The costs associatedwith including light rail at the design stage for each of the proposed options wereprovided at the Public Information Exhibitions.

To provide sufficientwidth for light rail on a new bridge would mean strengthening the deck, increasingcosts by around 20%. Tunnels would require an additional tunnel for light rail onlywhich would increase costs by around 50%.

No work has been conductedon adding light rail to a crossing at a later stage.

Heavy rail has beendismissed as an option for any replacement crossing as the existing rail infrastructurecan be improved to meet foreseeable demand.

The work of theStrategic Funding Review concluded in February 2007, with the agreement of theConvention of Scottish Local Authorities and the Scottish Council for VoluntaryOrganisations. The final two papers from the review, on support services andfull cost recovery, were published at that time.

The ScottishGovernment supports the general principles of the review, noting thatimplementation falls largely to those who fund and those who receive funding towork more closely together. Effective cooperation, particularly with councilsand public sector bodies, should enable third sector organisations tocontribute fully to a more successful country, with opportunities for all of Scotland to flourish, through increasing sustainable economicgrowth.

The information requestedfor the past six months is not collected centrally.

The annual pre-schooland child care statistics provide information on the number of pre-school educationproviders by sector and local authority based on an annual census in January. The Pre-school and Childcare Statistics 2007are due to be published on 27 September 2007.

Research hasshown that around one in five new drivers is involved in an accident within oneyear of passing their driving test. The Pass Plus pilot scheme encouraged alldrivers between 17 and 25 years of age, resident in the pilot areas and who hadpassed their driving test within the last 12 months, to apply for a grant towardsthe cost of Pass Plus. The aim was to increase uptake of Pass Plus among thetarget group and we are currently evaluating the effectiveness of the pilotscheme in increasing uptake of Pass Plus. Information on the uptake of PassPlus will be made available in due course.

It should benoted, however, that because the scheme is entirely voluntary there will alwaysbe drivers within this group who choose not to benefit from the additionaltraining available through the Pass Plus scheme.

Through RoadSafety Scotland, the Scottish Government supports the Bikesafe scheme run byScottish police forces which aims to help participants become safer and more competent riders.

Road SafetyScotland provides Bikesafe support materials and also funds the road safetystand at the Scottish Motorcycle Show in March each year. Road Safety Scotlandis developing a point-of-sale resource for motorcyclists which will encourageadvanced rider training.

The pilot schemeis being monitored to evaluate its effectiveness in increasing the uptake ofPass Plus. A decision on future support for Pass Plus will depend on the resultsof the pilot scheme and the outcome of the current review by the DrivingStandards Agency on the future of driver training and testing in the UK.

Research examiningcharacteristics and attitudes of young drivers was published by the Scottish Governmentin October 2005 in the report on the Creative Development and Evaluationof the SCRC Young Driver Campaign 2005. This is a web only publication whichcan be accessed at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/10/25130500.

Drivers in the 17to 25 age group have been included in more general road safety research on prevalenceand attitudes related to speeding, drink driving and drug driving. These include:

The Speeding Driver:Who, How and Why (Published August 2003 - web only)

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2003/08/17977(Full report).http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2003/08/17981(Summary Research Findings).

Rural Road Safety – A literature Review (Published August 2005)

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/07/19153450(Full report).http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/07/19110507(Summary Research Findings).

Drinking and Driving:Prevalence, Decision-Making and Attitudes (Published December 2001)

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/cru/kd01/blue/ddpda-00.asp(Full report).http://www.scotland.gov.uk/cru/resfinds/drf128-00.asp(Summary Research Findings).

Illicit Drugs andDriving (Published July 2006 - web only)

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/07/10105913(Full report).http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/07/10105943(Summary Research Findings).

Recreational Drugsand Driving (Published February2001)

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/cru/kd01/blue/prevalence-00.htm(Full report of prevalence survey).http://www.scotland.gov.uk/cru/kd01/blue/druguse-00.htm(Full report of qualitative study).http://www.scotland.gov.uk/cru/resfinds/drf102-00.asp(Summary Research Findings of prevalence survey and qualitative study).

The Scottish Governmentplans to develop a 10 year road safety strategy for Scotland. A panel of experts has been set up to advise on appropriate initiatives,including measures to improve the safety of young drivers.

Through Road SafetyScotland, the Scottish Government is targeting publicity on speeding, drink anddrug driving and seat belt use at drivers aged between 17 and 25 years.

“Crash Magnets”, aneducational resource for upper secondary pupils, aims to influence attitudes to driving behaviour beforeyoung people get behind the wheel. A website to support and enhance the resource,www.CrashMagnets.com, was launched earlierthis year.

The Scottish Governmentis evaluating the effectiveness of the pilot scheme in increasing the uptake ofPass Plus in the Grampian Police area and will make this information available indue course. No externally commissioned research is being carried out at this stage.

The whole issue ofdriver training and testing is currently the subject of a detailed review by theDriving Standards Agency and it is expected that this will include considerationof Pass Plus.

It is the responsibilityof NHS boards to determine the number and skill mix of staff needed to deliver servicesin their area. Each NHS board is responsible for the planning and provision of NHSpodiatry services in its area, based on an assessment of local need and in accordancewith local and national priorities.