Chamber and committees

I am sure that all those issues and more will be at the forefront of the mind of the new transport minister.

I will be covering a number of questions in place of the Minister for Transport.

The Scottish Government is, of course, committed to ensuring that people with disabilities can travel with the same freedom, choice, dignity and opportunity as other citizens can. “Going further: Scotland’s Accessible Travel Framework” was launched in 2016 to help to achieve that. A number of delivery plans have been developed to provide a focus for action by working together with disabled people’s organisations and the mobility and access committee for Scotland. The third delivery plan is currently being prepared and will be published later this year. It will run until the end of the current accessible travel framework in 2026.

The regional transport partnership SWestrans has undertaken three transport appraisals, which have considered potential rail stations at Beattock, Eastriggs and Thornhill in Dumfriesshire. Transport Scotland officials have engaged with SWestrans on those appraisals and will respond on the three appraisal reports in the coming weeks.

I am sure that the new transport minister will be keen to continue to engage on a cross-party basis with colleagues about those issues. As was discussed when we launched STPR2, some members might have been disappointed that a number of regional or locally important projects were not considered as part of the process, which is that of a strategic national review.

However, we have been clear throughout the process, and since publication, that paths remain open for regional and local projects to come forward and for consideration of business cases in relation to them. Therefore, officials have begun reviewing the appraisals that were previously submitted and, as I have said, are intending to respond on those appraisals in the coming weeks. I am sure that the member will continue to engage with the new transport minister on that process, too.

The member will be aware that there has been substantial investment in rail infrastructure, and that substantial further investment is to come in both new lines and the re-opening of stations.

I remind the member that STPR2—a whole-Scotland review of strategically important national infrastructure—generated more than 13,500 ideas, so, clearly, not every stakeholder or local campaign group would have seen their proposals included in it. However, members of Beattock Station Action Group are owed significant praise for their work and efforts in support of their aims, as are other campaigns around the country. Other paths for the development of local and regional significance projects are still open.

We will be coming forward with feedback to SWestrans on those issues, and I encourage Mr Smyth, as I have encouraged Mr Mundell, to engage with the new transport minister on those points.

The development of new vessels is led by Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd, Transport Scotland and the relevant operator. CMAL appoints naval architects and technical consultants to advise on design, safety, classification and route-specific issues. Various hull forms, propulsion options, fuel types and on-board arrangements are assessed. That includes opportunities for input from community voices and other stakeholders.

CMAL is aiming towards more standardised specifications as it continues to deliver significant vessel investments in the coming years. The four Islay class vessels under construction and the on-going work to develop the small vessel replacement programme are significant steps towards achieving that.

I am aware that some people have suggested that the Government and CMAL in particular have a predisposition against the use of catamarans. I want to make it clear that that is not the case. As stated, CMAL and Transport Scotland are looking for the delivery of the most efficient and economic vessels that will reliably provide a service on the routes that they serve. The minister for transport will update members further on future vessel contracts when that is possible.

The member’s arguments are the reason why the Scottish Government is supportive of the proposals for a station. Additional communities have been reconnected to the rail network, with stations at Conon Bridge, Robroyston, Kintore, Reston and Inverness airport, and, over the next two years, new stations at East Linton, Cameron Bridge and Leven will open. That is a clear demonstration of the Scottish Government and Transport Scotland’s commitments to reconnecting as many communities as possible to the rail network; that includes newly growing communities, such as Winchburgh.

I am privileged to be able to offer a few comments from the Scottish Green Party at this moment.

Over the past wee while, I have heard both the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister reflect on how they might have felt back in their early days as teenage activists if they had known the role that they would go on to play as leaders of the Government of Scotland. However, my first memory of meeting Nicola Sturgeon, years before I stood for Parliament, was when she was in opposition, not in government.

I am sure that there were times when being in opposition meant saying no, but, in the first year of this new Scottish Parliament, with the rights and equality of a marginalised group on the line, Nicola Sturgeon recognised that, when the Government does the right thing, the role of the Opposition involves being constructive. The law that is often called section 28 was a nasty homophobic hangover of the 1980s. In the first debate on repealing that law, Nicola Sturgeon said:

“Section 28 is plainly and simply about discrimination. It is about singling out one section of the population and labelling it as unacceptable.”—[Official Report, 10 February 2000; c 965.]

She was not the only politician saying so, but what she did helped to ensure that the issue was not seen as Government versus Opposition and that rival parties with serious disagreements could work together to find the common ground for the good of the country.

I have agreed and disagreed with Nicola Sturgeon on issues over the years since then, but, in recent months, she has shown that same commitment to stand by another vulnerable group in our society while so many in politics and in the media were dredging up the tropes and prejudice of past decades and redirecting them against transgender people. I can still see today what I remember from those days—Nicola Sturgeon’s commitment to being an ally to marginalised people remains part of her character as a politician.

I did not know at that time that I would go on to join the Scottish Parliament or that I would have the chance to sit with Nicola Sturgeon on the advisory board of the yes Scotland campaign for Scottish independence. I did not know that I would share the stage with her at the Glasgow Hydro, of all places, even if we did have to share the bill with a certain Mr George Galloway.

I certainly could not have imagined that she and John Swinney would pick up the phone and offer to negotiate an agreement that would bring the Greens into Government for the first time in this country’s history, advancing action on climate justice and progressive values, and, in doing so, infuriating right wingers, vested interests, polluting industries and even one or two of the Government’s own back benchers.

I also see today what I remember from earlier days: Nicola Sturgeon sees the value in politicians and political parties recognising their differences but seeking common ground and finding ways to work together for the good of the country.

On this day of national reflection, we all share the sentiment that Nicola Sturgeon expressed a few minutes ago. As for the things that her time as First Minister will be remembered for outside of the political bubble, I think that, for most people, it will be her leadership during a pandemic that changed all our lives.

At the start of the pandemic, as we were just coming to terms with what the world was facing, some Governments around the world chose bluff and bluster, pretending that they knew the answers or offering false simplicity in place of the complex truth. Nicola Sturgeon made a braver choice—to be clear about what was not known and to express the same fears and uncertainty that we all felt. Throughout the pandemic, she not only fronted up the Scottish Government response on an almost daily basis but did so with honesty, clarity and humility. By doing that, she earned the public trust.

Therefore, whatever the future brings, I thank both Nicola Sturgeon and John Swinney for their service to Scotland. I wish them very well. My highest hope for them is that they continue to find ways to infuriate all the right people. [Applause.]

The Scottish Government has a responsibility to ensure that temporary emergency measures are necessary and proportionate and that they are appropriate and fit with our housing objectives, and we have a responsibility to take that approach to our new housing bill so that it is consistent with what we seek to achieve in housing.

As a starting point, we recognise that the right to adequate housing is a human right. That has not been delivered by everyone, and we have a situation in which the level of regulation on a number of standards is significantly different between the private and social rented sectors. We are seeking to reduce the gap in outcomes between those types of tenures. Our experience is that, in the long term, increasing the quality of the regulation of the private rented sector is compatible with growth and viability in that sector.

Although I have noticed that some people have sought to blame the emergency measures for decisions that have been made on the new supply of rented accommodation, the measures have no impact on initial rent setting; they impact only in-tenancy annual rent increases. I recognise that some people will argue against any form of protection for tenants or regulation in the market. I do not think that that extreme position would be appropriate, but we will seek to continue to ensure that the measures that we take strike the appropriate balance between providing safeguards for landlords, which are included in the emergency 2022 act, and continuing to expand protection for tenants.