Chamber and committees

The Forth EstuaryTransport Authority (FETA) is responsible for the maintenance and operation of theForth Road Bridge.

Providing updateson the progress of the dehumidification works is therefore, a matter for FETA.

Converting one of the two proposed bored tunnels from road to light rail would raise the capacityissue of reducing the crossing to a single lane for general traffic in either direction.

Therefore, no costinghas been produced.

Proposals to increasepublic awareness of the national gateway line to local child protection serviceswill be discussed with the Child Protection Line Working Group on 15 November 2007 and with the Chairs of the Child Protection Committeesat their next quarterly meeting on 13 December 2007.

The tunnel optionsunder consideration do not satisfy the gradients required for heavy rail to be incorporated,either during construction or at a later stage. As such, we have not estimated thecosts of converting one of the two bored tunnels from road use to heavy rail duringthe lifetime of the new Forth crossing.

No decision has yetbeen made regarding the form of the replacement crossing.

Following the decisionon the form, function and location of the crossing, the crossing will be designedand constructed to suit its proposed function and to carry specific, alternativetransport modes.

Therefore, no costshave been prepared for strengthening the deck at a later date, should a bridge bedecided upon.

The whole life maintenancecosts for the bridge and tunnel options are included in the Forth Replacement CrossingStudy reports.

I refer the memberto answer to question S3W-2451 on 1 October 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are availableon the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

None.I refer the memberto the answer to question S3W-2459 on 4 September 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are availableon the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Local authoritiesalready receive their funding from the Scottish Executive in three year financialsettlements, as they have done since 2001. Local authorities have the autonomy tomake local funding decisions, such as those involved in determining the level offunding passed on to the third sector, on whatever basis and to whatever timescalesthey deem appropriate.

The level of resourcesthat local government are to receive from the Scottish Executive will be determinedas part of the Spending Review process and the results of that process are likelyto be known later this year. Altering the quantum of resources provided to localgovernment would not directly affect their ability to pass on funding in three yeartranches. However, we supportthe practice of three year funding for the voluntary sector across the public sectorand encourage the use of longer term funding agreements, where possible, to providea stable and efficient operating environment for the sector.

Our plans to increasethe number of people signing up to the Organ Donor Register are not age-related.A child under the age of 12 years can join the register but in the event of theirdeath while still aged under 12, authorisation would be needed by a person withparental rights or responsibilities for the child before organ donation could lawfullytake place. In terms of the 2006 act, children aged 12 or over can add their namesto the Organ Donor Register and that counts as self-authorisation under the act.

The Scottish Governmenthas funded a teaching resource pack aimed at raising awareness amongst senior schoolpupils of the issues associated with organ donation and transplantation. The pack,which we expect to be in use in schools across Scotland, has the potential over time to produce a population with a heightened awarenessof the benefits of transplantation.

With the support of the Scottish Government, NHS Blood and Transplant is also about to send a new educationalresource, Give and Let Live, to all secondary schools in Scotland. Itis aimed at 14 to 16-year-old pupils and is designed to highlight the concept ofdonating blood, organs, tissue and bone marrow.

The duty is dischargedmainly through the funding of advertising campaigns aimed at raising awareness of the need to increase organ donation numbers. The main focus of these campaigns hasbeen to encourage people to add their name to the NHS Organ Donor Register. The2006 act recognises these registrations as forms of authorisation, and is designedto ensure that people’s wishes are respected after their death.

As a significant contributionto discharging our duties under the 2006 act, we took full advantage, in terms ofraising awareness of organ donation and encouraging people to sign up to the Register,of the launch in Edinburgh in July of Transplant Awareness Week, and the holdingof the British Transplant Games in the city. We intend to mount a further advertisingand PR campaign later in the year.