Chamber and committees

In 2017, 0.97 percent of ScotRail services were cancelled in full, and a further 1.28 percent cancelled in part (including skip-stopping). 7.4 percent of trains were subject to delay (that is, more than five minutes late on arrival at their final destination).

Performance in the railway system in Great Britain is measured using the Public-Performance Measure (PPM), which counts all trains planned to run, which run and arrive within five minutes of their scheduled arrival time. Trains which are cancelled, either in full or in part, or which do not stop at stations at which they are meant to stop, are counted against this measure.

The Scottish Government’s Infrastructure Investment Plan, published in 2011, stated that the Highland Main Line Rail Improvement project will be completed in phases between 2014 and 2025.

The long term aim of the project sought to achieve a journey time of 2hrs 45 minutes between Inverness and the Central Belt, with an average journey time of 3 hours and hourly service by 2025.

Phase One of the project introduced two extra services per day each way and journey time improvements of up to 18 minutes in December 2012.

Phase Two of the project, which is scheduled to be delivered Spring 2019, aims to achieve (i) an hourly service between Perth-Inverness extended to Glasgow or Edinburgh, (ii) average end to end journey time improvement of around 10 mins, (iii) more efficient freight operations.

The exact scope and timing of works for future phases has yet to be determined, and will be led initially by the forthcoming refresh of the Scottish Government’s Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR). The STPR will be informed by a review of our National Transport Strategy (NTS) which is underway.

In the event of a breakdown, Network Rail’s priority is to take all necessary steps to minimise disruption to services. Network Rail has agreed contingency plans in place with each train operator and, in accordance with its licence conditions, it can commandeer the nearest, suitable train to remove the broken down train. Priority is given to the rescue train, including holding other trains and introducing single line working, to ensure that the rescue train arrives as quickly as possible.

In 2017, 0.78 percent of ScotRail services were subject to skip-stopping.

Performance in the railway system in Great Britain is measured using the Public-Performance Measure (PPM), which counts all trains planned to run, which run and arrive within five minutes of their scheduled arrival time. Trains which are cancelled, either in full or in part, or which do not stop at stations at which they are meant to stop, are counted against this measure.

Transport Scotland do not hold this information however this aspect is audited within the Service Quality Incentive Regime (SQUIRE) and any occasions when a trolley is missing during an audit a fail is recorded and a financial penalty is attributed.

Transport Scotland do not hold this information however this aspect is audited within the Service Quality Incentive Regime (SQUIRE) and any occasions when a toilet is not available or not fully operational during an audit a fail is recorded and a financial penalty is attributed.

From January 2017 until the end of Period 9 (9 December 2017) there was approximately 1.09% of all ScotRail services operated without having a Ticket Examiner on board for all or part of a journey.

Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise are solely responsible for the management of their respective risk registers.

Both operate an approved risk management policy and are responsible for assessing and evaluating both the likelihood and impact of a risk being realised.

All internal and external risks in their Corporate Risk Registers are actively managed at the appropriate level in each organisation.

A note of the key risks identified by Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise can be found in their latest annual report and accounts.

Scottish Government overarching support for peace and non-violence is led by Scottish Ministers. Our Enterprise agencies provide support to a wide range of company investments in areas which contribute to sustainable development goals, such as sustainable energy.

The Scottish Government leads on a UN women’s peace-making initiative for Syria, funding training and capacity building for women from affected countries, ensuring they have the skills and confidence to maximise their contribution to building a safer world. So far, we have provided £360,000 of funding to Beyond Borders for the programme. As part of our commitment to extend the programme for another four years, we are making a further £1.2 million available to train women from International Conflict Zones.

Since 2007, through our International Development Fund and Climate Justice Fund, we have supported development projects in some of the world’s poorest countries, and have also responded to a range of humanitarian crises, including through our new Humanitarian Emergency Fund, with funding totalling over £94.8M. This includes funding to Scotland based organisations who may be involved in promoting peace and non-violence as part of their overall remit. International development funding is for specific projects including health, education, sustainable economic development and climate mitigation in our international development partner countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

The development of the weeding and retention policy for the Vulnerable Persons Database is an operational matter for Police Scotland. However, the Scottish Government understands that Police Scotland hopes to have this finalised within the first quarter of 2018.