Chamber
Plenary, 05 Nov 2009
05 Nov 2009 · S3 · Plenary
Item of business
Level Crossings (Fatal Accident Inquiries)
Speaker
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That the Parliament regrets the continuing loss of life at railway level crossings, most recently at Halkirk in Caithness and, in January 2009, at Gatehead in Kilmarnock and Loudoun; notes the large number of organisations involved in the investigation of rail accidents and incidents in Scotland, the Rail Accident Investigation Branch, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, the British Transport Police, Scotland's eight police forces and the Office of Rail Regulation, and considers that, following the Review of Fatal Accident Inquiry Legislation being conducted by Lord Cullen, a modernised system of fatal accident inquiries can contribute to greater coordination and scrutiny of any inquiries, including the implementation of any recommendations, by whichever agency, following such tragic incidents.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Trish Godman):
Lab
The final item of business today is a members' business debate on motion S3M-4986, in the name of Willie Coffey, on conduct of inquiries into fatalities at l...
Motion debated,
That the Parliament regrets the continuing loss of life at railway level crossings, most recently at Halkirk in Caithness and, in January 2009, at Gatehead i...
Willie Coffey (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (SNP):
SNP
I thank the Parliamentary Bureau and my colleagues for giving me the opportunity to bring this matter before the Parliament.As background to today's debate, ...
Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD):
LD
I congratulate Willie Coffey on securing the debate. I will talk in particular about the facts surrounding the tragic crash at Halkirk. I pay tribute to the ...
Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP):
SNP
I have taken an interest in this subject since I was a district councillor in Dingwall, where there are three open level crossings, where there have been acc...
Charlie Gordon (Glasgow Cathcart) (Lab):
Lab
I congratulate Willie Coffey on securing the debate and extend my condolences to his constituent's family. There is a certain amount of truth in the notion t...
Jamie Stone:
LD
Does Charlie Gordon accept that Network Rail is making £1.2 billion profit and can afford to make improvements itself?
Charlie Gordon:
Lab
Yes, on the face of it, but I suspect that there is a bit more to it than that. Part of the further dialogue that we must have with Network Rail relates, amo...
Dave Thompson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP):
SNP
I, too, congratulate Willie Coffey on getting the debate. Jamie Stone has already talked about the Halkirk accident in Highland, which was tragic, as he said...
Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con):
Con
I apologise for my absence at the start of the debate. I congratulate Willie Coffey on securing a members' business debate, and I am pleased to have this opp...
The Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change (Stewart Stevenson):
SNP
Like others, I thank Willie Coffey for lodging the motion that has given us the opportunity to debate the issue. I should also highlight the substantial qual...
Meeting closed at 17:46.