- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 08 November 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 31 January 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement by the First Minister’s official spokeswoman on 20 October 2004, what reservations the First Minister has in respect of measures in the UK Gambling Bill that relate to devolved matters; what its position is in respect of whether powers to determine whether casinos should open in places outwith the current permitted areas should be devolved and, if so, how such powers should be exercised and by whom; what its position is in respect of the implications for devolved matters of any introduction of slot machines offering prizes of up to £2.5 million, and what powers it has to prevent their introduction.
Answer
Scottish ministers are content that the UK Gambling Bill will provide them with a wider range of controls under the new system than at present.
The bill provides for three types of casinos – small, large and regional. The UK Government has now announced that, initially, the number of new casinos will be limited to eight of each type throughout Great Britain. However, the decision on the location of any new casinos in Scotland will only be taken in consultation with Scottish ministers and this will be reflected on the face of the bill.
All new casinos will need to be licensed by a new regulatory body, the Gambling Commission, who will be responsible for regulating gambling and for operating and personal licences. Social responsibility will be an explicit condition of an operating licence, with breaches triggering penalties or even loss of licence.
The bill also provides local authority Licensing Boards with power to decide whether to license any category of casino in their areas.
Casinos will be allowed to install more gaming machines than at present, but their numbers will be capped. Only regional casinos will be allowed to install slot machines offering the potential to win unlimited prizes. This is reserved.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 06 December 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 28 January 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make a statement regarding the Skye Bridge tolls and, if so, when; whether it will provide the Parliament with a detailed explanation for any such statement, in particular including the calculation of any payment to be made to buy out the owners of the PFI in respect of the Skye Bridge; whether any such statement will be made (a) before or (b) during the Christmas recess, and, if such a statement is made in the Parliament, whether it envisages that there will be an opportunity for members to question the ministers for transport and finance and public services.
Answer
The tolling regime on the Skye Bridge was ended on 21 December 2004. The Parliament was informed in response to question S2W-12790 also on that day, which was before the Christmas recess. The final payment to Skye Bridge Ltd (SBL) is expected to be around £27 million, and will be known when the audited accounts of SBL to 31 December 2004 are prepared. We anticipate that this will be in February, after which we will publish the termination agreement between the Executive and Skye Bridge Ltd.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 10 January 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 28 January 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what costs will be incurred as a result of any failure to tender the Clyde and Hebrides ferry services; how any such costs are calculated, and what information it has on any costs being incurred by other EU member states in respect of lifeline ferry services in areas where opportunities for competition between ferry operators is limited or non-existent.
Answer
If the Clyde and Hebrides ferry services were not tendered and the European Court of Justice were subsequently to find that such an action was in breach of EU rules the consequences could be severe. In particular, following on from sucha ruling, the Commission could order the immediate cessation of subsidy to Caledonian MacBrayne and that the Executive recover from Caledonian MacBrayne all subsidy that had been declared to be illegal state aid.
I understand that all member states with lifeline ferry services have either tendered them, are in the process of doing so or are in discussion with the Commission about how to bring those services into line with EU rules.
In relation to Public Service Obligations the Commission investigated, in 1998, aid given to the Spanish state owned ferry company Trasmediterranea (Trasmed). When the Commission began the investigation it required the Spanish authorities to suspend payment of state aid to Trasmed until the Commission’s examination of the case had been concluded. The case took three years to complete at which time the Commission found that the tender process had been flawed and breached the non-discrimination principle. Following the investigation, Spain was obliged by the Commission to terminate the existing contract with Trasmed, to suspend any payment of aid and to comply with the Cabotage Regulation in respectof any successor contract. The Commission also required that any subsequent contract enter into force “only after adequate time and publicity have been given to allow all Community shipping companies a fair opportunity to prepare their bids”.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 13 January 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 27 January 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the number of journeys made by passengers on (a) trains and (b) buses in each year since 1999.
Answer
There were 66.1 million rail passenger journeys originating in Scotland, and 449 million passenger journeys (boardings) on local bus services in Scotland, in 2003-04.
The equivalent figures for earlier years appear in table 8.1 (rail) and table 2.2 (bus) of Scottish Transport Statistics no. 23, 2004 edition, copies of which are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 33706).
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 13 January 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 27 January 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the number of passengers who travelled on (a) trains and (b) buses in each year since 1999.
Answer
The information held by the Executive on passenger numbers relates to passenger journeys. The total numbers of journeys made by train and bus passengers (which count each person once for each journey made as a passenger) are given in my answer to question S2W-13395 answered on 27 January 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliaments website, the search facility for which can be found at:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
The Scottish Household Survey provides some information about adults' use of train services, and local bus services, in the previous month. This is given in table 10 of Household Transport in 2003: some Scottish Household Survey results, copies of which are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 34410).
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 13 January 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 27 January 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive how many petrol retailers there are in operation outwith rural areas and how many of these it anticipates will close in the next 12 months.
Answer
The information requested is not held centrally.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 13 January 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 27 January 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding will be spent on trunk road repairs and maintenance in each of the next three years.
Answer
The funding allocated to the Transport Portfolio was published in the Draft Budget 2005-06, a copy of which is available in the Parliaments Reference centre (Bib. number 34133)
The level of funding that has been allocated to be spent on trunk road repairs and maintenance, which includes structural maintenance, in the next three financial years is as follows:
| Financial Year | Funding Level (£ Million) |
| 2005-06 | 97 |
| 2006-07 | 118 |
| 2007-08 | 118 |
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 January 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 26 January 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated cost is of construction of the Glasgow Airport Rail Link on the basis of the proposals currently being consulted on and, in particular, what the estimated cost is of each of the options for the playing fields at St James Park, Paisley.
Answer
Based on the current proposals, the estimated cost of the Glasgow Airport Rail Link is £140 million. Strathclyde Passenger Transport’s consultation gives two options for the St James Spur: building the line either on a viaduct or an embankment. A comparative cost estimate has been made between the two, giving indicative costs of £11,000 and £9,500 per linear metre respectively. For robustness, the estimated total figure of £140 million assumes that the viaduct - the more expensive option - will be implemented. However, no decision has been made about the preferred spur option at this stage, reflecting on-going public consultation and consideration of a number of issues, such as severance of playing fields and the visual impact of the scheme.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 January 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 25 January 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to replicate Operation Youth Advantage, operated by the army in conjunction with the Northern Constabulary and Grampian Police; whether it considers that schemes which provide diversionary experience for younger people, with a residential course including physical exercise and classes on drugs, alcohol and good citizenship, are the most effective way of turning younger people away from a life of crime, and what action it has taken, or will take, on these matters.
Answer
The Scottish Executive is fully committed to effectively addressing youth crime. As indicated in the answers to questions S2W-2071 (on 5 September 2003), S2W-679 (on 17 June 2003) and S1W-32193 (on 12 December 2002). All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the searchfacility for which can be found at:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/wa.search.
It is for individual police forces to determine the extent of their involvement in initiatives such as Operation Youth Advantage.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 January 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 25 January 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is still able to fund all its transport commitments and, if not, which commitments will not be met.
Answer
Yes.
