Questions and answers

Question reference: S5W-02839

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 29 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made regarding the potential economic impact that road works on the A76 are having on communities in Upper Nithsdale.

Question reference: S5O-00231

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 September 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 October 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to angling clubs and the rural economy following recent changes to the regulation of wild salmon fishing.

Question reference: S5W-02782

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 28 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what the average cost per mile is of the work to dual the A9.

We will only know the true cost per mile of the A9 once we have taken it to the market, however our current estimates are in the region of £19million per mile, rising to £37million per mile once risk, optimism bias and inflation are included. This produces a £3billion overall estimate (80 miles x £37million). However, this can only be an approximate estimate at this stage in the process.

Question reference: S5W-02813

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 28 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to the creation of a new rail service using existing lines between Edinburgh/Glasgow and Carlisle that would allow a local service to call at a re-opened Beattock Station.

The Scottish Government has considered opportunities to provide services between Carlisle and Glasgow/Edinburgh but found that a ScotRail service could not be supported due to the cost of providing this service, the capacity constraints on the route for additional train services and the anticipated level of patronage. However, the Scottish Government is committed to improving connectivity to promote sustainable economic growth and is willing to review the proposal should circumstances change.

Question reference: S5W-02812

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 28 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it gave to smaller rural communities when setting the assessment criteria for the Scottish Stations Fund.

The assessment criteria for the £30 million Scottish Stations Fund, which aims to lever in third party funding to provide new and improved stations, covers both rural and urban communities.

All proposals for stations should firstly be directed to the relevant Regional Transport Partnership (RTP) to assess how it fits with their local and regional transport strategies. If appropriate, the RTP will undertake an appraisal to determine the most suitable transport options for the area. The scope and level of detail required in the appraisal is determined by the nature and scale of the transport problems and the impacts of the potential transport options in a particular area.

Transport Scotland officials are always available to offer advice and guidance on the proportionate application of Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance, if requested.

Funding has already been approved through the Stations Fund for improvements at both urban and rural stations benefiting passengers using ScotRail and Caledonian Sleeper services.

Question reference: S5W-02833

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 28 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what support it has given to (a) Dumfries and Galloway Council and (b) Dumfries and Galloway NHS board to ensure that adequate transport infrastructure is in place to support the new Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary.

Through the £212 million investment in the replacement Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary, NHS Dumfries and Galloway will discharge the conditions associated with the planning consent for the new hospital, including required improvements to a major trunk road roundabout and road realignments to allowances to the hospital.

Further planning conditions have stipulated that improvements are made to some other existing parts of the road network to accommodate traffic impacts of the new hospital and agreement has been reached that a commuted sum of £220k from the health board for these works would be vested in Dumfries and Galloway Council to allow these works to be completed.

Question reference: S5W-02811

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 27 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what its total investment in rail has been in each year since 2007.

Between 2007-08 and 2015-16, we have spent over £7 billion in our Rail Network, including 76km of new railways delivered and 13 new stations opened.
The budgeted spend on rail in 2016-17 totals a further £0.75 million. The totals for each year are as follows;

Year	Actual Spend £000
2007-08	936,273
2008-09	835,751
2009-10	806,960
2010-11	749,018
2011-12	708,156
2012-13	748,400
2013-14	836,961
2014-15	692,325
2015-16	748,587
2016-17 Budget	740,591
TOTAL	7,803,022

Source: Years 2007-08 – 2015-16: Transport Scotland Annual Report and Accounts, Year 2016-17: published Scottish Budget

Question reference: S5W-02843

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 27 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what assurances it has had or sought from Scotland TranServ regarding the timetable for completion of the works on the A76 between Sanquhar and Thornhill.

Question reference: S5W-02798

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 27 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what investment it has made in the Dumfries-Kilmarnock rail line in each year since 2007.

Investing in rail is a key priority of the Scottish Government, with over £7 billion committed since 2007 to support Network Rail’s operation, maintenance, renewal and enhancement of the rail infrastructure, and to deliver the economic and social benefits of the ScotRail franchise contract across the full network. This core investment is not disaggregated to individual route levels.

With respect to improvements between Kilmarnock and Dumfries, additional capacity has been provided as patronage levels have grown with longer trains operating at peak periods, and station facilities have been enhanced along the route. Further improvements for passengers are also planned from 2017, with the introduction of refurbished rolling stock and additional weekday and weekend services.

Question reference: S5W-02822

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 27 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to the creation of a rural roads repair fund, following the findings of the recent Audit Scotland report, Maintaining Scotland's Roads, A follow-up report.

The Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 places statutory responsibility for local roads, including structures, improvements, maintenance and repair with local roads authorities. The Scottish Government has allocated over £10.3 billion to local government in 2016-17 and it is for individual councils to allocated funding based on local needs and priorities, including funding for road repairs.

In August 2016, Audit Scotland reported a significant variation in road condition among councils. For example, in 2014-15, the proportion of local roads in acceptable condition ranged from 44% in Argyll and Bute Council to 79% in Orkney Islands Council.

From a national perspective the Scottish Government continues to co-fund the Roads Collaboration Programme and uses that forum to actively engage with councils to explore opportunities for the sharing of services for road maintenance activities.

Tell us your views

Chamber and committees