Chamber and committees

Management proposals for the marine protected areas in question have already been the subject of 20 weeks public consultation. This comprised of a consultation on potential management approaches which ran from 11 November 2014 to 2 February 2015. This was followed by an eight week consultation on the draft Marine Conservation Orders which ran from 11 June 2015 to 9 August 2015. In addition the process was paused during September and October 2015 to enable the Rural Affairs, Climate Change, and Environment Committee to take evidence from stakeholders. The current further consultation is seeking views on the adjustments that have been proposed for three of the sites. These adjustments take account of stakeholder views from the most recent consultation on the draft Marine Conservation Orders, including those of the fishing industry.

Following the landslip on 30 December 2015, existing mitigation measures were effective in ensuring that the majority of the landslip material was prevented from reaching the A83.

Extensive monitoring of the hillside was undertaken and a 150 tonne boulder was identified as a potential risk to the A83 and the Old Military Road. Consequently, the A83 was closed on the evening of 4 January 2016 and traffic was diverted via Dalmally. For safety reasons, ongoing visual monitoring of the slope was necessary, and the Old Military Road diversion was made available during the daylight hours when this monitoring was possible.

Works to make safe the boulder took place on 5 and 6 January 2016 and following the geotechnical checks on 7 January 2016, the A83 reopened at the earliest opportunity. Temporary traffic lights were erected to protect staff working to clear the debris nets.

I have also arranged for the A83 taskforce to reconvene on 25 January 2016, when the continued work of the group and next steps will be discussed.

The A83 Trunk Road Route Study published in February 2013 considered a series of options with the objective to reduce the impact of the effects of landslides at the Rest and Be Thankful. This transport appraisal was undertaken in accordance with Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance and Stage 1 scheme assessment in accordance with the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges.

Six options were appraised and this is fully discussed in the A83 Trunk Road Route Study, Part A which can be found on the Transport Scotland website at the following link: http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/system/files/uploaded_content/documents/projects/A83/a83-rest-and-be-thankful-project-a83-trunk-road-route-study-report-part-a-final.pdf

The “Brown Option” considered a 1km debris flow shelter. Following the initial sift against the stated criteria, the options for a flow-over canopy was sifted out for further consideration as other options were assessed to perform better against the appraisal criteria. Also similar benefits could be achieved with other options in the study at lower cost and with a lower potential environmental impact.

The Scottish Government remains committed to working with local communities and businesses to ensure that Argyll remains open for business. This has seen an investment of over £48 million in maintaining the A83 since 2007. This includes £9 million towards reducing the risk of impacts from landslides at the Rest and Be Thankful and the establishment of the local diversion route. The A83 taskforce will reconvene on 25 January 2016, when the continued work of the group and next steps will be discussed.

Following the landslip on 30 December 2015, existing mitigation measures were effective in ensuring that the majority of the landslip material was prevented from reaching the A83.

Extensive monitoring of the hillside was undertaken and a 150 tonne boulder was identified as a potential risk to the A83 and the Old Military Road. Consequently, the A83 was closed on the evening of the 4 January 2016 and traffic was diverted via Dalmally. For safety reasons, ongoing visual monitoring of the slope was necessary, and the Old Military Road diversion was made available during the daylight hours when this monitoring was possible.

Works to make safe the boulder took place on 5 and 6 January 2016 and following the geotechnical checks on 7 January 2016, the A83 reopened at the earliest opportunity. Temporary traffic lights were erected to protect staff working to clear the debris nets.

Our operating company, BEAR Scotland, kept stakeholders, local communities and businesses and the print and broadcast media updated throughout this period. They also issued updates via social media and through travel information websites such as Traffic Scotland.

The Scottish Government, working closely with our stakeholder partners, has already invested £9 million towards reducing the risk of impacts from landslides at the Rest and Be Thankful and also the establishment of the local diversion route. The taskforce group will reconvene on 25 January 2016.

The socio-economic impact assessment undertaken as part of the 2013 Route Study assessed the impact of closures at the Rest and Be Thankful due to landslides I can confirm that this was reviewed in 2015.

Details of how many sailings were scheduled on each CalMac route from June 2013 to November 2015, and how many were cancelled due to (a) the weather, (b) technical and (c) other issues is available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 57542).

Details of total sailings and cancellation information for the Argyll Ferries Limited, Gourock-Dunoon service, from June 2013 to November 2015 is available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 57542). Argyll Ferries Limited do not record weather related berthing issues separately as these are recorded under weather cancellations.

The CalMac Ferries Limited subsidy to operate the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Service is provided for the network as a whole and as such the subsidy is not split on a route by route basis. The total subsidy for each full financial year is available from CalMac Ferries Ltd Director's Report and Financial Statements at the following web address:

https://www.calmac.co.uk/corporate/annual-reports
The passenger, car, coach and commercial vehicle patronage on the Ardrossan-Campbeltown service is available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 57542).

The information requested is not held centrally and is a matter for Creative Scotland. Creative Scotland say that over the last four years they have made around 150 awards to publishers totalling around £4.1 million. I have asked Creative Scotland's Chief Executive Janet Archer to respond to the member with the details of these awards.

The information requested is not held centrally and is a matter for Creative Scotland. I have asked Creative Scotland's Chief Executive Janet Archer to respond to the member.

The judging of the awards is a matter for the wholly independent Saltire Society.