Questions and answers

Question reference: S4W-12062

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 28 January 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many documents it has lost since 2007.

Question reference: S4W-11798

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 December 2012
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 16 January 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of flooding risks to communities.

The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) published the first ever National Flood Risk Assessment (NFRA) in December 2011. The NFRA pulls together all the latest information relating to the sources and impacts of flooding, and is a major step forward in understanding the risk of flooding across the whole of Scotland. This is the first step in delivering a new risk-based approach to flood management in Scotland. The assessment covered flooding from rivers, groundwater and the sea, as well as flooding caused when heavy rainfall cannot enter the drainage system or the river network. The likelihood of flooding was considered alongside the estimated impact on people, the economy and the environment. This combined understanding of where flooding is likely to occur and the impact when it does, will allow us to target efforts in managing the future risks to people and property.

Based on the National Flood Risk Assessment, SEPA has identified 243 Potentially Vulnerable Areas (PVAs) where the potential impact of flooding is sufficient to justify further assessment and appraisal of flood risk management actions. The setting of objectives and appraisal of actions within the PVAs will form the basis on which local authorities, Scottish Water and SEPA develop long-term and sustainable flood risk management plans.

Question reference: S4W-11797

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 December 2012
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 16 January 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many local authorities have requested assistance to implement flood defence schemes.

Funding for flood risk management is included in the General Capital Grant to Local authorities and is valued at £42 million per annum in each year of the current spending review. In agreement with COSLA it was separately identified, and local authorities can now bid for funding for flood protection schemes in excess of £2 million. Eight local authorities submitted applications in the first round; only three of which met the funding criteria agreed by COSLA and the Scottish Government. The three schemes with the estimated costs at the time of application are:

Highland - River Ness (Tidal Section) Flood Prevention Scheme (£22 million)
Moray - Forres (River Findhorn & Pilmuir) Flood Prevention Schemes (£44 million)
Scottish Borders - Galashiels (Plumtree, Wilderhaugh & Netherdale) Flood Prevention Scheme (£3.6 million)

A further round will be announced in 2013.

Question reference: S4W-11799

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 December 2012
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 16 January 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has made available to local authorities to build flood defence schemes in each year since 1999.

The Flood and Coast Protection budgets for 2001-02 to 2007-08 as detailed in the Spring Budget Revision each year are:

Year*	Budget (£m)
2001-02	0.6
2002-03	1.2
2003-04	2.0
2004-05	10.8
2005-06	6.4
2006-07	14.8
2007-08	38.9

* No information is available for earlier years.

In order to provide local authorities with the maximum flexibility, specific funding for flood/coast protection was replaced in 2008 with a General Capital Grant. Following representations from local authorities about funding of large scale flood protection schemes, the Scottish Government and COSLA agreed that for the 2012-15 spending review period, the flooding component of the general capital grant should be targeted towards major projects. The distribution of this is being agreed between COSLA and the Scottish Government.

Local authorities can apply for this funding on the basis of criteria agreed by the Scottish Government and COSLA. A total of £73 million was available in this spending review period, on top of the £53 million funding that was allocated to existing projects and included within local authorities’ General Capital Grant allocations. Local authorities are free to allocate additional resources to flooding from within the overall funding provided to them by the Scottish Government and from within their own resources.

Question reference: S4F-01111

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 14 January 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 January 2013

To ask the First Minister what recent discussions the Scottish Government has had with NHS boards about appointment procedures for senior health managers.

Question reference: S4W-11796

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 December 2012
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 8 January 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many flood mitigation issues have been identified by local authorities.

Question reference: S4W-11664

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 December 2012
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 18 December 2012

To ask the Scottish Government how many random spot checks on school buses have been carried out by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency in each year since 2003 and how many buses failed.

Ensuring the safety and roadworthiness of vehicles is a reserved matter. It is the responsibility of The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) to enforce these standards, ensuring the compliance of operators and drivers and supporting the independent Traffic Commissioners. Web-links to relevant VOSA effectiveness reports are provided below. These provide annual data on associated checks carried out in Scotland but the data is not disaggregated at the level of school buses.

http://www.dft.gov.uk/vosa/publications/corporatereports/2010-2011reportsuite/corporatereports-2010-2011vosaeffectivenessreport.htm

http://www.dft.gov.uk/vosa/corporatereports-2009-2010vosaeffectivenessreport.htm

http://www.vosa.gov.uk/vosa/repository/2008%20-%202009%20Effectiveness%20Report.pdf

http://www.dft.gov.uk/vosa/repository/VOSA%202007-08%20Effectiveness%20report%20with%20links.pdf

http://www.dft.gov.uk/vosa/repository/Effectiveness%20Report%202006%2007%20.pdf

http://www.dft.gov.uk/vosa/repository/2005%20-%202006%20VOSA%20Effectiveness%20Report.pdf

http://www.dft.gov.uk/vosa/repository/2004%20-%202005%20VOSA%20Effectiveness%20Report.pdf

http://www.dft.gov.uk/vosa/repository/2003%20-%202004%20VOSA%20Effectiveness%20Report.pdf

Question reference: S4W-11663

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 December 2012
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 18 December 2012

To ask the Scottish Government how many inspections of school buses have been carried out by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency in each year since 2003.

Question reference: S4W-11666

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 December 2012
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 18 December 2012

To ask the Scottish Government how many random spot checks on school buses have been carried out by each local authority in each year since 1999.

Ensuring the safety and roadworthiness of vehicles is a reserved matter. It is the responsibility of The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) to enforce these standards, ensuring the compliance of operators and drivers and supporting the independent Traffic Commissioners.

VOSA carry out an annual inspection on vehicles to ensure that they are free from defect and roadworthy. In addition, VOSA undertakes random spot checks on vehicles at unannounced locations. Some local authorities in Scotland also carry out such checks themselves. Associated statistical information is not held centrally at this level of detail.

Question reference: S4W-11667

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 December 2012
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 18 December 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what strategy is being developed by the Police Service of Scotland to ensure the safety of children on school buses.

Ensuring the safety and roadworthiness of vehicles is a reserved matter. It is the responsibility of The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) to enforce these standards, ensuring the compliance of operators and drivers and supporting the independent Traffic Commissioners.

The Police support VOSA in this role and will investigate any concerns made known or identified regarding vehicle roadworthiness and safety and will take any necessary action.

Chamber and committees