Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S6W-31406

Asked by: Jackie Dunbar, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 3 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the feasibility study examining the case for reconnecting Buchan to the East Coast Main Line, which was published in June 2024 by the Campaign for North East Rail.

The Scottish Government is supportive of increasing sustainable travel and better integrated travel infrastructure for the north east. As part of this, Officials from Transport Scotland attended a roundtable event organised by the Campaign for North East Rail (CNER) and Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce (AGCC) in Ellon on 15 November 2024.

The Scottish Government is considering the findings of the Buchan Sustainable Transport Study and a decision on next steps is still to be made.

Question reference: S6O-04079

Asked by: Jackie Dunbar, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 November 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting NHS Grampian with its winter preparedness.

Question reference: S6O-04019

Asked by: Jackie Dunbar, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 November 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide further details of the work that it is doing to tackle stigma around HIV and to eliminate new HIV transmissions by 2030.

Question reference: S6W-30557

Asked by: Jackie Dunbar, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 October 2024
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 10 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what progress it is making towards delivering its Fisheries Management Plans.

Development of the 43 UK Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs) is an important element of the UK Fisheries Act (2020) and the 2022 UK Joint Fisheries Statement (JFS). The four UK fisheries policy authorities (UK Government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government and DAERA) have been working together and in partnership with stakeholders to develop the FMPs according to the parameters set within the JFS.

A significant amount of work has already been completed, however, this work is complex and further stakeholder engagement and consultation is needed. The statutory deadlines therefore need to be amended to ensure the right time and space to develop and deliver robust and effective plans.

A consultation paper proposing amendments to Annex A in the JFS, which contains the list of FMPs and the revised timetable for their delivery, has today been published. The consultation will be led by DEFRA and will run for 6 weeks from 10 October to 21 November. The deadline for the Scottish-led FMPs will be moved to the end of 2026.

We already have a strong suite of management measures in place to sustainably manage our fisheries and safeguard our fish stocks. FMPs will support further improvements where these are needed and will help deliver increased transparency in the way in which fisheries management takes place across the UK.

Question reference: S6W-30383

Asked by: Jackie Dunbar, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 October 2024
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Shona Robison on 3 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it is responding to reported concerns by local authorities regarding a lack of proxy voting for councillors.

Question reference: S6O-03759

Asked by: Jackie Dunbar, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 September 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of recent UK Government announcements ahead of its Budget statement, whether it will provide an update on its latest engagement with the UK Government regarding the potential devolution of further financial powers to Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-29888

Asked by: Jackie Dunbar, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 September 2024
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Tom Arthur on 13 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the No One Left Behind approach has made to date, and what its future priorities are for devolved employability services.

Latest devolved employability statistics show that over 61,000 people have started receiving support through our No One Left Behind approach, with over 19,000 people moving into work.

Today we have published the No One Left Behind Employability Strategic Plan 2024-2027, which outlines the key priorities for No One Left Behind over the next three years and identifies the actions we will take to deliver on these priorities, reaffirming our commitment to continuous improvement.

www.gov.scot/isbn/9781836017738

This includes a commitment to introduce a local, flexible model of Specialist Employability Support across all 32 Local Authorities from Summer 2025. This approach will adhere to the principles of No One Left Behind whilst ensuring a dedicated service offer for disabled people and those with long term health conditions.

Question reference: S6W-29515

Asked by: Jackie Dunbar, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 September 2024
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 3 September 2024

To ask Scottish Government what plans it has to replace the trains that currently operate on ScotRail Intercity services.

The Scottish Government is planning to require ScotRail to procure replacement trains for the current fleet, known as the High Speed Trains (HST) fleet which operate on its InterCity routes between Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, and Inverness.

The aim for the replacement trains will be to provide a more consistent, comfortable experience for passengers on the InterCity routes.

This will ensure the reliability of Intercity routes for the long-term, will reduce emissions from Intercity services and will provide a path towards a decarbonised Intercity network.

The decision follows a process of appraisal to look at different options to replace the trains. These options take into consideration the potential transition from diesel power to electric trains, the availability of funding and affordability challenges.

A contract notice will be published in the coming weeks, with a more detailed delivery timeline available at the point of contract award.

Question reference: S6W-29192

Asked by: Jackie Dunbar, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 August 2024
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 20 August 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the ScotRail peak fares removal pilot.

The Scottish Government has subsidised the temporary removal of ScotRail peak fares for twelve months in a move to encourage modal shift from private car to rail while making rail travel more affordable and accessible over the pilot period. The cost of the full year subsidy was approximately £40m.

The success of the pilot has been measured through analysis, which uses daily patronage data (from April 2022 to start of July 2024) covering the period before and nine months of the pilot.

This analysis shows that while there has been a limited increase in the number of passengers during the pilot, it did not achieve its aims of encouraging a significant modal shift from car to rail. In light of the financial challenges facing the Scottish Government and the level of additional and continuing subsidy that would be required to continue the pilot versus its contribution towards tackling climate change with modal shift from car and tackling child poverty which are key Scottish Government missions, the pilot will end on 27th September 2024.

The pilot primarily benefitted existing train passengers and those with medium to higher incomes and although passenger levels increased to a maximum of around 6.8%, it would require a 10% increase in passenger numbers for the policy to be self-financing. The pilot will have been welcome in saving many passengers hundreds and in some cases thousands of pounds during the cost of living crisis but this level of subsidy cannot continue in the current financial climate on that measure alone.

I am aware, however, that a significant minority of people cannot choose when they travel to and from work who did and would benefit from lower priced rail travel and who might find the return to peak fares challenging. I can therefore announce the introduction of a 12-month discount on all ScotRail season tickets and permanently amending the terms of flexipasses to allow for 12 single journeys for the price of 10, used within 60 days, equivalent to a 20% discount for those who travel less frequently.

For example, prior to the pilot someone travelling between Edinburgh and Glasgow would have paid £28.90 for an anytime return. They will now pay £31.40 for an anytime day return but with the 20% discount this reduces to £18.52 if they use an annual season ticket to travel at least 4 days per week or £21.25 if using a flexipass for a return journey. Weekly and monthly season tickets are also available with the 20% discount which offer savings over buying tickets on a daily basis.

Prior to the pilot, someone travelling between Barrhead and Glasgow would have paid £6.60. While this will increase to £7.20 for an anytime day return it reduces to £4.06 if they use an annual season ticket to travel at least 4 days per week. Someone using a flexipass on the same journey will pay £4.85 for a return journey.

Super off-peak tickets will also be reintroduced.

The final evaluation of the Pilot is available on the Transport Scotland website.

The Scottish Government would be open to consider future subsidy to remove peak fares should UK budget allocations to the Scottish Government improve in future years.

Question reference: S6W-28582

Asked by: Jackie Dunbar, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 July 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 16 August 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it anticipates receiving any Barnett consequential funding in light of the UK Government’s recent announcements on housebuilding, and, if this is the case, what assessment it has made of how much it is likely to receive.

At this stage we've had no confirmation on whether recent UK Government announcements on housebuilding will generate additional consequential funding for Scotland. This is dependent on whether the UK Government policy is funded from within existing UK departmental budgets or through new money.

There remains significant uncertainty over our overall funding position. The current Spending Review period concludes at the end of the 2024-25 financial year and we currently have no details of our block grant funding from 2025-26 onwards.

More information on both matters will be provided following the UK Autumn Statement on 30 October 2024.