Chamber and committees

This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court Service (SCS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCS who will reply in writing with 20 days.

The procedure for any member of the public who wishes to make a criminal accusation against a member of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal staff or the judiciary has not changed as a result of the creation of Police Scotland.

If a member of the public believes that a criminal offence has been committed, they should report this to Police Scotland on the 101 non-emergency number, or write to Chief Constable Sir Stephen House, Police Scotland, PO Box 21184, Alloa, FK10 9DE.

If a member of the public believes that a criminal offence has been committed, they should report this to Police Scotland on the 101 non- emergency number or write to Chief Constable Sir Stephen House, Police Scotland, PO Box 21184, Alloa, FK10 9DE.

(a) The number of major disruptions on the Far North railway line in each quarter of the last five years has been as follows:

(b) The number of major disruptions in each of the last six months has been as follows:

By month, 2014 (last six months, including where an emergency timetable has been implemented):

(c) The nature of each disruption is listed as follows. The impact each had on passenger numbers is not recorded.

Monday 4 January 2010: Animal strike at Forsinard, 205 delay minutes.

Tuesday 5 January 2010: Weather-related disruptions at Wick and Forsinard, 503 delay minutes and one part cancellation.

Thursday 7 January 2010: Heavy snow between Helmsdale and Forsinard, 344 delay minutes.

Friday 22 January 2010: Derailment at Dingwall, eight full or part cancellations and 58 delay minutes.

Wednesday 10 March 2010: Vehicle fault on train at Forsinard, 204 delay minutes and one part cancellation.

Friday 2 April 2010: Train fault at Fearn, 231 delay minutes.

Wednesday 25 August 2010: Engine fault between Inverness and Dingwall, 236 delay minutes.

Friday 26 November 2010: Weather-related incidents (snow) at Muir of Ord, 231 delay minutes and two full or part cancellations.

Tuesday 7 December 2010: Weather-related delay, nine full cancellations.

Wednesday 8 December 2010: Weather-related incidents, 263 delay minutes.

Monday 20 December 2010: Weather-related disruptions, 12 full or part cancellations and 17 delay minutes.

Wednesday 22 December 2010: Train fault at Tain, 234 delay minutes.

Monday 24 January 2011: Train fault (radio-related) at Georgemas Junction, 521 delay minutes and one full cancellation.

Thursday 8 December 2011: Wind-related disruptions (Scotland-wide), seven full cancellations. Flooding at Ardgay, five full cancellations.

Tuesday 13 December 2011: Blanket speed restrictions (wind-related), five full cancellations.

Sunday 22 January 2012: Failure on the radio communication system north of Inverness, which meant a caution on all level crossings in the Far North and to Kyle; 202 delay minutes.

Saturday 14 July 2012: Train defect resulting in poor performance on a Wick/Inverness working, 215 delay minutes (mostly of reactionary delay to other Far North line services).

Tuesday 30 October 2012: Radio based signalling system defect affecting all lines north of Inverness. 312 delay minutes and one part cancellation.

Monday 3 December 2012: Radio signalling fault on train at Invergordon; this was a delay of 13 minutes, but the spillover effects included 205 delay minutes and one part cancellation.

Saturday 17 August 2013: A small amount of late-running (five minutes) on the Far North line led to 225 delay minutes and two full cancellations incurred.

Thursday 3 October 2013: Ardgay to Inverness services lost time in running causing 264 delay minutes and no full or part cancellations.

Wednesday 9 October 2013: Train at Dingwall lost time in running resulting in 205 delay minutes and two full or part cancellations.

Friday 11 October 2013: Train at Dingwall lost time in running resulting in 379 delay minutes and no full or part cancellations.

Thursday 5 December 2013: Severe storm incident. Network Rail invoked a key route strategy, which meant no service on many routes and severely reduced service on the rest.

Thursday 16 January 2014: Broken rail at Ardgay (near Tain), 248 delay minutes and two part cancellations.

Friday 14 March 2014: Emergency speed restriction between Dingwall and Invergordon, 245 delay minutes and three part cancellations.

Monday 19 May 2014: Train fault at Inverness, 213 delay minutes and two full cancellations.

Tuesday 1 July 2014: Tractor on the line at Brora, eight full or part cancellations and 28 delay minutes.

Tuesday 12 August 2014: There was disruption to services on the Highland Main Line and Aberdeen-Inverness, because of weather conditions leading to significant flooding.

Wednesday 1 October 2014: Far North line, driver lost time between Lairg and Tain resulting late arrival to Inverness and reactionary delays. 211 delay minutes.

Friday 3 October 2014: Far North line, radio communication lost between Ardlui and Tain, 234 delay minutes and three full or part cancellations.

Friday 31 October 2014: Points failure at Inverness 250 delay minutes and two full or part cancellations.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of distance learning in providing students with flexibility in how they choose to engage in higher education.

In 2014, through the part-time fee grant, 13,773 students with the Open University and other institutions were assisted to engage in higher education through distance learning to attain qualifications and develop their skills.

The latest data for students on distance learning courses at Scottish Higher Education institutions (HEIs) are Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) data for 2013-14.

Tables 1, 2 and 4 provide information by age, declaration of disability and urban/rural classification.

The HESA dataset does not contain any income information. Table 3 provides data for students from deprived areas.

Data has been provided for degree-level students and for all undergraduate students.

Table 1 - Distance learning students in higher education in Scottish HEIs by level of study and declaration of disability for Disabled Students Allowance (DSA), 2013-14

Source: HESA

Table 2 - Distance learning students in higher education in Scottish HEIs by level of study and age, 2013-14

Source: HESA

Notes:

1. Totals include a small percentage of students (>0.1%) whose ages were not reported

Table 3 - Distance learning students in higher education in Scottish HEIs by level of study and deprivation, 2013-14:

Source: HESA

Notes:

1. Deprived areas are defined as the 20 per cent lowest ranked areas in the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) for the relevant year, in this case SIMD 2012.

2. The student numbers shown in the table do not match the student numbers in Tables 1 and 2 as not all postcodes from student records can be matched to allow analysis by SIMD (e.g. non-Scottish domiciles or those with incomplete or missing postcodes).

Table 4 - Distance learning students in higher education in Scottish HEIs by level of study and urban/rural classification, 2013-14

Source: HESA

Notes:

1. The student numbers shown in the table do not match the student numbers in Tables 1 and 2 as not all postcodes from student records can be matched to allow analysis by SIMD (e.g. non-Scottish domiciles or those with incomplete or missing postcodes).

All eligible students with a personal income of less than £25,000 per annum can apply to the Student Awards Agency for Scotland for an award of part-time fee grant (PTFG). This includes students studying with the Open University or other institutions offering distance learning.

In academic year 2013-14, eligibility for the PTFG was extended to allow those students undertaking 120 Scottish Credit Qualification Framework (SCQF) credits per annum, at non campus based universities, to access support through the PTFG. Studying 120 SCQF credits per annum generally represents full-time study.

Through the part-time fee grant (PTFG), many students who want to undertake their first undergraduate degree through distance learning are now able to access funding support.

All eligible students undertaking their first undergraduate degree, with a personal income of less than £25,000 per annum, can apply to the Student Awards Agency for Scotland for an award of PTFG. This includes students studying with the Open University or other institutions offering distance learning.

In academic year 2013-14, eligibility for the PTFG was extended to allow those students undertaking 120 Scottish Credit Qualifications Framework (SCQF) credits at non campus based universities to access support through the PTFG. Studying 120 SCQF credits per annum generally represents full-time study.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-24260 on 12 February 2015. 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/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

As part of the A83 Route Study, Transport Scotland commissioned the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) to undertake an examination of potential ecological and related landslide solutions. TRL produced a report addressing the proposed solutions which includes a section on the use of livestock. The report is available online at:

http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/system/files/uploaded_content/documents/projects/A83/a83-rest-and-be-thankful-project-ecological-related-landslide-mitigation-options.pdf