Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government has been working with the other members of our Bus Decarbonisation Taskforce over the past year to co-design a pathway to zero emission buses. The Pathway will be published tomorrow, 10 August, alongside case studies of good practice in decarbonising bus fleets. 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; people enjoy travelling on buses knowing that doing so is one of the most sustainable travel and climate friendly choices they can make; there is an even stronger and diverse domestic manufacturing sector and supply-chain comprised of high-quality skilled jobs; and that after an important period of support, the Government has ceased subsidising zero-emission buses.

Since December 2020, over the lifetime of the Taskforce, Scottish Government has invested £113 million capital (and committed £21 million resource subsidy over a 5 year period), and leveraged in a similar sum from the private sector, to acquire 548 new battery electric buses and associated charging infrastructure for operation in Scotland. Those companies that have taken the lead can rightly be proud of their ambition and achievements. Our clear signal of high aspiration, given in the 2021 Programme for Government, has been successful in driving progress, as the proportion of zero emission buses in Scotland is approximately 3 times higher than those in England. 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 Taskforce also identified the need to adapt the approach to ensure that smaller operators can benefit and participate in the decarbonisation programme.

To enable delivery of the Pathway, the Scottish Government is also announcing today a second phase of the Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund in 2023. Ahead of that, to support SME and rural bus operators be in the best possible position to benefit from that funding, a new £500,000 Zero Emission Bus Market Transition Scheme will open on 10 August.

The Zero Emission Bus Market Transition Scheme will fund:

a) Small bus operators, to assess which zero-emission technology is best for them and how it can be implemented;

b) development of collaborations across the operating, manufacturing, energy and finance sectors to bring scaled up, innovative bids to ScotZEB Phase 2 that will alter the market and bring in more private financing;

c) demonstration of the potential role that repowering of older diesel buses can play in the transition, recognising that repowering may be a more cost-effective option for SME operators, and may create additional green jobs in Scotland.

In a further positive development, eligibility for the Transition Scheme and ScotZEB Phase 2 will be expanded to support providers of home-to-school, community-to-healthcare, community bus services, and SME coach operators, in addition to public service bus operators. This will help ensure that those least able to pay for the transition to net-zero are supported, and benefit from the transition and that we progress faster and further to decarbonising bus and coach travel in Scotland and ensure that buses play a key role in providing sustainable, net zero travel in the future.

As I said in March, we are committed to delivering the powers under section 34 of the 2019 Act before the summer recess to enable local authorities to run their own bus services in a way that they see fit within the wider context of their obligations. This power sits alongside their existing ability to subsidise services. We intend to deliver that commitment and are currently working with local transport authorities on the development of an information note to help implement the provision.

The illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russia impacts everyone in the food industry, from farmers to hauliers, processors to retailers.

We have established a short-life Food Security and Supply Taskforce, together with industry. The Taskforce met for the first time on 18 March and continues to do so.

It will seek to recommend, any short, medium and longer-term actions that can be taken to mitigate impacts, resolve supply issues and strengthen food security and supply in Scotland. It will report in due course.

Scottish Ministers remain clear in their commitment to support farmers and crofters.

Following consultation in late 2021 to inform the development of the necessary secondary legislation and guidance, we will today publish the consultation results and analysis which will be available via the following web link : https://www.transport.gov.scot/publication/implementing-part-three-of-the-transport-scotland-act-2019-bus-services-analysis-of-consultation-responses/

A high level summary of the main aspects and consultation responses is provided as follows:

Section 34 of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 Act (“the Act”) provides local transport authorities (LTAs) with the power to run their own services in any way they see fit within the wider context of their obligations. This power sits alongside their existing ability to subsidise services. On this, respondents indicated no desire for additional duties to be imposed on LTAs in how they run services. Instead, respondents made suggestions on supporting information to help implement this provision, including in relation to legislative requirements, competition impacts, the sharing and generation of data and information for planning public transport networks, examples of best practice and case studies, and funding for LTAs to implement the provisions.

Sections 35 to 37 of the Act provide for Bus Service Improvement Partnerships which are a new type of statutory partnership between LTAs and bus operators. As part of a partnership, a range of service standards can be set, including on the frequency or timing of services, the vehicles used, maximum fares charged for particular journeys, and the pricing of multi-operator travel cards. Respondents commented on a range of aspects relating to the operation of the model, including processes related to the preparation, variation and revocation of partnership plans and schemes, the partnership voting mechanism, accessibility provisions and the scrutiny of the partnership, among others.

Section 38 of the Act provides for local services franchising which allows LTAs to award exclusive rights for the operation of a service or services to the most competitive bidder for a set period under certain conditions. During this period, no other operator can run those services. On franchising, respondents commented on guidance required for LTAs on the making of a franchise assessment, guidance for auditors assessing the LTA’s business case for a franchising framework, relevant information required, and the composition of the independent panel considering the making of the framework.

In relation to the implementation timeline, we plan to commence section 34 of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 (Provision of bus services etc. by local transport authorities) before the summer recess and lay the legislation necessary for commencement of section 39 (provision of service information when varying or cancelling a registration) before the end of this year. We aim to introduce the necessary secondary legislation for sections 35 to 38 (Bus Service Improvement Partnerships and local services franchises) before the end of 2023.

Today I am announcing a new Network Support Grant which will run from 1 April 2022 to help maintain bus services while passenger numbers recover from the effects of the pandemic.

The Network Support Grant will replace the COVID Support Grant, COVID Support Grant - Restart, and the Bus Service Operators Grant. The Network Support Grant will provide more flexibility than the emergency COVID funding schemes, allowing services to adapt to changed travel patterns and will be available on the same terms to new as well as established operators to help improve efficiencies and the offer to passengers. The level of support provided under the grant will reduce as passenger numbers recover and we will retain key controls and obligations on participating operators

The draft Scottish Budget for 2022-23 provides up to £93.5 million for this, including £40 million in additional funding. Full details of the Network Support Grant can be found on the Transport Scotland website.