Chamber and committees

The decision to develop options for a third competitive phase of ScotZEB (ScotZEB3) was taken by the former Cabinet Secretary for Transport on 16 October 2025. ScotZEB3 was developed as the swiftest and most certain route to provide a further £45 million of support for the decarbonisation of Scotland's bus sector.

As set out in the answer to question S7W-04092 on 23 October 2026, additional work is currently being undertaken by Nestrans.

Following consideration of the findings, a decision will be taken on whether the proposals should progress further through the transport appraisal process. Any such decision will be made in line with the Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) and established transport appraisal and business case processes, taking account of the evidence base, strategic fit, value for money, affordability and deliverability.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

The Scottish Government recognises tourism’s importance to Fife’s economy and continues to work through VisitScotland, Fife Council and local partners to promote the region, support tourism businesses and encourage year-round visitation. This includes supporting destination development projects such as the Fife Pilgrim Way and maximising opportunities from major events, including The Open 2027 in St Andrews, while also engaging with local stakeholders to help strengthen and grow Fife’s visitor economy.

The June 2026 Agricultural Census shows a small decrease in the overall agricultural workforce, from 66,773 in 2025 to 66,116 in 2026. A year-on-year change of around 1% does not point to a significant shift in overall workforce levels, particularly given increases in both regular employees and seasonal workers. However, the reduction in working occupiers and increase in non-working occupiers reinforces the importance of succession, skills development and support for new entrants into farming and crofting.

Growing Scotland’s economy is a key priority of the First Minister’s and a strong and vibrant agricultural sector is a key contributor to this. Supporting the next generation of farmers and crofters is therefore receiving the priority attention it deserves. This year alone we are investing over £1.2 million through the Land-based Pre-Apprenticeship Programme, the Next Generation Practical Training Fund, the Scottish Land Matching Service and support for the Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs Big Build Campaign to attract, develop and retain future talent.

Since 2015, we have also invested more than £28 million through the National Reserve, New Entrants and Young Farmers Start-Up Grant Schemes to help these priority groups establish and grow farming and crofting businesses.

Alongside this, through the Farming Opportunities for New Entrants Group, which has helped make almost 9,000 hectares of public land available for new entrant opportunities, and through Scotland's wider Agricultural Reform Programme, we are supporting succession, creating more pathways into the sector and securing the skilled workforce needed for a thriving rural economy.

The Scottish Government considers the current planning and transport arrangements for wind farm developments to be effective in protecting public roads. Through the planning process, the traffic impacts of construction activity are assessed and mitigation measures can be required where necessary. In addition, Section 96 of the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 allows roads authorities to recover any extraordinary maintenance costs resulting from damage caused by exceptionally heavy or abnormal traffic. The Scottish Government is not aware of any instances where wind farm construction traffic has caused damage to the trunk road network requiring recovery action under these provisions. The trunk road network is regularly inspected and monitored, and hauliers transporting abnormal loads are required to indemnify Scottish Ministers against any damage arising from their movements.

The Scottish Government manages landslide risk across the trunk road network, including the A77, through Transport Scotland's risk-based geotechnical asset management approach based on the recommendations in the Scottish Road Network Landslide Study. In addition, a programme of climate adaptation and resilience measures are being delivered across the trunk road network to reduce the risk of any future disruption. Investment on the A77 is targeted where monitoring and assessment identify a need, which helps manage risk, improve resilience and ensure safety.

Decisions regarding the refurbishment, renovation and maintenance of ScotRail trains are an operational matter for ScotRail Trains Ltd. The member may wish to contact ScotRail directly for information on any current or planned train refurbishment programmes.

The South West Scotland Transport Study reported that approximately £10 million worth of goods per day are transported on the A77 South of Ayr.

For the A9, a similar assessment in 2015 noted that between Pitlochry and Aviemore the estimated value of goods being carried was £64 million per day.

No comparable assessment has been undertaken for the A96.

The Scottish Government is participating in the development of the A75 and A77 Corridor Action Plans as part of the South West Scotland Strategic Corridor Improvements programme. The Plans will identify and prioritise potential interventions and establish a phased pipeline of short, medium and long-term measures to inform future investment decisions. The future allocation of funding will be subject to the usual Scottish budget and spending review cycles.

Scottish Borders Council has been awarded £1.117 million through the Bus Infrastructure Fund across 2025-26 and 2026-27.

In 2025-26, Scottish Borders Council used its allocation to support the design and development of new bus infrastructure projects, the installation and upgrade of bus shelters, the introduction of real-time passenger information displays across the region, and improvements to bus stops and boarding facilities in locations including Newstead, Chirnside, Peebles, Melrose, Heiton, Duns and West Linton.

In 2026-27, Scottish Borders Council will continue to invest in bus infrastructure improvements through its Bus Infrastructure Fund Tier 1 allocation, including the development of a proposed multi-modal transport hub in Peebles.