpublic should be carried out throughout the Strategy development process.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 May 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 11 June 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what the timescales are for ministerial decisions on the approval of regional transport plans.
Answer
There is no statutory deadlinefor the approval of regional transport strategies. The Transport (Scotland) Act2005 section 6(1)(b) required the Regional Transport Partnerships to submit theirfirst transport strategies by 31 March 2007. The document Scotland’s Transport Future: Guidanceon Regional Transport Strategies states that ministers will aim to approve orreturn submitted strategies within three months.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 May 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 11 June 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what powers ministers have in relation to the amendment, rejection or resubmission of regional transport plans.
Answer
Scotland’s TransportFuture: Guidance on Regional Transport Strategies states when considering whether to approve astrategy, Scottish ministers consider, amongst other things, how far the strategywill contribute to the Executive’s own transport objectives. The guidancestates that ministers will aim to approve or return submitted strategies withinthree months.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 May 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 11 June 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made, including any related, initial or previous research, of the possible costs of (a) dualling the A9, (b) dualling the A96, (c) dualling the A77, (d) building the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route, (e) building the M74 and (f) building a second crossing over the Forth.
Answer
There have been no detailedcost estimates made of dualling the A9, A96, or A77. Any future investment inthese routes will emerge from the StrategicTransport Projects Review which is due to report in summer 2008. Details of the current investment programme, includingthe costs of building the M74 and the Aberdeen Western peripheral route, areavailable on the Transport Scotland website
http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/defaultpage1221cde0.aspx?pageID=20.Assessment of the costsassociated with constructing a new Forth crossing is being made as part of the ForthReplacement Crossing Study. Transport Scotland is currently considering thedraft reports from the study and will make its recommendation to Cabinet toallow ministers to make a decision in summer 2007.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 May 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 11 June 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether transport infrastructure projects outlined in regional transport plans must also be reflected in relevant structure plans before they can be approved.
Answer
Scotland’s Transport Future: Guidance on Regional TransportStrategies requires that the 7Regional Transport Partnerships have due regard to the National PlanningFramework and other Scottish Executive planning policy documents.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 May 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 11 June 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what effect the removal of tolls from the Erskine Bridge has had on traffic levels across it.
Answer
I refer the member to the answerto question S3W-308 on 8 June 2007. All answers to written parliamentaryquestions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility forwhich can be found at:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 May 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 11 June 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of funding requirements for bridge maintenance and repairs on the Forth and Tay road bridges.
Answer
The Scottish Executive is inregular contact with both the Forth Estuary Transport Authority (FETA) and theTay Road Bridge Joint Board (TRBJB).
The prospective discussionsthat we shall be having with those bodies on removing the tolls will include,amongst other things, matters such as the maintenance and repairs on thebridges.
Details of the repairs andmaintenance programmes have been widely publicised and can be obtained fromeither FETA or the TRBJB.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 24 May 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Mike Pringle on 11 June 2007
To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body when it will make progress on the appointment of the Scottish Commission for Human Rights.
Answer
The process of appointingthe Chair of the Scottish Commission for Human Rights is not a matter for theSPCB. The nomination to Parliament of a chair will be made by a selectionpanel of members of the Parliament in line with Rule 3.11 of Standing Orders. Once a chair has been appointed, it will be for the SPCB to recruit the other membersof the commission.
I understand that thePresiding Officer has written to Business Managers on the Parliamentary Bureauseeking their agreement to commence the recruitment of the chair prior to thesummer recess.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 May 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 11 June 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what advice it has received on the legality, or compliance with European competition rules, of any decision to award a contract for the construction of the M74 northern extension without there having been a competitive bidding process.
Answer
The procurement process complieswith European competition rules. The tender has still to be submitted and the awardwill be subject to the tender demonstrating value for money.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 24 May 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 8 June 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it intends to take to encourage flexi-working and homeworking.
Answer
The Scottish Government alreadyhas fully developed policies on flexible and home working for its staff. The extentto which flexible and home working can be encouraged in the public sector is dependenton the nature of individual posts.
The Scottish Government supportsthe expansion of flexible and homeworking policies across the public sector butbelieve that it is for individual organisations to decide upon the policy best suitedto the needs of its staff and business environment, within the context of the existinglegal framework.
