Chamber and committees

Network Rail, the project promoters,are developing the Airdrie to Bathgate project on the understanding that serviceswill run between Edinburgh and a point, or points, west of Glasgow. The servicesare planned to be in operation at the end of 2010, and it is important that thefinal decision on exactly what is to be provided is made nearer that time. Thiswill enable the services planned to take into account the best fit with other servicesthat will be running then. Extending the Helensburgh to Airdrie service is partof the option that was identified by the Central Scotland Corridor Study in 2002,but this will be reviewed as part of this final decision.

Transport Scotland hasthe operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more informationif required.

The cost of leasing the necessaryrolling stock has, and will continue to form part of the business case for the Airdrieto Bathgate rail link project.

Transport Scotland hasthe operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more informationif required.

Fatal accident inquiries (FAI)are concerned with the circumstances of a wide range of sudden and unexpected deaths.It is the responsibility of the Procurator Fiscal to initiate a FAI and to informthe family of the deceased of this course of action. Thereafter Victim Informationand Advice (VIA) will usually make contact with the family and keep it informedof the progress of the inquiry and its outcome.

I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-26793 on 20 June 2006 which provides more detail on the role of VIA in relationto its work with the families of a deceased whose death is the subject of a FAI.

More general support for familiesof deceased persons whose deaths are considered by FAIs is available from a rangeof organisations depending on the nature and circumstances of the death of the familymember. Depending on the circumstances of the death VIA will attempt to identifyan appropriate agency that can provide relevant assistance and support and recommendit to the family.

All answers to writtenparliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website the search facilityfor which can be at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

The Executive has made availableto East and West Dunbartonshire Councils since 1999, the provision shown in thefollowing table for local roads.

	East Dunbartonshire (£ Million)	West Dunbartonshire (£ Million)
1999-2000	4.142	2.799
2000-01	4.210	2.859
2001-02	4.327	2.931
2002-03	4.582	3.102
2003-04	4.814	3.259
2004-05	4.964	3.437
2005-06	5.151	3.567
2006-07	6.239	4.324
2007-08	6.239	4.325

 

The allocations shown in thetable include East and West Dunbartonshire’s share of the additional funding of £60 million perannum that the Executive has made available to all Scottish local authorities forimproving local roads in 2006-07 and 2007-08 as part of Spending Review 2004.

Although these are the allocationswhich the Executive provides it is for each local authority to determine its ownpriorities and expenditure.

The establishment of the newstatutory Regional Transport Partnerships through the development of their RegionalTransport Strategies provides an opportunity to consider and prioritise projectsand identify funding. Strathclyde Partnership for Transport will receive a totalof £25,227,647 per annum for the next two years for the development of transportprojects in the West of Scotland.

Tolls ended on the Erskine Bridge on 31 March 2006 to easecongestion in Glasgow particularly through the Clyde Tunnel and on the ClydesideExpressway, and have a beneficial impact on air quality in the city.

The Crown Office andProcurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) is committed to providing services that areaccessible to all members of the public, and ensuring that all people aretreated fairly and in accordance with their needs as far as is possible.

All staff attend a two dayDiversity Awareness Course which includes a session on disability within whichlearning disabilities are discussed. These sessions are delivered by guestpresenters who have some expertise in this area.

Staff also have access to arange of materials on the departmental intranet which assists in working withpeople with learning disabilities. COPFSis delivering an entire training programme about the Vulnerable Witnesses Act2004 and this includes information about adult vulnerable witnesses, adultswith learning disabilities and adults subject to guardianship orders andintervention orders.

Training for the wider legalprofession is a matter for the relevant professional bodies.

Action continues on improvingtreatment across the whole population from those who experience mild to moderatemental health problems to those with more severe and complex needs. The agenda centreson good health promotion, ill health prevention and improvements to the qualityof care and treatment to help aid recovery.

The new Mental Health (Care andTreatment) (Scotland) Act is a driver for further improvement in serviceswith new rights, benefits and protections for all those who experience mental healthproblems, and their carers.

A wide range of other initiativesis in hand at local, regional and national levels, backed by record resources, includingattention to depression services through our “Doing Well” programme; perinatal mentalhealth accommodation and services; support for crisis and out of hours care,and an ambitious health improvement and well being agenda.

Delivering for Health (Bib. number 37847) sets the forward direction for developingand improving health services and reflects the priority for mental health services.Our work on mental health will be brought together in a national mental health deliveryplan to be published by the end of this year.

The Scottish Executive doesnot provide NHS boards or local authorities with a separate budget specificallyfor mental health services. Spend on mentalhealth services will be drawn from the record funds allocated to these agencies,taking account of national and local priorities.

Theannual allocation for health in 2007-08 will be over £10 billion and the Grant AidedExpenditure to local authorities for social work will have increased to £2.085 billion.

In addition to the general healthexpenditure, we have invested £41.485 million since 2003 to 2006 to help NHS boardsand local authorities implement and deliver the Mental Health (Care and Treatment)(Scotland) Act 2003, with a further £5 million available through NHS boards in both2006-07 and 2007-08.

We have also invested £24 millionfrom 2003 to 2006 for the work of the National Programme for Improving Mental Healthand Well-being, with a further £18 million planned over 2006-08.

I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-26622 on 21 June 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are availableon the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Transport Scotland has undertakena feasibility study into the possibility of the electrification of the Edinburghto Glasgow route. The rolling stock procurement plan currently being developed todeliver a fleet of rolling stock for the Scottish rail network, will work with orwithout electrification of the Edinburgh and Glasgow route as the industry has sufficientcapacity to produce the required number of vehicles to meet our requirements underany plausible scenario.

Transport Scotland hasthe operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more informationif required.

To facilitate the developmentof a rolling stock procurement plan, Transport Scotland is currently exploringa range of suitable options through discussions with a number of major train manufacturersacross the UK, Europe and beyond. They have all responded positively to thesediscussions and expressed their willingness to produce trains in line with our needs.

Procurement of the vehicles will,of course, be through a competitive process in line with EU legislation.

Transport Scotland hasthe operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more informationif required.