- Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 September 2017
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 5 October 2017
To ask the Scottish Government how much it costs to maintain and operate the electronic signs on the motorway and trunk road network.
Answer
Variable message signs and gantry signage are used in the provision of the Traffic Scotland service, helping to ensure a safe and efficient trunk road and motorway network and to improve journey time reliability efficiency through the provision of travel information for road users. The costs of operation and maintenance of electronic signs on the trunk road and motorway network are not recorded as a separate cost but included within the overall cost of the Traffic Scotland service.
- Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 September 2017
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 27 September 2017
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the reported concerns of teachers regarding the curriculum for excellence and, in light of this, whether ministers consider it fit for purpose.
Answer
Curriculum for Excellence was designed to be a liberating and empowering curriculum for the teaching profession in Scotland to transform the learning experiences of young people. It is doing that in every part of Scotland, it has been endorsed by the OECD and it is the right approach for Scotland.
This Government is committed to delivering constant improvement in education and the reforms I am now taking forward will empower our schools and empower our teachers to deliver a curriculum that continues to develop and improve, to meet the needs of our young people, and to equip them for the ever-changing world around us.
- Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 September 2017
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 26 September 2017
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-10755 by Humza Yousaf on 11 September 2017, for what reason the cost of the temporary traffic lights on the A76 is not recorded as a separate cost, and whether it will provide an estimate of the costs associated with their deployment in each of the last three years.
Answer
With regards to routine and planned maintenance / improvement works delivered by Scotland TranServ, typically the costs associated with temporary traffic lights are included as part of agreed contract rates to deliver schemes. As such these costs cannot be isolated and reported separately from the wider cost of traffic management.
- Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 September 2017
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 22 September 2017
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the cost of each (a) maintenance and (b) improvement scheme on the A76 in each of the last three years, also broken down by the (i) location of each scheme and (ii) length of time each scheme was or has been in place.
Answer
The detailed information requested is currently being collated and I will write to the member as soon as the information is available and a copy will be placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib number 59095).
- Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 September 2017
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 20 September 2017
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to increasing the HGV speed limit on the A75.
Answer
There are no current plans to increase the HGV speed limit on the A75 or any other trunk road as we believe that there is insufficient evidence in this area to justify a change. A 50 mph HGV pilot is ongoing on single-carriageway sections of the A9. However, this incorporates an average speed camera system in order to mitigate the risks. The trial will be evaluated after a three-year period, with any relevant lessons considered.
- Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 September 2017
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Current Status:
Answered by Maureen Watt on 19 September 2017
To ask the Scottish Government what early intervention programmes are in place to address eating disorders.
Answer
The Scottish Government's mental health strategy 2017-27 commits to a number of actions to improve prevention and early intervention, recognising this is key to minimising the prevalence and incidence of poor mental health and the life time impact of mental illness, including eating disorder.
I expect prevention and early intervention for eating disorder and other mental illnesses to be a focus of activity and funding for NHS Boards and Integrated Authorities. These agencies are responsible not only for effective early intervention at a public health level through raising awareness and information and identifying risk for example in schools, higher education and primary care, but also for the provision of tailored care and support at the earliest opportunity which responds to the assessed needs of the individual.
In Scotland, a range of eating disorder services and treatment is provided in line with clinical good practice across community, primary care and specialist services for children, adolescents and adults.
- Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 August 2017
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 14 September 2017
To ask the Scottish Government whether Ministers were aware, prior to approving funding for new social housing in Dumfries, that the land for the project at Parkhead, which was sold by Dumfries and Galloway Council to Dumfries and Galloway Housing Partnership, contained common good land.
Answer
The Scottish Government was not aware that this land was part of common good land when funding was agreed. It is for the Local Authority to identify strategic sites for housing and this particular site had been identified within the council’s Strategic Housing Investment Plan (SHIP).
- Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 September 2017
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Current Status:
Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 14 September 2017
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to review water rate exemptions for charities.
Answer
In line with the commitment made in 2014, the Scottish Government is reviewing the water and sewerage charge exemption scheme to ensure that it is operating as intended. As part of that review, we have been liaising closely with the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations who have issued a survey to seek the views of the Third Sector. The views collected will be integral to the review process. We expect the review to be complete at the end of September with a report outlining any recommendations for change being provided to Ministers thereafter.
- Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 August 2017
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 11 September 2017
To ask the Scottish Government what the cost has been of temporary traffic lights on the A76 in each of the last three years.
Answer
The costs of temporary traffic lights on the A76 are not recorded as a separate cost but included within the overall cost of each individual maintenance and improvement scheme delivered by Transport Scotland’s Operating Company on the route.
- Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 August 2017
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Current Status:
Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 30 August 2017
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the goose management scheme in the Solway Estuary.
Answer
Local Goose Management Groups report annually on the delivery of their goose management schemes. These annual reports are reviewed by the National Goose Management Review Group (NGMRG) which is chaired by the Scottish Government. The annual report for the 2016-17 Solway Goose Management Scheme is currently being considered by the NGMRG.