Local Government and Transport Committee, 05 Dec 2006

Meeting date: Tuesday, December 5, 2006

Official Report 213KB pdf

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Subordinate Legislation

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Bus User Complaints Tribunal Regulations Revocation Regulations 2006 (Draft)

I call this meeting of the Local Government and Transport Committee to order and welcome members.

Agenda item 1 is subordinate legislation. The committee will consider a motion in the name of the Minister for Transport, Tavish Scott MSP, on the draft Bus User Complaints Tribunal Regulations Revocation Regulations 2006. I welcome the minister and his team of Scottish Executive officials. Bill Brash is a policy officer in the Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department's local authority and partnerships team; Stuart Forrest is from the Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department's bus, freight and roads division; and Jacqueline Pantony is from the transport branch of Legal and Parliamentary Services.

I invite the minister to make introductory remarks on the regulations. Members will then be able to ask questions before we debate them.

I will be mercifully brief, as the principles behind the draft Bus User Complaints Tribunal Regulations were debated a number of times by the committee and Parliament during the progress of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2001.

The draft Bus User Complaints Tribunal Regulations Revocation Regulations 2006 will streamline and tidy up the functions of various bodies and revoke the Bus User Complaints Tribunal Regulations 2002 (SSI 2002/199) at the same time as the public transport users committee for Scotland will establish a sub-committee to carry out the functions of the Bus User Complaints Tribunal. I emphasise that the two processes will go hand in hand.

Parliament has approved the Public Transport Users' Committee for Scotland Order 2006 (SSI 2006/250), which provides that the public transport users committee for Scotland will be established on 1 January next year. I expect that that committee will by April 2007 set up a sub-committee to carry out functions in relation to buses. The convener and members of the Bus User Complaints Tribunal support the transfer of functions to the public transport users committee for Scotland, and my officials are working closely with them to ensure that the transition runs smoothly. The regulations are the final piece in the legislative jigsaw that is required for the public transport users committee for Scotland to carry out its functions properly, as required of it by Parliament. I ask the committee to consider and approve the regulations.

You may recall that in a previous committee meeting, you and I discussed whether, for the purposes of complaints by bus users, a tram was to be regarded as a bus or a train. It was established that an Edinburgh tram would be regarded as a train rather than a bus, but whether complaints about tram services should be brought within the machinery for complaints about bus services was to be considered. The view was expressed that a member of the public is likely to regard a tram as being more akin to a bus than a train. Is that matter progressing? Will the new public transport users committee for Scotland have a sub-committee to consider complaints about trams?

I thank you for putting your question in such a thoughtful way, but I will invite Bill Brash to answer it. I recall our discussion and think that I wrote to the committee about the issues that were discussed. Perhaps Bill Brash could fill in the details.

On 12 September, the minister wrote a letter to the convener in which he stated:

"Although tramways are sometimes included in a wider definition of railway I can advise that the remit of the RPC does not extend to the consideration of tram users' complaints as tramways do not fall within the definition of railway used for that purpose. I will consider in due course whether an order should be made to confer functions to the PTUC in relation to tram users' complaints."

By way of tidying up, that is what we are currently considering.

Thank you.

The minister said that the Executive had set aside £100,000 from its budget for the organisation's operational costs. Surely there is an argument about which budget it should come from? Should not the money come from the industry itself, as is the case for tribunal settings in other industries?

I think that the moneys that Mr Martin mentioned are for start-up costs. I will check on that and, if I am wrong, I will be sure to correct the point. Not unsurprisingly, I would be very happy to take a contribution from the industry towards costs—we will consider the proposal. The current plan is for the Executive to cover costs from within normal Scottish Executive transport budget heads.

As there are no further questions, I invite the minister to move the motion.

Motion moved,

That the Local Government and Transport Committee recommends that the draft Bus User Complaints Tribunal Regulations Revocation Regulations 2006 be approved.—[Tavish Scott].

Motion agreed to.

I thank the minister for his attendance.

Thank you.