Questions and answers

Question reference: S3W-38961

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 21 January 2011
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 1 February 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive when the dual carriageway on the A9 at Killiecrankie was constructed.

Question reference: S3W-38960

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 21 January 2011
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 1 February 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will upgrade the A9 Moy 2+1 overtaking lane to dual carriageway status following its closure in November 2010 due to safety concerns.

As part of normal procedures, a road safety audit of the A9 Moy improvement was carried out shortly after opening and this identified some driver behaviour which could produce a potentially dangerous situation. The overtaking lane was closed to protect safety and Transport Scotland is currently considering options for resolving the issues identified.

The Scottish Government is committed to planning for the dualling of the whole of the A9 between Perth and Inverness and has already announced further improvements. The detail for this work, in terms of design, costs or programmes will be defined in the context of the development of the Strategic Transport Projects Review intervention relating to the upgrading of this trunk road from Dunblane to Inverness and wider funding and resource commitments.

Question reference: S3W-38959

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 21 January 2011
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 1 February 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will set out a full timetable for the dualling of the A9 between Perth and Inverness also showing construction costs.

As I confirmed in the Members'' Business debate in the Chamber on the A9 on 20 January 2011, although it would clearly never have been possible to design, authorise, procure and complete major dualling of the A9 in the lifetime of this Parliament, the Scottish Government has committed to dualling the A9 from Perth to Inverness and have put the project into the Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR), so that it is on record as one of our priorities.

I also confirmed that dualling this section involves approximately 87 miles of new carriageway and, as the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth made clear during the debate, that requires in-depth planning and design to ensure we deliver the right scheme, taking into consideration all the factors, including environmental constraints, such as the protected Cairngorms National Park.

Once these stages have been completed, we can then finalise the timescales for the upgrading of the A9 which will be undertaken in the context of overall affordability and our commitments to the STPR recommendations.

Question reference: S3W-38971

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 21 January 2011
Current Status: Awaiting answer

To ask the Scottish Executive what the annual cost is to (a) it, (b) its agencies and (c) other public bodies of employing (i) press officers, (ii) communications officers, (iii) strategy officers and (iv) other positions with a similar remit.

Question reference: S3W-38970

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 21 January 2011
Current Status: Awaiting answer

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) press officers, (b) communications officers, (c) strategy officers and (d) other positions with a similar remit are employed by (i) it, (ii) its agencies and (iii) other public bodies.

Question reference: S3W-38219

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 December 2010
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 20 January 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what commitments in the Strategic Transport Projects Review it will (a) take forward and (b) prioritise in 2011.

The Strategic Transport Projects Review sets out 29 investment priorities over the period to 2032 and this government is committed to delivering these projects subject to the transport allocation within future spending reviews and affordability.

Our priority projects remain the Forth Replacement Crossing, Edinburgh to Glasgow Improvements Programme, Highland Main Line and the Aberdeen to Inverness line.

We are also working with partners and stakeholders to take forward the other projects, including:

The design and development of the A9, with design work for dualling currently being undertaken between Birnam and the Jubilee Bridge;

Early design work on the A96 to identify solutions for upgrading the section between Inverness and Nairn to dual carriageway;

Developing a long term vision for the A82 to improve its overall standard and safety;

Developing a public transport strategy for the Forth Replacement Crossing which will include funding for a Park and Ride Site;

Developing a number of Park & Ride sites, including at Dalcross, Dyce (A96), Forgan and outside Ayr (M77), and

The production of a plan for rail improvements in Glasgow and the West of Scotland through the West of Scotland Strategic Rail Enhancements Steering Group.

Question reference: S3W-38236

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 December 2010
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 20 January 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has invested in studies on the effects of milder winters.

The Scottish Government has not commissioned any studies looking specifically at the effects of milder winters. Climate change is one of three cross-cutting themes embedded in the Scottish Government''s £50 million annual investment in strategic research programmes. These make a significant contribution to climate change issues. An additional sum of at least £1 million is also invested annually in more specific climate change initiatives, including a collaborative partnership with the UK Research Councils on the Living with Environmental Change programme and the UK Climate Change Risk Assessment, which is led by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on behalf of all parts of the UK.

Question reference: S3W-38238

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 December 2010
Current Status: Answered by Jim Mather on 13 January 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what impact prolonged and severe wintry weather, including snow and ice, has on onshore wind turbines performance.

The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government, which does not monitor the performance of individual wind turbines. Energy statistics for the United Kingdom are collated and published by the Department of Energy and Climate Change. Research into wind energy in cold climates has been carried out by the International Energy Agency and suggests that severe wintry weather has only a minimal impact on the performance of appropriately designed turbines.

Question reference: S3W-38237

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 December 2010
Current Status: Answered by Jim Mather on 13 January 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive at what temperatures large-scale onshore wind turbines are unable to operate.

Turbine selection is a matter for developers and technical information on the parameters within which specific models are designed to operate is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. This may vary from model to model. Turbine manufacturers can generally supply this information on request. It should be noted that large wind turbines have been deployed successfully in cold climates including Alaska.

Question reference: S3W-38221

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 December 2010
Current Status: Answered by Jim Mather on 22 December 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it and its agencies are taking to promote whisky tourism in Perthshire.

VisitScotland, Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise work extensively with whisky attractions and retailers to help promote whisky tourism in Perthshire and across Scotland.

Whisky features across a great range of VisitScotland''s promotion of Scotland, including Perthshire, in their marketing campaigns both domestically and abroad, across brochures, websites, PR activity and a variety of other communications to consumers. This is particularly so during our yearlong focus on Scotland''s Food and Drink in the lead up to the second Year of Homecoming in 2014.

VisitScotland and the enterprise agencies in partnership with The Scotch Whisky Association and The Scotch Whisky Experience supported the establishment of Scotlandwhisky.com, a dedicated site exploring where tourism and whisky can work together. It allows visitors and potential visitors to search for local distilleries, whisky tours, and promotes local whisky festivals and events across Scotland including Perthshire.

VisitScotland works with several Perthshire based distilleries to provide visitors with special promotions some of which also link to other tourism businesses and activities. These offers are promoted through VisitScotland Information Centre''s, websites and other dedicated marketing activities.

Whisky attractions such as Dewar''s world of whisky in Aberfeldy and Edradour in Pitlochry feature in VisitScotland guides and brochures, marketing campaigns such as Winter White. Several whisky and local distilleries also feature in VisitScotland''s What To See And Do guide for the area.

Tell us your views

Seòmar agus comataidhean