Chamber and committees

BEAR Scotland Ltd’s performance on trunk road maintenance, which is monitored by the independent Performance Audit Group, has been generally satisfactory. Following an audit by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency, it is understood that the Traffic Commissioner proposes to hold a Public Inquiry to hear evidence from Bear Scotland Ltd. In relation to drivers’ hours during bad winter weather. It is possible that any ruling from the Traffic Commissioner following the public inquiry could affect the current interpretations regarding drivers’ hours during winter maintenance operations and in these circumstances it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.

No, this is not normal procedure for such projects. We have been advised by Strathclyde Passenger Transport that the Consultation Exercise for the Glasgow Airport Rail link does not conclude until 28 February 2005. The Scottish Executive looks forward to receiving a copy of the Consultation Report when it is published.

We are taking forward the work on the A82 Route Action Plan as a matter of priority. I expect the study to report in October of this year, and the findings will be made public as soon as possible thereafter.

The Scottish Executive is fully committed to effectively addressing youth crime.  As indicated in the answers to questions S2W-2071 (on 5 September 2003), S2W-679 (on 17 June 2003) and S1W-32193 (on 12 December 2002). All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the searchfacility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/wa.search.

It is for individual police forces to determine the extent of their involvement in initiatives such as Operation Youth Advantage.

A small number of additional allocations are to be made to the NHS prior to the end of the financial year. This will include additional provision to assist NHS boards make progress towards delivery of national waiting time commitments and enable boards to reduce the number of outpatients waiting more than six months from 52,000 to 25,000 and the number of in-patients/day cases waiting more than six months from 7,000 to 3,500 by 31 March 2005. The funds will be allocated on the basis of achievement of milestones for delivery of agreed targets.

The table below gives information provided by police forces for the number of police officers redeployed from court duties. Information on the number of officers freed up from escorting has not been quantified by the police but it is estimated to run to some 100 officers. Also the next phase, implementation of non-core tasks such as inter-force and UK custody transfers, which is scheduled to commence this month, will result in further officers being released.

Number of Officers Redeployed from Court Duties

Central Scotland	14
Dumfries and Galloway	6
Fife	4
Grampian	3
Lothian and Borders	35
Northern	1
Strathclyde	134
Tayside	12
Scotland	209

 

I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-13619 on 18 January 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/wa.search.

During the parliamentary debate on ferry services on 8 December 2004 the Parliament expressed concerns regarding the tendering process. I agreed to discuss these concerns with the European Commission and raised this issue with the European Transport Commissioner, M Barrot, when I met him in Brussels on 9 December 2004. Following that meeting I wrote to M Barrot asking whether there was any way, within the terms of European law relating to maritime cabotage, to allow the Clyde and Hebrides services to continue to be delivered on a subsidisedbasis without the need to tender. Further discussions are taking place between the Executive and the European Commission and I will report back to Parliament on thisissue as soon as possible.

As indicated in my statement, the maximum payment for the national free bus scheme for older and disabled people will be £159 million in 2006-07 and £163 million in 2007‑08. Actual expenditure within that cap will depend on the number of concessionary passengers and the cost of the journeys carried out. As also indicated in my statement, payment will be at the rate of 73.6% of the average adult fare.

The breakdown of direct costs incurred by the Executive (to end January 2005) in connection with the EU requirements in relation to the Clyde and Hebrides ferry services is set out in the table below. It does not include the cost of senior officials in Transport Group, specialist officials or ministers as their time cannot be separately accounted for. Neither does it include a proportion of the overheads which the Executive accrues generally. The figures have been calculated in cash terms.

Staffing (Note1)	£ 800,000 (approx)
Travel and Subsistence Expenses for Officials (Note 2)	£12,000 (approx)
Consultation Exercises (Note 3)	£40,000 (approx) (incl. VAT)
External Advice (Note 4)	£286,000 (approx) (incl. VAT)
Total	£1,138 million

Notes:

1. A dedicated team of officials has been in place to deal with the EU requirements in relation to the Clyde and Hebrides ferry services since November 1999. Individual staff costs (including pension and NI contributions) are complex to calculate. This figure is derived from the structure of the team from November 1999 to the present and average full staff costs for each relevant grade for each financial year.

2. Travel and Subsistence incurred by the dedicated team of officials. It does not include a proportion for ministers.

3. This includes design, printing and postage. It does not include staff time which is accounted for separately.

4. The Executive has commissioned external advice, totally approximately £286,000, where the expertise was not available internally:

-research to provide additional evidence to the Commission on the uniqueness of the Caledonian MacBrayne fleet. This supported the Executive’s proposals to retain the fleet in public ownership and to bind the successful bidder to those vessels.

-technical advice on the service specifications for the Clyde and Hebrides services and the Gourock to Dunoon route.

-technical advice on the proposed restructuring of Caledonian MacBrayne

-research into the application of the EU rules in other member states. This research is due to be completed shortly.