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: S5W-32669

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 6 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether the (a) Abellio ScotRail and (b) Serco Caledonian Sleeper Emergency Measures Agreement (EMA) contains any restrictions on the paying of dividends.

Question reference: S5W-32837

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 6 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many publicly-owned ports have dry docking capacity capable of accommodating the (a) large and (b) small ferry fleet owned by Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd.

Question reference: S5W-32836

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 6 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how much public money has been invested in dry docking facilities in privately-owned ports in each year since 2016, broken down by the (a) location of each port and (b) amount invested.

Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has provided the following funding to Kishorn Ports Limited for drydock facilities.

The Scottish Government is not aware of any other public funding being provided to privately owned ports or by other organisations for drydock facilities.

Date approved	Project title	HIE Grant in Aid	Total projects costs	Spend to date	Status
01-07-2020	Accommodation block	£ 94,675.00	£ 270,500.00	£ 94,675.00	Complete
29-03-2019	Purchase of dry dock gate anchors	£ 550,000.00	£ 917,000.00	£ 550,000.00	Complete
03-11-2016	Dry dock upgrade phase 1	£ 158,932.00	£ 450,000.00	£ 158,932.00	Complete
21-04-2016	Hydrological survey phase 2	£ 3,000.00	£ 6,000.00	£ 2,955.00	Complete
26-01-2016	Hydrological survey phase 1	£ 3,000.00	£ 10,000.00	£ 2,885.00	Complete
26-01-2016	Marketing plan	£ 6,000.00	£ 20,000.00	£ 6,000.00	Complete

Question reference: S5W-32534

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 30 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the effectiveness of current safety measures (a) on buses and (b) in bus depots and stations to protect staff and passengers from COVID-19.

As part of the Transport Transition Plan the Scottish Government produced a range of guidance in relation to transport. This includes guidance for transport operators to keep their staff and those using their services safe, initially published on 26 May 2020.

The cornerstone of our guidance for transport operators is its emphasis on the importance of robust and on-going risk based assessment with full input from trade unions. Among other things operators are expected to implement measures to manage transmission risk, reinforce cleaning procedures and promote good hygiene regimes. They should also communicate how safety measures are being implemented to staff and passengers and make clear what is expected of them.

Officials are in regular dialogue with operators and other stakeholders on safety measures, and the guidance will continue to be reviewed and updated as appropriate.

Question reference: S5W-32526

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 29 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of compliance with the wearing of face coverings, and what the estimated level of compliance is (a) on (i) bus, (ii) train, (iii) ferry and (iv) airline services and (b) in (A) taxi and private hire vehicles and (B) bus and railway stations.

Since the mandatory wearing of face covering came into force in Scotland on 22 June, uptake has increased considerably across public transport modes. Transport operators advise compliance is generally high, observed normally to be between 80% to 100%, though there are localised variations.

The powers are in place, through the legislation, for fixed penalty notices to be issued, if required, to enforce compliance.

Question reference: S5W-32533

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 29 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to take any further action to improve the enforcement of the wearing of face coverings on public transport.

Enforcement of the wearing of face coverings on public transport rests with Police Scotland and the British Transport Police.

Transport Scotland is in regular dialogue with transport operators who have been reminded, as per Scottish Government guidance, that they are expected to consider displaying prominent signage highlighting that face-coverings must be worn and also that their staff may enquire if a passenger is not wearing a face-covering and remind them of their legal obligation to do so, unless they are exempt.

Question reference: S5W-32532

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 29 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the effectiveness of enforcement regarding the wearing of face coverings on public transport, and how many fines have been issued for non-compliance.

Question reference: S5W-32210

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 29 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-31979 by Michael Matheson on 30 September 2020, whether it continues to support a public sector operator running services and holding contracts under any model that replaces franchising.

Question reference: S5W-32133

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 September 2020
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 26 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the (a) Abellio ScotRail and (b) Serco Caledonian Sleeper Emergency Measures Agreement (EMA) for the period from 20 September 2020.

Question reference: S5W-32113

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 28 September 2020
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 26 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-31754 by Fergus Ewing on 22 September 2020, what the remaining capital budget will be used for; how its intended use differs from the aims of the Sustainable Agriculture Capital Grant Scheme, and when detailed proposals for allocating this funding will be set out.