Chamber and committees

Since 2010-11 the Scottish Government has recycled all receipts raised from shared equity sales.

Recycled receipts in each year are as shown in the following table.

The Scottish Government is supporting bus operators through the Network Support Grant and Network Support Grant Plus which started on 1 April 2022 and which replace the Bus Service Operators’ Grant and emergency Covid funding.

I met with operators over the course of Summer recess to identify actions for Government and the sector to work in partnership on. As a result I will be convening a Taskforce with operators to further explore what practical solutions can be delivered to help maintain bus services across the country.

I updated Parliament of progress towards its plans to remove the majority of diesel buses from public transport by 2023 in answer S6W-10271 given on 9 August 2022. As noted in S6W-10271, as with every other part of the economy and society, delivery of further progress has been slowed by the pandemic, and Brexit is also causing supply chain issues and delays in investment decisions. The Pathway sets out a shared approach between Transport Scotland and the key sectors represented on the taskforce (bus operating, manufacturing, energy, finance and public sector), that, by working together, we will achieve a future where all buses in Scotland are zero-emission buses.

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 has not directly given public funds to waste incinerator operators in the previous five years.

It is possible that operators have received funds from UK Government departments or other public bodies including local authorities, however, this information is not held by Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government has not permanently closed any trunk road bridges in the Highlands and Islands region. Decisions on the closure or re-opening of Local Authority bridges is a matter for the relevant Local Authority. Following consultation, Local Authority colleagues have indicated the following local bridge closures:

We do not hold information centrally on whether income from shared equity investments relates to tranching up or open market sales.

Providing the information requested prior to 2017 could only be answered at disproportionate cost. Following a change to the way we recorded shared equity sales from 2017-18 we are able to provide the information requested in the following table.

No review of the 50MW threshold set within the Electricity Act 1989 has been undertaken. I wrote to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy at the UK Government and am currently pursuing Electricity Act devolution and Habitats Regulations devolution to allow Scotland a modern consenting regime for both onshore and offshore wind matters.

The Scottish Government works closely on a four nations basis to ensure that vaccination records can be updated where required. In line with General Data Protection Regulations health records and associated systems can only be accessed by health officials from the same country within which an individual resides.

With Covid vaccinations, if a resident of Scotland is vaccinated in England and provides a Scottish address, this information is automatically transmitted to NHS Scotland records.

NHS Inform also provides a vaccination record update service for those who have received one of their Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccinations outwith Scotland, allowing them to upload proof of vaccination from another country to their Scottish vaccination record.

This is a question for the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland (RoS). She advises me that RoS does not hold information on transfers which may have occurred but for which no registration application has been submitted.

In relation to registrations in each of the last 10 years the position is given in the following table.

These numbers include transfers for value (sales) and transfers which are not for value (such as succession), but do not include voluntary registrations (where a property owner voluntarily moves their property from the Register of Sasines to the Land Register with no change in ownership).

As at 24 August 2022, in total there are 545 titles with an area over 2000 hectares registered in the Land Register of Scotland. A further 61 titles with a provisional extent over 2000 hectares are currently undergoing first registration.

The Bus Decarbonisation Taskforce was a short-life working group, which worked to achieve the aims set out in its vision (copied below) by bringing together the top leadership from each sector with a role in transitioning fleets to zero emissions. The Taskforce was not vested with powers to exercise any statutory functions, nor did it handle any funds.

The Bus Decarbonisation Taskforce has delivered on its remit to identify and establish commitments to address the hurdles and opportunities in transitioning to a zero emission bus fleet.

Bus Decarbonisation Taskforce Vision Statement:

In the context of wider decarbonisation of the transport and energy sectors and the broader vision as set out in the Scottish National Transport Strategy, central to which is a vibrant bus sector with increased bus usage as people choose to travel by bus instead of car, the guiding vision of the Bus Decarbonisation Taskforce is a future where:

• Bus operators are exclusively running zero-emission battery-electric and hydrogen fuel-cell buses;
• The bus sector provides an excellent service meeting passengers’ day-to-day needs;
• People enjoy travelling on buses and knowing that doing so is one of the most climate-friendly choices they can make;
• There are vibrant ownership and leasing markets for buses which benefits operators, manufacturers and the finance sector;
• The smart technology on buses enables them to be operated in the most energy efficient way;
• There is an even stronger and diverse domestic manufacturing sector and supply-chain comprised of high-quality skilled jobs with continued innovation reducing manufacturing and supply chain emissions;
• Energy networks, bus operators and Local Government are used to working together to ensure depots are powered/fuelled and all potential users are able to benefit from the energy provision centred at depots and on-route charging infrastructure;
• Buses and infrastructure are fully recycled at the end of asset life contributing to the circular economy, reducing waste and supporting further decarbonisation efforts;
• After an important period of support, the Government has ceased subsidising battery-electric and hydrogen fuel-cell buses, but continue to support innovation in new zero-emission fuels and technologies of the future;
• Scotland is recognised the world over as a leader in the design, manufacture and operation of high quality zero-emission buses and other large road vehicles, alongside associated green finance solutions.