UK airspace open

The volcanic ash cloud that disrupted flights from many Scottish airports yesterday has moved west overnight and all UK airspace is now open, the National Air Traffice Service (NATS) reports.

Glasgow, Edinburgh and Prestwick airports and Western Isles routes were among those affected on Wednesday.

After a meeting of the Cabinet's Resilience Sub-Committee, Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson said:

"We welcome the return to normal operations this morning following yesterday's disruption.

"The Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Health Protection Scotland and the Food Standards Agency are continuously monitoring deposits of volcanic ash through a robust monitoring network. The Cabinet Sub-Committee was reassured that deposits of ash presented no environmental concerns.

"Last night saw further significant eruptions in Iceland though weather conditions today mean that we expect no significant problems as we move into the weekend. Clearly conditions are volatile and the Cabinet Sub-Committee will continue to meet over the coming days to ensure we are fully prepared to respond to changing circumstances."

The Scottish Air Quality Database contains the most up-to-date continuous ambient monitoring information across Scotland. All concentrations have remained low at all monitoring sites across Scotland.

Ash cloud situation

Latest advice from the Met Office and Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) suggests that volcanic ash cloud cover above Scotland should clear overnight with normal air services expected to resume tomorrow.

The CAA has said that it is likely that services from Edinburgh Airport will resume at 7pm tonight with Glasgow expected to reopen at 1am.

Speaking after a meeting of the Scottish Government Resilience Cabinet sub-committee, Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson said:

"The Scottish Government Resilience Cabinet sub-committee met earlier this morning to ensure that everything possible is being done to respond to the impact of the return of volcanic ash over parts of Scotland.

"We received updates from key agencies, including the Met Office, CAA and the National Air Traffic Service (NATS), who are all responding to the challenges posed by the return of the ash to our airspace. SGoRR also discussed the importance that agencies ensure that all future passenger and customer information is accurate and consistent.

"We also discussed the mechanics of getting ballot boxes in place for tomorrow's UK Parliamentary election and received assurances from returning officers in Argyll and Bute, Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles that boxes are already deployed to allow tomorrow's poll to go ahead as planned.

"Train and bus operators have also once again moved quickly to boost capacity with additional bus services between Scotland and London and increased capacity on services between Glasgow and the Port of Stranraer.

"We appreciate that people will feel inconvenienced by further cancellations but we hope they will understand the need to follow the precautionary procedures. The Cabinet Sub-Committee will meet again tomorrow as we continue to monitor the situation closely.

"While current forecasts indicate that normal air services should resume tomorrow, this volcano is unpredictable and the threat of further volcanic ash cover in the coming weeks remains. Therefore officials from Scottish Resilience and our other Directorates will continue to liaise closely and remain ready to put our tried and tested contingency measures in place in the event of any future disruption."

Ongoing analysis of dust samples by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) demonstrates no risk at present to human health - health experts advise those with respiratory conditions, such as asthma, to keep medication to hand when outdoors.

Continuous environmental monitoring will be ongoing, using information from the network of 75 air monitoring sites and 25 radioactivity monitoring sites across Scotland.

SNP Govt Urge Reversal Of Slashing Disability Access Fund

Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson has written to UK Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport, Chris Mole, calling for a reversal of the proposed slashing by over 50 per cent this year of the ‘Access for All Small Schemes Fund’ – a programme funded by the UK Department for Transport – which invests in improving access to the railway network for disabled people.

Disabled access to the rail network is a matter reserved to Westminster, as it sits within equalities legislation such as the Disability Discrimination Act. The Access for All Small Schemes Fund improves access to the network for disabled people by increasing the number of stations that are step free and wheelchair accessible. UK Ministers agreed to allocate 10.14 per cent of the Fund to Scotland, which is programmed to last until 2015. The annual cash budget is transferred to Transport Scotland from the UK Department for Transport (DfT) each year.

DfT intended to allocate £7.9 million to the Fund across Britain this year (2010/11), in line with previous years. Last October, the initial indication from DfT was that Scotland would receive £796,000, as our agreed 10.14 per cent share of the budget. However, this year’s funding has been slashed by the UK Government to £3.9 million across Britain, with the amount available for schemes in Scotland reduced to £390,000 – an extraordinary cut of 51 per cent.

A spokesperson for Stewart Stevenson said:

“It is unacceptable that UK Government cuts are already falling on services for some of the most vulnerable members of society. How can wasting billions on nuclear weapons possibly be justified, while slashing funding by more than half on an excellent programme to improve access to the rail network for disabled people? This budget cut must be suspended, so that the issue can be revisited after the UK election.”