Chamber and committees

Transport Scotland officials have regular engagement with local transport authorities regarding bus services. These have included discussions with SWestrans officials in October 2021 and June 2022 regarding bus services and concessionary bus schemes as well as more recent correspondence with relevant local transport authorities (SPT, SWestrans and Scottish Borders Council) regarding the 101/102 bus service from Dumfries to Edinburgh.

The content of the resource was developed based on a survey of research conducted by Professor of Educational and Social Research at the University of Dundee, Professor Keith Topping.

British Transport Police (BTP) is a reserved matter and as such the Scottish Government has no locus in their operations. I have recently had meetings with BTPs Chief Constable and the Chief Superintendent of D Division (Scotland) and discussed this very matter with them.

In addition officials are undertaking research on women and girls’ personal safety across and around public transport. This includes engagement with national and local organisations representing the interests of a cross-section of women, as well as Trade Union groups who represent female staff working on the public transport network.

This engagement work with women and girls, which is currently underway, is expected to capture views and experiences of accessing and using public transport. The outcomes of this engagement work, alongside our evidence review, will be used to inform our understanding and any future policy development.

The following table shows how many devices have been distributed by councils to school aged children using the £25m digital inclusion funding made available by Scottish Government in 2020/21.

The R100 programme is a combination of the following three strands of activity – the £600 million R100 contracts, the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme and continued commercial coverage.

As of 21 July 2022, 1,472 properties in Stirling and 280 properties in Clackmannanshire are eligible for a main voucher worth up to £5,000 through the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme.

The Scottish Government has allocated funding to support the work of Scotland’s Makar in each year since the position was created in 2004, as follows:

The specifics of the Islands Bond are still being carefully considered in light of the strong feedback we have received from island residents, and within the new context of the current energy crisis and rising living costs which are being experienced by many islanders.

As a result of the pandemic, local PPE Hubs were set up all over Scotland to provide free PPE to people providing social care support including to people at highest risk, who need it. The Scottish Government continues to offer free PPE to unpaid carers and provision has been extended to September 2022. Unpaid or family carers who think they require PPE due to their caring role should contact their local carer’s centre and they will advise on how to access supplies locally. If their local carers’ centre is unavailable, they can call the Social Care PPE Support Centre on 0300 303 3020.

With regards to the point on air filters and ventilation I have attached a link to HSE guidance here Overview - Ventilation in the workplace (hse.gov.uk) . You can also find further guidance from Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) CIBSE - Emerging from Lockdown (CIBSE.org) .

Hand-washing and wearing face coverings in indoor public places and on public transport are two of the key things we’re still asking people to do as part of our Covid Sense (gov.scot) campaign.

The SPCB first agreed to the provision of free period products at the Holyrood building at their meeting on 3 May 2018. The SPCB is committed to providing an inclusive working environment for all staff throughout all stages of their working lives. This includes creating a culture where staff experiencing problematic periods or menopausal symptoms get the support they need to manage their symptoms at work.  For a variety of reasons, including the menopause, people may not always be prepared or have products to hand.   The SPCB agreed that this should not be a barrier to participation in the workplace. The provision of free products supports the Parliament’s aim to support the mental and physical health care needs of staff. This is in line with our value of respect.

The restocking of products is arranged by the cleaning team, who are provided under a contract managed by the Facilities Management office.   The Facilities Management team are currently working with the cleaning contractor to source a suitable, sustainable brand for the provision of period products. These should be available in the near future. Reusable products will not form part of this offering. 

A review of the provision of period products is planned for this year. The different types of products available, including reusable, will be considered in that review.