Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S3W-00400

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 31 May 2007
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 13 June 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding it plans to allocate for the full dualling of the A9 between Perth and Inverness.

Question reference: S2W-31953

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 February 2007
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 8 March 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all renewable schemes that have received Renewables Obligation Certificate funding since 1999, also showing how much each scheme received.

Question reference: S2W-31952

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 February 2007
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 8 March 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive which hydro power schemes have downgraded from a capacity exceeding 20 megawatts to a capacity below 20 megawatts since 1999, also stating when this occurred and the company involved.

The following eight hydropower schemes reduced their capacity from above 20 megawatts to below 20megawatts before 1 April 2002, when the Renewables Obligation (Scotland) cameinto force.

Hydro Station	Owner
Culligran	Scottish and Southern Energy
Finlarig	Scottish and Southern Energy
Grudie Bridge	Scottish and Southern Energy
Kinlochleven	Alcan
Mossford	Scottish and Southern Energy
Quoich	Scottish and Southern Energy
Shin	Scottish and Southern Energy
St Fillans	Scottish and Southern Energy

Question reference: S2W-31800

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 February 2007
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 1 March 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is considering commencing any new road projects in Angus.

Question reference: S2W-31799

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 February 2007
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 1 March 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is considering commencing any new road projects in Perth and Kinross.

New road projects recentlycompleted, underway or scheduled to be delivered during the current programme inthe area of Perth and Kinross Council area are as follows:

Road	Scheme Details	Estimated Cost (£ Million)	Status
M90	Perth Southern Bypass – reconstruction of westbound carriageway	2.0	Completed
M90	Bridge of Earn to Craigend – reconstruction of southbound carriageway	2.1	Underway
M90/A9	M90 Broxden Roundabout and A9 Inveralmond Roundabout improvements (combined scheme)	2.2	Underway
A9	Balhaldie to Greenloaning – reconstruction/refurbishment of the northbound and southbound carriageways	2.6	Underway
A9	Abbey Bridge to Auchterarder reconstruction of the southbound carriageway	1.5	Completed
A9	Bankfoot – junction improvements and construction of a climbing lane	2.4	Estimated start 2007-08
A9	Kindallachan - junction improvements	0.5	Estimated start 2007-08
A9	Ballinluig – construction of grade separated interchange	14.4	Estimated start 2007-08
A9	Resurfacing of carriageway south of Dalnaspidal	1.0	Completed
A90	Glendoick and Kinfauns grade separated interchanges	14.0	Completed

In addition, we haverecently undertaken a Route Improvement Strategy Study of the A9 from Perth toBlair Atholl which identified £165 million worth of long-term improvement work.Detailed studies are now being carried out on how best to take forward theseimprovements to the A9 including dualling between Perth and Pitlochry, safeovertaking provision and reconstruction along this environmentally sensitiveroute.

Transport Scotland hasthe operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for moreinformation if required.

Question reference: S2W-31801

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 February 2007
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 1 March 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to encourage the transportation of freight by rail between Perth and Inverness.

We are committed toencouraging modal shift of freight from roads to rail across Scotland andoperate three rail freight grant schemes to achieve this aim. Since 1999, thispolicy has removed over 5 million lorry miles from the A9 corridor.

Our project to deliver gaugeenhancement from Mossend to Elgin via Perth will allow for larger freight containers to betransported by rail. We estimate that this will remove 19.8 million vehiclemiles from the roads per year.

Question reference: S2W-31798

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 February 2007
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 27 February 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it is providing to protect Scotland’s trees and woodlands such as the Fortingall Yew and Meikleour beech hedge.

Environmentand Rural Development

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whatfunding it is providing to protect Scotland’s trees and woodlands such as the FortingallYew and Meikleour beech hedge.

(S2W-31798)

Sarah Boyack: One of Forestry Commission Scotland’s(FCS) key responsibilities is to protect Scotland’s trees, woods and forests. This is mainly administeredthrough felling permissions, long-term forest plans and direct grant-aid for forestestablishment and management through grant incentives such as the Scottish ForestryGrants Scheme.

Heritage trees within woodlandscan be supported and protected as part of an FCS grant scheme or through regulatorypermissions. Individual trees of particularly high amenity value can also be protectedby Tree Preservation Orders which are issued by local planning authorities. Thereare also local initiatives supported by FCS, which promote the importance of highvalue heritage trees. For example, the FCS inventory of Scotland’s heritagetrees led to the publication Heritage Trees of Scotland, which featuresboth the Fortingall Yew and the Meikleour Beech Hedge. The “Perthshire Big TreeCountry” initiative - a £1.8 million project delivered via Perth and KinrossCountryside Trust to which FCS has contributed around £600,000 through the ScottishForestry Grant Scheme – is helping to safeguard the future of heritage trees inPerthshire.

Question reference: S2W-31795

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 February 2007
Current Status: Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 27 February 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to protect Ardoch Roman Fort.

The Ardoch Fort complex is currentlybeing rescheduled to extend the protected area to the north and west in order toprotect all Roman remains visible as crop marks on aerial photographs.

Whilst on-going management of the site is the responsibility of the owner, the 1979 act does not impose any obligationon the owner of a monument to maintain it. Historic Scotland can and does offergrants to owners for works that benefit a monument. Recently, several grants havebeen given to support the better management of the site, and to allow it to be appreciatedas a single entity.

The current greatest single problemis a recurrence of rabbit infestation. Between August 2005 and March 2006, rabbitproof fencing was erected around the site, jointly funded by a Rural StewardshipScheme application and a Historic Scotland grant. It is hoped that this barrier,combined with a program of night shooting, will reduce the number of rabbits inthe fort in coming years. Historic Scotland officials continue to be closely involvedin this case and visit the site regularly.

An erosion survey of the fortis currently being undertaken. This will complement the erosion survey which tookplace in 1997, and provide information on the stability of the monument over a 10year period.

Question reference: S2W-31755

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 February 2007
Current Status: Answered by Hugh Henry on 22 February 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has set criteria for designating whether a child is being home educated and, if so, what the criteria are and whether local authorities are required to adhere to them.

Question reference: S2W-31797

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 February 2007
Current Status: Answered by Robert Brown on 22 February 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all projects for young people for which it has provided funding through Angus Council since 1999, showing the (a) type of project and (b) amount of funding awarded.