Chamber and committees

The estimated cost of the landscaping works must remain commercial-in-confidence at this stage since the tender documents for the works are not due to be issued until the end of February. I am informed by the Convener of the Holyrood Progress Group that, since the landscape scheme needs to be conceptually consistent with the building in terms of planning for the Holyrood site as a whole, the plans have not changed significantly since those first made public in 1999. The overall cost of the landscaping is unchanged from that made public in September 2000 and is based upon more detailed plans approved by the City of Edinburgh Planning Department in September 2001.

I have no immediate plans to visit Nairn. Nairn Golf Club is part of the Golf Highland initiative, which works closely with VisitScotland. The Nairn golf courses feature strongly in VisitScotland promotional activities.

The following learning providers based in Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber have been recipients of Individual Learning Account payments in each of the last two years:2000-01Development PartnersForemost ITInverness CollegeNevis Training CentreStrathnairn Management2001-02B.A.S.P.Development PartnersEagle ConsultingForemost ITGHMSHotscotHTL (Highland Training Ltd)Inverness CollegeJohn Rose PCLochaber Business Development ServicesMoray Firth Training GroupNevis Training CentreNorcomStrathnairn Management.

The powers to issue directions, orders or instructions to BEAR are contained in the legal contact documents that form the contract.Provided BEAR meets its contractual obligations, the Executive would not expect to interfere in the way BEAR uses its resources. Any such interference could have serious contractual implications for either or both parties to the contract.

The Scottish Executive is awaiting response from the Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions to the case for measures to protect access to Gatwick for the Inverness service.

Audit Scotland is currently reviewing the Flour City contract as part of the routine audit of the SPCB's accounts. The SPCB decided at its meeting on 5 February 2002 to consider any further action in the light of Audit Scotland's findings.

BEAR has replied to outstanding correspondence from Strathdearn Community Council on 12 November 2001 and apologised for overlooking earlier correspondence.The Performance Audit Group carries out audits of the Operating Companies across a wide range of functions, including dealing with correspondence.Scottish Executive managers are aware that BEAR has not complied with contractual requirements with regard to general correspondence. A default notice has been issued and monies withheld. The Executive will continue to keep this matter under review.

Due to heavy snowfalls during the weekend of 29-30 December 2001, BEAR deployed gritters and snow ploughs on the A9.The first priority on dual carriageway roads is to keep one lane open in each direction and once this has been achieved the gritters treat the outside lanes. However, due to the heavy prolonged snowfall on 29 December 2001 the gritters were fully deployed keeping one lane open. Consequently, it was not possible to keep the outside lane between Tomatin and Inverness free from ice and snow.With regard to the problems experienced by lorries on the hill at Daviot, I understand that a lorry overtook a gritter and became stuck in the outside lane. However, it did not block the road and other vehicles were able to pass safely using the inside lane. The lorry was removed soon after the incident.

BEAR Scotland Ltd has arrangements in place for extreme winter weather conditions to mobilise standby plant, re-deploy resources from the combined North East and North West Units and to obtain additional resources from Ennstone Thistle, some local contractors and councils. Additional resources may also be obtained from BEAR's partners outwith the geographical area.The previous arrangements under Highland Council included the use of standby plant, the redeployment of resources within the council area and the possible employment of local contractors.

The Parliament's External Liaison Unit is currently aware of 21 high-profile visits to the Parliament in the period from 1 January to 30 April 2002. It is anticipated that a further 20 or so high profile visits can be expected during the period. (The term high-profile is used to cover all visits organised by the unit and includes visiting parliamentarians, heads of state, representatives of governments including ministers, ambassadors and high-level officials and senior representatives of international or other organisations. Details of forthcoming visits are available on the External Liaison Unit site on SPEIR. Information is kept on the basis of numbers of visits rather than visitors. The figures given, therefore, include both individual high-profile visitors and group visits to the Parliament.) The number of actual similar visits to the Parliament in the same period in 2000 was 20, in line with anticipated volume. In 2001 the figure was 57. This demand was greater than the unit had anticipated and measures have been taken to allow the Parliament to manage better the flow and timetabling through the year of visits of this type. It is anticipated, therefore, that while the number of visits between 1 January and 30 April 2002 will be greater than in the same period in 2000, there will be somewhat fewer than in early 2001. The policing requirements of the majority of visits to the Parliament are handled by the Parliament's dedicated Police Unit as part of normal duties. Only a small number of visits, depending on the status of the visitor, require a wider input from Lothian and Borders Police or Specialist Departments. There is close liaison between the parliamentary staff handling visits and the police to ensure that any implications for police resources can be taken into account as far in advance as possible. The police services, however, are aware of the need to police the many important visitors to Edinburgh each year and build that commitment into normal budget planning.