Chamber and committees

The investment of over £500 million will take the form of a Bus Partnership Fund for local authorities to provide bus priority infrastructure on local roads, and also the roll out of priority infrastructure for the trunk road network around Glasgow. The investment is intended as long term funding, starting in 2020-21, and will be prioritised through the capital spending review planned for 2020. We will work with local authorities and bus stakeholders and set out further detail in due course.

We continually monitor developments in other countries, including the recent decision of the Danish Government, in our work to ensure there is continual improvement of the regulation of fish farming in Scotland.

The Scottish Government is supportive of the continued growth of aquaculture in Scotland. We are clear that growth must be sustainable, with due regard to the marine environment and other marine users.

The Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee’s report on salmon farming in Scotland concluded there is insufficient evidence to support a moratorium on the industry’s expansion. In responding to that report we made clear that the status quo is not an option and we are progressing work to improve the regulatory arrangements which apply to salmon farming to better enable sustainable growth, ranging from increased transparency in reporting to management of interactions between farmed and wild fish. We will continue to ensure planning and consenting processes are responsive, accessible and proportionate to enable measured development while protecting the environment and supporting communities.

In addition in June SEPA published their new finfish regulatory framework, which will ensure appropriate environmental protection while enabling the sector to grow sustainably.

The information requested is not held centrally. Individual bus operating companies may hold the requested information for their own operations.

Due to the commercial nature of this information, the Scottish Government does not hold statistics on broadband coverage. Unless they relate solely to the delivery of the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband (DSSB) programme.

Telecommunications regulator – Ofcom - provides breakdowns of coverage percentages for residential premises connected to superfast broadband at Local Authority level. The following table shows the oldest and latest Ofcom figures available, using their online interactive coverage tool.

The push to reduce emissions from aviation coupled with advances in electric motors, lightweight engineering and battery technology has the potential to transform the aviation sector. The impact on CO2 emissions will need to be monitored closely. Short haul flights are most suited to current advances in technology meaning Scotland, particularly in the region covered by HIAL (Highlands and Islands Airports Limited), is well placed to benefit from advances in low and zero emission aerospace technology.

As technology continues to develop we see Scotland as an ideal testing ground for hybrid and, ultimately, electric aircraft. We continue to monitor technological developments and are working with HIAL on the potential use of electric aircraft at their airports.

The Scottish Government has made no calculation of investment per capita in walking and cycling infrastructure in the Netherlands and Denmark. We have looked at data provided by Sustrans’ Research and Monitoring Unit and Cycling UK to make comparisons with the level of investment in Scotland.

There is no agreed definition of shared space and as such no single body is responsible for educating road users, including those cycling or on foot, on their use of such areas. Scottish Ministers expect all road users, including cyclists and pedestrians, to adhere to the rules of the road and follow the Highway Code. In 2018-19 Transport Scotland invested over £1.5m on a range of training and awareness raising projects including Bikeability cycle training for 42,000 school children and cycle awareness training for professional and learner drivers.

The Scottish Government does not hold information that exactly matches the detail of the question.

The following table provides the closest available figures: the number of pedestrians injured in collisions recorded as involving non-motorised users and taking place on ‘cycleways or shared use footways’ forming part of the public road network.

Suitable provision for all users, including pedestrians and cyclists, is an important part of the A9/A82 Longman Junction Improvement scheme. The preferred junction option presented at public exhibitions on 25 and 26 June show the current proposals for active travel infrastructure for the improvement scheme. The current proposals have been informed through consultation with key stakeholders, including active travel groups, and incorporate dedicated facilities which pass under the A9, with signalised crossings between Inverness city centre and Stadium Road and provide connection to existing Non-Motorised User (NMU) paths on the A9, A82, Stadium Road and the National Cycle Network.

The next stage of the design and assessment process is already underway and will see the preferred option, including NMU provision, developed and assessed in detail. All feedback received on the proposals following the recent exhibitions will be taken into account as we look to publish draft Orders for the Longman Junction Improvement scheme in 2020.

Under the Marine Scotland Act 2010 Scottish Ministers are responsible for the regulation of the deposit and removal of substances in the seas around Scotland as set out in legislation. Applications are assessed on their impact on the environment, human health, if they interfere with legitimate use of the sea, and such other matters as the Scottish Ministers consider relevant.

The Scottish Government is taking significant steps to reduce the amount of plastic entering the environment. In June 2018 we introduced legislation to ban the use of plastic microbeads in rinse-off personal care products, and we have also established a working group with the plastics sector to build on the industry's Operation Clean Sweep guidelines to avoid pre-production plastic pellet, flake and powder loss.

Some of the microplastic in our seas arises from diffuse sources such as tyre wear on roads and laundering of synthetic clothes. These both release microplastics into the aquatic environment via drainage which cannot be removed by existing sewerage infrastructure. A regulatory approach focused on sewage discharges is therefore likely to have limited impact at this time.