Chamber and committees

Information about the Zero Emissions Truck Taskforce, including membership and minutes, can be found on the Transport Scotland website at: Zero Emission Truck Taskforce | Transport Scotland.

Section 7 of the Bail and Release from Custody (Scotland) Bill, introduces a new temporary release licence for certain eligible long-term prisoners. Release on this licence would be subject to risk assessment and consultation with the Parole Board.

This licence would be available to Scottish Ministers (in practice, the Scottish Prison Service) in advance of the Parole Board’s consideration of whether to recommend release at Parole Qualifying Date (PQD), or in advance of a subsequent review by the Parole Board if the individual was not released at PQD.

Time spent on this licence will be subject to conditions including curfew (which can be monitored by electronic monitoring) and supervision by Justice Social Work. The licence would also state the period of time the individual was permitted to spend in the community, up to 180 days.

This approach is intended to better support the reintegration of certain long-term prisoners. It is also intended to provide further evidence to the Parole Board to inform decisions on whether to recommend the release.

The Scottish Government recognises the current pressure on the Scottish transport sector as fuel prices become an ever increasing proportion of business’ overheads. The taxi sector plays a vitally important role in Scotland’s public transport network and we do not underestimate the contribution that the industry made during the pandemic. We have worked closely with stakeholders and local authorities to address the challenges faced by taxis and private hires, and we have provided over £107 million in grant support since the start of the pandemic. Funding is also being prioritised to focus on used electric vehicles to support a just transition to net zero, which will be available through interest free loans to the taxi sector.

The Scottish Government is using its limited powers and resources to respond to the cost of living crisis where possible, however the UK Government holds the reserved powers that can directly influence fuel costs. It should also be noted that the setting of taxi fares and licensing are entirely matters for each of the 32 independent licensing authorities (i.e. local authorities) in Scotland to determine and the Scottish Government believes that local authorities are best placed to make these decisions.

The pay of Marine Scotland seafarers is determined by the Scottish Government’s Public Sector Pay Policy as these staff are civil servants with civil service terms and conditions. CalMac Ferries Ltd is a private company - their staff are not civil servants, so pay and other terms and conditions are determined outside of Public Sector Pay Policy. We consider the pay and benefits (including the civil service pension) for Marine Scotland seafarers are reasonable and competitive in the external job market which is reflected in the volume of applications received for recent job adverts. We will review the pay structure of Marine Scotland staff as part of the reform option in Pay Policy 2022-23.

Work to determine the most suitable procurement options for the remaining sections of the A9 dualling is ongoing. This is a complex exercise which looks at a number of factors including how the project can be delivered most efficiently by the industry, whilst minimising disruption to road users and helping to support economic recovery post-COVID. An update on the outcomes of this complex piece of work will be provided when the work is completed.

Since 2019, the number of Marine Scotland seafarers leaving the Scottish Government for alternative employment is less than 1.7% of our seafaring headcount. The key reason for leaving over this period was retirement. We therefore have no current concerns about recruitment and retention of Marine Scotland seafarers and we review this on a regular basis.

The replacement (planned and unplanned) of train services with bus replacement services remains an operational matter for ScotRail.

ScotRail advises that the breakdown for each day during May and June 2022 for planned and unplanned bus replacement is as follows:-

The information is not held centrally. You may wish to contact Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol & Drugs directly to request additional information. An evaluation of the National Development Project Fund is also available on the Scottish Government website.

The whole family approach framework, launched in December 2021, sets out principles of how we will improve support for families affected by substances. A £3.5 million uplift per year is provided to ADPs to implement this framework by allocating funding to local family support services.

We also fund Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol & Drugs for family support services while the Children and Families Fund, administered by Corra, provides £3 million for family support each year to front-line and third-sector organisations.

We currently have no plans to extend the statutory free bus schemes to include the Glasgow Subway.

We are, however, undertaking a Fair Fares Review that will look at look at the range of discounts and concessionary schemes which are available on all modes including bus, rail and ferry.

We currently have no plans to extend the statutory free bus schemes to include Edinburgh Trams.

We are, however, undertaking a Fair Fares Review that will look at look at the range of discounts and concessionary schemes which are available on all modes including bus, rail and ferry.