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: S4O-02121

Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 May 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the measures outlined in the proposed Bus Regulation (Scotland) Bill.

Question reference: S4W-14336

Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 April 2013
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 29 April 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on each action listed in Annex B of Buses for Scotland, Progress Through Partnership.

The Scottish Government has delivered on nearly all of the commitments listed in Annex B of Buses for Scotland Progress Through Partnership, principally through the development and publication of suite of guidance including Park & Ride for Buses, Bus Punctuality Improvement Partnerships and Progress Through Partnership. These are available at:

http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/publications.

Training in safe and fuel efficient driving is provided as part of normal training by bigger operators, who make this available to smaller operators.

Specific public inquiry timings were not set for the Traffic Commissioner decisions but the Commissioner now makes annual reports to ministers regarding her devolved responsibilities. These are available via the Transport Scotland website:

http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/public-transport/buses.

Question reference: S4W-14338

Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 April 2013
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 29 April 2013

To ask the Scottish Government when the Buses for Scotland, Progress Through Partnership Forum will next meet; what will be discussed, and who will be invited to attend.

Question reference: S4W-14337

Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 April 2013
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 29 April 2013

To ask the Scottish Government when the Buses for Scotland, Progress Through Partnership Forum last met; what was discussed, and who attended.

The Buses for Scotland Progress Through Partnership Forum last met on 11 March 2008. The meeting was chaired by Stewart Stevenson MSP, the then Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change. The meeting discussed Bus Route Development Grant, partnerships, park and ride, bus enforcement and integrated ticketing.

Those who attended were:

John Swinney MSP	Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth
Joan Aitken	Commissioner for Scottish Traffic Area
Robert Booth	Executive Director, Glasgow City Council
Councillor Brian Collins	Chair, SWESTRANS
John Elliot CEO	Passengers’ View Scotland
John Ewing Director	Transport Directorate, Scottish Government
Jim Grieve	Head of Transport, City of Edinburgh Council
Gordon Hanning	Transport Scotland
Councillor Alison Hay	COSLA - Environment, Sustainability and Community Safety
Jim Lee MD	Travel Dundee
Moir Lockhead	CEO, First Group
David Patel	Depute Director, Transport Directorate, Scottish Government
Douglas Paterson	CEO, Aberdeen City Council
Councillor Steven Purcell	Leader of Glasgow City Council
Neil Renilson	CEO, Lothian Buses
Councillor Anne Robertson	Leader, Aberdeenshire Council
Marjory Rodger	Director of Government Relations, CPT
Brian Souter	CEO, Stagecoach Group
Alex Stephen	CEO, Dundee City Council
Stephen Tetlow	CEO, VOSA
Councillor Alistair Watson	Chair, Strathclyde Partnership for Transport
Councillor Phil Wheeler	Convener, Edinburgh Council Transport Committee

Question reference: S4O-02045

Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 April 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment has had with the Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Investment and Cities about action to reduce carbon emissions from transport.

Question reference: S4W-13259

Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 25 February 2013
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 8 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to replace the services and data formerly provided by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency.

Question reference: S4W-13150

Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 February 2013
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 28 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to conduct a passenger transport survey on bus travel and, if so, when.

The Scottish Government already collects survey information on bus travel through the Scottish Household Survey, a continuous survey based on a sample of the general population in private residences in Scotland. The Survey covers:

The extent that respondents use local bus services;

The time, distance and purpose of respondents’ bus journeys;

The frequency of bus services and distance to the respondents’ nearest bus stop; and passenger views of local bus services.

This information is published annually in three main publications available on the Transport Scotland website:

Transport and Travel in Scotland: http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/analysis/statistics/publications/transport-and-travel-in-scotland-previous-editions

Scottish Household Survey: Travel Diary Results: http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/analysis/statistics/publications/shs-travel-diary-results-previous-editions

Bus and Coach Statistics: http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/analysis/statistics/publications/bus-and-coach-statistics-previous-editions

In addition, Transport Scotland is conducting research into whether the National Concessionary Travel Scheme is meeting customer expectations. Initial findings from this research will be available in March 2013.

Question reference: S4W-13153

Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 February 2013
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 28 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to encourage people to drive less and (a) use public transport, (b) cycle and (c) walk more often.

The Scottish Government is committed to encouraging more people to use public transport and active travel for everyday journeys; and we have invested over £8.3 billion in public and active travel projects since 2007.

In order to encourage further train use, off-peak fares in Scotland will be frozen until 2016 and peak fares capped to RPI in January 2014 and 2015 at no additional cost to the franchise subsidy. In the next franchise, we will aim for more affordable fares that encourage increased use of under-used routes and to see more leisure trips being made by train rather than the car.

In order to encourage further use of buses, we will continue to provide significant public funding through the National Concessionary Travel scheme, the Bus Service Operators’ Grant and the Green Bus Fund. In addition, we are providing up to £40 million for the Glasgow Fastlink project – an exemplar bus rapid transit system which will provide fast access to jobs, services and communities.

Additionally, the new Forth Replacement Crossing will allow the Forth Road Bridge to become part of a dedicated public transport corridor, enabling journey times to be consistent and therefore encouraging a shift to public transport on that busy route.

Through the Cycling Action Plan for Scotland re-fresh exercise, we will ensure co-ordination of actions across a range of partner bodies to increase cycling’s modal share. The consultation with key stakeholders was launched in November and closed on 15 February 2013. We hope to publish the updated document in spring 2013, taking account of the responses received.

We are also committed to promoting walking, to reduce car journeys and improve the health of the population. Later this year we will publish a National Walking Strategy.

Question reference: S4W-13156

Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 February 2013
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 28 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to improve bus services in rural areas.

The Scottish Government altered the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) in April 2012 to provide additional support for rural services. Support to bus services is now based on the distance they travel, favouring the longer services more typical of rural areas. At the same time, changes to the legislation on bus service registration made it possible for fully flexible services open to the general public to qualify for BSOG and participate in the National Concessionary Travel Scheme, typically favouring smaller communities.

Question reference: S4W-13158

Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 February 2013
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 28 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met representatives of the bus industry and what was discussed.