- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 January 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 25 January 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what its policy is on the required level of salt in grit and how it ensures that there is not a low salt content in the grit used on trunk roads which results in a reduced effectiveness of the grit.
Answer
The policy for salt used to de-ice trunk roads is contained in the contract documents. I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-21762 today.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 January 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 25 January 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what measures BEAR Scotland Ltd has in place to ensure that the highest regard is made to public safety when fulfilling its obligations under the trunk roads maintenance contract and what monitoring there is to ensure that such measures are in place and are complied with.
Answer
BEAR Scotland Ltd has quality systems and operational procedures in place which require safety issues to be addressed, relating both to the public and its employees, whilst ensuring that its other obligations under the terms of the trunk road contract are met. These systems and procedures have been scrutinised by Performance Audit Group and consented to by the Scottish Executive.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 January 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 25 January 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether BEAR Scotland Ltd has any plans to reduce costs by lowering the salt content of the grit used on trunk roads and whether it will give details, including dates, of any representations it has made to BEAR Scotland Ltd on this matter.
Answer
There are no plans to amend the quality of salt specified in the contract documents. I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-21762 today.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 January 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 25 January 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the salt content of the grit used by BEAR Scotland Ltd in maintaining the trunk roads in the north of Scotland complies with the standards required under its contract; what testing it has conducted to check that BEAR Scotland Ltd are meeting these required standards; what the results of any such testing were, and when the testing was carried out and at what location.
Answer
The contract requires that salt used to de-ice trunk roads must be regularly tested to comply with standards, and the records of these tests must be maintained for inspection. The Performance Audit Group intends to inspect this information as part of their on-going programme of audits.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 January 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 25 January 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what representations have been made to it, or what inquiries it has made, into the condition of the pavements in Newtonmore during the week commencing 30 December 2001; whether the salt content of the grit was a factor in the condition of the pavements, and what action it has taken, and with whom, as a result.
Answer
No representations were received by the Scottish Executive concerning the condition of the footways in Newtonmore during the week commencing 30 December 2001.All rock salt used on trunk roads and associated footways complies with British Standard BS 3247 and this material is not considered to be a factor in the condition of the pavements in Newtonmore.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 January 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 25 January 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the tender document which specified the standards required to be met by applicants for the trunk roads maintenance contracts made any stipulation as to the salt content to be used in grit.
Answer
The tender document specified that the Operating Company shall use rock salt complying with BS 3247 for de-icing operations.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 10 January 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 24 January 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how many workers are currently employed by BEAR Scotland Ltd in relation to the operation of the trunk roads maintenance contract.
Answer
The number of personnel currently employed directly by BEAR Scotland Ltd, in relation to the operation of the trunk road maintenance contracts in the North East and North West Units, is 231.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 10 January 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 24 January 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how many road gritters BEAR Scotland Ltd is operating on each trunk road within the Highland Council area compared to the previous number operated by the council.
Answer
Information on the number of road gritters operated by BEAR Scotland Ltd can be found in the Winter Maintenance Plans published by BEAR for the North East and North West Units, copies of which are available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. No's 18110 and 18114). It is not possible to make direct comparisons between BEAR and the previous operator as Highland Council had resources to fulfil its responsibilities on both trunk and local roads. Other factors that influence direct comparisons are the size and the types of vehicles used, age and reliability of vehicles and modern technology.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 10 January 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 24 January 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how many gritters are used by BEAR Scotland Ltd in order to fulfil its obligations under the trunk roads maintenance contract.
Answer
The information requested can be found in the Winter Maintenance Plans published by BEAR Scotland Ltd for the North East and North West Units, copies of which are available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. No's 18110 and 18114).
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 10 January 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 24 January 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has inspected the vehicles used by BEAR Scotland Ltd to fulfil their obligations under the trunk roads maintenance contract in order to monitor whether the vehicles are fit for their purpose and whether the gritters used by them are able to, and do in practice, disperse sufficient quantities of grit.
Answer
The Trunk Road Maintenance Contracts require all gritters to be calibrated to ensure that they disperse the necessary quantities of salt. The Performance Audit Group has carried out audits on BEAR's winter operations, including winter maintenance vehicles, and these audits have confirmed that their vehicles have been calibrated to disperse the required quantities of salt.
