Questions and answers

Question reference: S4O-00637

Asked by: Margaret McDougall, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 January 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 February 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what services will be lost when prison visiting committees are replaced with an independent advocacy service.

Question reference: S4O-00619

Asked by: Margaret McDougall, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 January 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 January 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how many full-time teachers are in post and how this compares with 2007.

Question reference: S4W-04720

Asked by: Margaret McDougall, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 December 2011
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 12 January 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what factors it took into account when deciding the most recent local government finance settlement for North Ayrshire.

The funding allocations to all local authorities, including North Ayrshire Council, were calculated using the agreed needs-based distribution formula which has been in place for many years. The main indicator of need is population but other factors are taken into account including deprivation, rurality, and road lengths.

The formula was reviewed jointly, by the Scottish Government and COSLA, in 2009, and it concluded that the existing indicators were reasonable and should be retained and updated. The formula is kept under constant review to ensure that it is still fit for purpose.

Question reference: S4W-04715

Asked by: Margaret McDougall, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 December 2011
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 12 January 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive when work will begin on upgrading the Dalry by-pass.

The proposed A737 Dalry Bypass is included in Intervention 22 of the Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR) and Scottish ministers recognise its importance in helping to reduce the conflict between local and strategic traffic that occurs along the A737, improving road safety and journey time reliability on this route.

Intervention 22 of the STPR is included in the recently published Infrastructure Investment Plan as part of the pipeline of projects for delivery. The timing of delivery of individual bypasses and road improvements within the pipeline, depends on securing the necessary approvals for individual projects and the availability of funding. Advance preparatory work on the proposed Dalry bypass has already been undertaken, with an assessment of route options and supporting environmental impact assessments completed.

Question reference: S4W-04716

Asked by: Margaret McDougall, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 December 2011
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 12 January 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to improve the infrastructure links to North Ayrshire to help encourage investment.

North Ayrshire is already well connected to the trunk road and rail networks and can take advantage of convenient road links to both Glasgow and Prestwick International Airports and to the ports at Ardrossan, Hunterston and Ayr.

The proposed A737 Dalry Bypass is included in Intervention 22 of the Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR) and Scottish ministers recognise its importance in helping to reduce the conflict between local and strategic traffic that occurs along the A737, improving road safety and journey time reliability on this route.

Intervention 22 of the STPR is included in the recently published Infrastructure Investment Plan as part of the pipeline of projects for delivery, subject to the availability of future funding.

Question reference: S4W-04717

Asked by: Margaret McDougall, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 December 2011
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 12 January 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to develop road links to North Ayrshire to improve travel-to-work opportunities.

North Ayrshire is well connected to the trunk road network through the A78 and A737 and, via the A71, to the A77/M77, A76 and M74.

Passenger rail services in North Ayrshire provide fast and convenient commuting opportunities to destinations both within and outside North Ayrshire, including Glasgow, and have benefited from investment in a fleet of new Class 380 electric trains which were introduced on the Ayrshire routes in 2011.

STPR Intervention 26 – Rail Enhancements Between Inverclyde/Ayrshire and Glasgow - will deliver further improvements to passenger services and make a significant contribution to increasing rail capacity in Ayrshire, which is expected to encourage modal shift from road to rail.

Question reference: S4W-04712

Asked by: Margaret McDougall, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 December 2011
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 12 January 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason its Infrastructure Investment Plan 2011 does not refer to the A737.

The Infrastructure Investment Plan, published on 6 December 2011, sets out our ambitious programme of capital investment, from now to 2030, and explains how this spend will help to boost economic growth.

The plan identifies the larger Scottish Government investments expected in the coming decades. In addition, we will be investing significantly in a wide range of less costly projects and programmes, that are also strategically important, but have not been individually identified in the plan.

The A737 will be considered under the programme of smaller scale transport investments including Targeted Bypass Schemes which will manage specific congestion points on the strategic travel network and Targeted Trunk Road Improvements which will continue the effective operation of the trunk road network, providing opportunities for overtaking and improved safety.

Question reference: S4W-04718

Asked by: Margaret McDougall, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 December 2011
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 12 January 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it takes levels of (a) deprivation and (b) unemployment into account when deciding the local government finance settlement.

A range of needs-based indicators are used in the distribution of the annual local government finance settlements. The main driver is population which is split into various age bands to cover groups such as the school population and the elderly but other indicators of need used include deprivation, rurality, and road lengths. Although levels of unemployment are not directly used, the numbers of Income Support Dependents and Job Seekers Allowance claimants are included as measures of deprivation within the distribution formula.

Question reference: S4O-00552

Asked by: Margaret McDougall, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 December 2011
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 January 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how it supports people with multiple sclerosis.

Question reference: S4O-00536

Asked by: Margaret McDougall, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 December 2011
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 December 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what its plans are for prison visiting committees.

Chamber and committees