Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Scottish Government is funding Network Rail’s on-going development and detailed design of options to enhance Carstairs junction to improve line speeds and increase capacity and performance levels. Final decisions on investment will be subject to confirmation of the business case and affordability as well as agreement on a suitable funding model to reflect the distribution of financial benefits, the vast majority of which will accrue to UK Government sponsored cross-border franchises.

The Scottish Government is committed to making rail services more affordable for all and encourages ScotRail to offer innovative ticketing products to passengers. In addition the Scottish Government supports the Young Persons Concessionary travel scheme. More information regarding this scheme can be found at: http://www.transport.gov.scot/young-scot-national-entitlement-card

Enforcement is the role of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (a statutory body established under the Equality Act and accredited by the UN) and we will not, therefore, be carrying out a review.

 

The Scottish Government has an ambitious land reform programme, including implementing the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016 and establishing the Scottish Land Commission to consider the effect of law, policies and practices in the management and use of land in Scotland to help from a wider evidence base for future land reform measures.

Through Forestry Commission Scotland, we are helping to empower communities across Scotland to use, manage and own woodlands.

Information is provided in the following table on the number of finished admission episodes for patients resident in Scotland who have received healthcare from the NHS in England in each of the last five years.

Year	Finished Admission Episodes
2010-11	7,811
2011-12	7,574
2012-13	7,449
2013-14	7,201
2014-15	7,020

Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre

The Scottish Government have committed to completing the devolution of the arrangements for the management of forestry in Scotland. As announced in June 2015 by the then Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform, this will involve the transfer of Forestry Commissioners’ powers and duties, as they relate to Scotland, to Scottish Ministers.

The Scottish Government has been working closely with the UK Government and also the Welsh Government through a Forestry Governance Project Board to consider options to achieve this outcome. This has included issues related to legislative options to enable the transfer to happen, financial arrangements and the future of functions currently undertaken on a cross-border basis, such as forestry science. Further details will be made known in due course.

The Scottish Government is committed to planting 10,000 hectares of trees every year until 2022 and we will work to hasten the pace of applications and approval of planting. We are already meeting with the sector to identify points in the current process, from application to approval, that could be improved or speeded up and will announce further plans in due course.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-01146 on 29 July 2016. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

I am in regular discussion with my colleagues, including the Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform, about matters of mutual interest.

The Transport Scotland Road Asset Management Plan sets out how Scotland's trunk road network is maintained strategically and efficiently in order to protect our assets and ensure maximum value for money from our road maintenance activities. Regular surveys and inspections are undertaken to ensure that the trunk road network is safe and fit for purpose, and to provide appropriate information to support maintenance decisions.

Programmed maintenance work plans are developed based on asset condition data, including results from inspections and surveys. The surveys make a number of measurements to assess the condition of the road surface, including rutting, cracking and ride quality. Surveys are also undertaken to assess the strength of the lower road layers and provide an estimate of the remaining useful life of the road. In addition all trunk roads are subject to weekly safety inspections to identify defects like potholes, which are then repaired by our operating companies within the strict timescales set-out in their contracts.

The Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 places the statutory responsibility for local roads improvement, maintenance and repair with local road authorities. It is therefore the responsibility of Scottish local authorities to determine what resources they should allocate based on local needs and priorities. In 2016-17 the Scottish Government provided local authorities with total funding of over £10.3 billion. This includes funding for road maintenance. The Society of Chief Officers of Transportation Scotland (SCOTS) commission an annual survey on behalf of all local authorities to allow them to assess the areas of road which require maintenance.

As part of the work of the Roads Collaboration Programme and the Strategic Action Group chaired jointly by the Minister of Transport and Islands and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, we regularly have discussions with representatives from SCOTS and the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives on embedding best practice. In addition, road authorities have been working with industry partners to make positive changes to how road maintenance is undertaken, with focus on efficiency, collaboration and innovation.