- Asked by: Keith Brown, MSP for Ochil, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 18 June 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has plans to designate the remainder of the A977 as a trunk road.
Answer
We have no current plans to designate the A977 as a trunk road.
- Asked by: Keith Brown, MSP for Ochil, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 06 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 18 June 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Strategic Transport Projects Review being conducted by Transport Scotland is considering the utility of additional stations on existing railway lines in addition to railway extensions.
Answer
Transport Scotland’s Strategic Transport Projects Review is considering a range of land-based transport interventions for the period 2012 to 2022, primarily road and rail based. This includes looking at the scope for further enhancements to the rail network to improve rail routes.
- Asked by: Keith Brown, MSP for Ochil, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 06 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 18 June 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the concerns about potential traffic through the west Fife villages, as outlined in the members’ business debate on 15 May 2008 on the Upper Forth Crossing (Official Report c. 8750), could be reduced by the alternative of a passenger rail service running through western Fife.
Answer
Rail services in this area will be examined as part of the Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR) which is expected to report to ministers in the summer.
- Asked by: Keith Brown, MSP for Ochil, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 06 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 18 June 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the findings of its examination of replacement Forth crossing options have provided any useful data about the potential effects on traffic across the Forth of new direct rail services to Edinburgh from west Fife and Clackmannanshire.
Answer
No relevant data was gathered during the examination of replacement crossing options.
However, the Forth Replacement Crossing Study recognised that investments in the rail network can contribute to reducing road congestion and harmful emissions.
- Asked by: Keith Brown, MSP for Ochil, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 29 May 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 11 June 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it believes that a direct rail link to Rosyth from Clackmannanshire and Stirling could increase the commercial viability of any sea route from Rosyth to continental Europe.
Answer
Rail services in this area will be examined as part of the Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR) which is expected to report to ministers in the summer.
- Asked by: Keith Brown, MSP for Ochil, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 29 May 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 10 June 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether Transport Scotland’s Strategic Transport Projects Review will specifically consider the potential benefits of extending passenger rail links from Kinross-shire southwards.
Answer
Transport Scotland’s Strategic Transport Projects Review is examining the longer term needs of Scotland’s national strategic transport network. This includes consideration of the rail network on the strategic transport corridor between Edinburgh and Perth.
- Asked by: Keith Brown, MSP for Ochil, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 29 May 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 10 June 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what scope there is and will be for the Parliament and local authorities to make direct contributions to Transport Scotland’s Strategic Transport Projects Review.
Answer
As part of the Strategic Transport Projects Review, Transport Scotland has been engaging with a range of key stakeholders through focused Reference Groups with senior representatives of organisations with considerable knowledge, experience and understanding of the transport issues involved. These include representatives from regional transport partnerships within the local authority sector as well as the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA).
The initial findings of the review will be delivered to ministers in the summer of 2008. An announcement will be made in Parliament later in the year.
- Asked by: Keith Brown, MSP for Ochil, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 29 May 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 10 June 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-13079 by Stewart Stevenson on 27 May 2008, whether Transport Scotland’s Strategic Transport Projects Review will specifically consider the potential benefits of extending passenger rail links from Alloa to Dunfermline as part of the examination of transport links for Dunfermline and Rosyth.
Answer
In examining the longer term needs of Scotland’s national strategic transport network, Transport Scotland’s Strategic Transport Projects Review is considering extending passenger access to Rosyth and possible links to Dunfermline.
Transport Scotland will also continue to review and consider options for improving the rail network across Scotland.
- Asked by: Keith Brown, MSP for Ochil, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 22 May 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 3 June 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the provision in the English legal system for the state to repay costs to defendants who had privately funded their defence because they did not qualify for legal aid and were subsequently found not guilty would have any merit if introduced in Scotland and whether there are any plans to do so.
Answer
The Strategic Review of the Delivery of Legal Aid, Advice and Information (published by Scottish ministers in 2004) considered the question of financial eligibility for criminal legal assistance. The review was not persuaded that there should be universal eligibility for criminal legal aid, and did not propose a general principle that the state should meet privately funded costs on acquittal. The Review considered that the general principle of ability to pay should be applied and that a contributory system would be consistent with that principle. It proposed that under such a system, where costs were met in part through a contribution by the accused person, that contribution should be refunded in the event of an acquittal.
We have no current plans to introduce such a system but will consider it further as part of a broader consideration of financial eligibility rules for publicly funded legal assistance.
- Asked by: Keith Brown, MSP for Ochil, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 15 May 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 27 May 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive, following the successful formal opening of the Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine railway line on 15 May 2008, whether it and Transport Scotland will consider extending both freight and passenger services on this line to Rosyth and Dunfermline.
Answer
Transport Scotland is currently undertaking the multi-modal Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR) which will provide an indicative program of transport investments between 2012 and 2022 to deliver against the government''s central purpose of increasing sustainable economic growth. The STPR will consider the importance of effective transport links in the Rosyth and Dunfermline area.
