- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 March 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 16 March 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a detailed breakdown of the total costs which it and each of its agencies have incurred in the Shirley McKie case for each year since 1997.
Answer
I refer to the answer toquestion S2W-23439 on 7 March 2006. All answers to written parliamentaryquestions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility forwhich can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 06 March 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 15 March 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to assist in the delivery of a new railway station in Ravenscraig, identified as being desirable in Glasgow and the Clyde Valley Joint Structure Plan 2000.
Answer
The Scottish Executive isworking with the Ravenscraig Partnership which is developing the proposal for anew railway station at Ravenscraig.
Transport Scotland hasthe operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for moreinformation if required.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 06 March 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 15 March 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Forth and Tay road bridges are classified as either motorway or trunk roads or local roads or whether they form a different category of road.
Answer
The Forth and Tay Road Bridges arepart of the local road network.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 06 March 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 15 March 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the ministerial statement by the Minister for Transport and Telecommunications on 1 March 2006, when it estimates that it will be in a position to announce whether a new crossing over the Forth will be necessary and, should such a crossing prove necessary, what its design would be, how much it would cost and how its construction would be funded.
Answer
The Executive will not be ina position to make an announcement on the need for a replacement crossing of the Forth until the Forth Estuary Transport Authority has concluded a number ofconcurrent technical investigations and the Executive has completed its earlyconsiderations for a replacement crossing as part of the strategic projectsreview. The scope and form of any such replacement crossing, its cost andfunding mechanism will not be determined until later in the process.
Transport Scotland hasthe operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for moreinformation if required.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 06 March 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 15 March 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to assist in the delivery of a new railway station in Abronhill, identified as being desirable in Glasgow and the Clyde Valley Joint Structure Plan 2000.
Answer
The Scottish Executive willwork with local and regional transport planners developing proposals for newtransport projects ensuring that the proposals meet Scottish TransportAppraisal Guidance criteria. The promotersof new stations are advised to take account of the
New Stations Guidancepublished by the Strategic Rail Authority in 2004. We have not been asked toassist with the delivery of a new railway station in Abronhill.
Transport Scotland hasthe operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for moreinformation if required.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 06 March 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 15 March 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive when the capital costs of constructing the Erskine Bridge were recouped by the revenue from tolls on the bridge.
Answer
The costs of constructing theErskine Bridge were met from the then Scottish Office Transport programme. Tolling revenuehas not been offset against the construction costs, but has funded the on-goingmaintenance, management and operation of the bridge.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 March 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Colin Boyd on 15 March 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Lord Advocate or the Solicitor General offered advice to the Cabinet or individual ministers over the Shirley McKie case and, if so, what that advice was.
Answer
By long-standing convention,the Scottish Executive does not disclose the fact or content of Opinions oradvice given by the Law Officers to Ministers. This convention was recognisedby Parliament in the enactment of section 29 (1) (c) of the Freedom ofInformation (Scotland) Act 2002.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 March 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 15 March 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to address the declining fertility rate
Answer
Fertility rates arelargely a product of personal choice and are not primarily a matter for the Executive.Scotland’s total fertility rate has been falling relativeto other parts of the United Kingdom, although remains slightlyabove the EU average. Despite this downward trend over the past two decades in Scotland, it is difficult to predict future fertility levels due to thecomplex factors which influence fertility decline
There are many social and environmentalfactors which influence successful conception, such as female bodyweight, smoking,alcohol, drug misuse and sexually transmitted diseases. Also, the widespread useof contraception amongst sexually active people, alongside social choices to havesmaller families or to have no children, mean that less children are being bornthan in the past.
The Scottish Executiveis committed to an on-going programme of both health and sexual health improvementand the promotion of informed lifestyle choices. Longer term labour market considerations continue to be addressedthrough initiatives such as Fresh Talent.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 06 March 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 15 March 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to assist in the delivery of a new railway station in Mossend, identified as being desirable in Glasgow and the Clyde Valley Joint Structure Plan 2000.
Answer
The Scottish Executive willwork with local and regional transport planners developing proposals for newtransport projects ensuring that the proposals meet Scottish TransportAppraisal Guidance criteria. The promotersof new stations are advised to take account of the
New Stations Guidancepublished by the Strategic Rail Authority in 2004. We have not been asked toassist with the delivery of a new railway station in Mossend.
Transport Scotland hasthe operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for moreinformation if required.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 06 March 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 15 March 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S2W-21585 and S2W-21874 on 22 December 2005 and 23 January 2006 by Cathy Jamieson and Colin Boyd QC respectively when it states that “no specific, credible information supporting such an allegation has been brought to the attention of the police” in relation to allegations that US agencies have used Scottish airports as refuelling stops for flights engaged in the process of “extraordinary rendition”, whether this indicates that the Executive itself has not received any “specific, credible information supporting such an allegation” and, if so, how this is its position when it has not had any discussions with Human Rights Watch or Amnesty International about their allegations that extraordinary rendition has taken place and whether it discounts Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International as credible sources of information in this area.
Answer
The police are responsible forconducting investigations into criminal offences and the police will act if andwhen there is information to justify such action. At present, no credible and reliableinformation has been presented to the police to justify an investigation by them.
