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: S7W-01407

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 29 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 10 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the Just Transition Fund, whether it will provide information on how much has paid out to date, who all the recipients are and when future funding rounds will open.

The Scottish Government’s Just Transition Fund has invested more than £83.5 million since 2022, supporting 28 projects across the North East and Moray.

Information on all recipients of Just Transition Fund awards, including project descriptions and funding allocations, is publicly available through a Scottish Government Freedom of Information release published in July 2025: [gov.scot]. This provides a comprehensive list of projects supported through the Fund.

The most recent funding round reopened on 2 March 2026, with up to £17 million available to support green jobs, innovation, supply chain diversification and community-led projects. Details of future funding opportunities will continue to be published on the Scottish Government website in the usual way.

Question reference: S7W-01400

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 29 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 9 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that the use of Class 158 trains on ScotRail services between Aberdeen and the Central Belt provides an appropriate standard of rolling stock for these journeys, and what discussions it has had with ScotRail regarding the allocation of rolling stock to these routes.

Question reference: S7W-01401

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 29 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 9 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it (a) approved and (b) was consulted on ScotRail’s allocation of Class 158 trains to services between Aberdeen and Edinburgh and Glasgow, and what criteria were used to determine whether these trains were suitable for these routes.

Question reference: S7W-01248

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 9 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what the projected whole-life cost is of the battery electric multiple units (BEMUs) to be used on stretches of Scotland's railway network with discontinuous electrification, and how this compares with the equivalent whole-life cost for locomotives with fully electric engines.

Question reference: S7W-01245

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 9 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the financial case for the £2 bus fare cap, including the total projected (a) cost of reimbursements to bus companies and (b) reduction in rail ticket income.

The purpose of the £2 bus fare cap pilot in the Highlands and Islands is to test the impact on bus patronage and subsequent modal shift of such an intervention. The focus of the analysis of the pilot will include evaluation of the impact on bus patronage, car use, and rail passengers, and will be published following the conclusion of the pilot.

Work is underway to progress a £2 bus fare cap to Glasgow, Ayrshire, Dunbartonshire, Renfrewshire, Lanarkshire and Inverclyde within the first 100 days of this government. We are also committed to bringing forward legislation for a £2 bus fare cap across Scotland by the end of this parliament, building on the evidence from the current pilot.

The Highlands and Islands pilot is providing us with valuable real-world evidence on customer behaviour, pricing impacts and operator engagement, which will directly inform how we design future schemes.

Question reference: S7W-01247

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 9 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the planned programme of discontinuous electrification of sections of Scotland's railway, what the total cost is and what the projected cost would be if those sections were to be covered by full overhead line continuous electrification.

Question reference: S7W-01246

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 9 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the ScotRail Spirit of Scotland pass, (a) for what reason it is limited to trains departing after 9.15am, (b) whether consideration has been given to local exclusions and exclusions reflecting timetabling of services in areas outside the Central Belt, and (c) whether it plans to review this restriction.

ScotRail Spirit of Scotland pass is aimed at leisure travellers, with morning timing restrictions in place to encourage travel at quieter times out with busy commuting times.

For those who wish to travel earlier, we’ve reduced the cost of rail travel by removing ScotRail peak fares for good, saving 17% on average on previously peak fares. We’ve also frozen rail fares this year. Given these significant savings already in place for rail passengers before 9:15 am, we have no plans to review the conditions of the Spirit of Scotland pass.

Question reference: S7W-01250

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 9 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any projected impact of the introduction of a £2 bus fare cap on income for Scotland's railway.

Question reference: S7W-01402

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 29 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 9 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many ScotRail services between Aberdeen and Edinburgh or Glasgow have used Class 158 trains since January 2025, broken down by month, and what proportion this represents of all passenger services allocated to those routes.

Question reference: S7W-01249

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 9 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of Scotland's greenhouse gas emissions is attributable to rail transport.