Chamber and committees

Edinburgh Trams is publicly owned by the City of Edinburgh Council. We are not aware of any analysis having being conducted on the accessibility/affordability of trams for those on low incomes. However, free travel on trams is available to those aged 60+ or with a disability and in receipt of a National Entitlement Card issued by the City of Edinburgh Council.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-15438 on 18 April 2018. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

The Glasgow Subway is the responsibility of Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT). Subway patronage figures are reported to SPT's Operations Committee and are available at: http://www.spt.co.uk/corporate/about/minutes-agendas/operations-committee/ .

SPT have provided the following patronage figures for years since 2011-12 (rounded to one decimal place):

Telecoms is reserved to the UK Government. As such, the Scottish Government does not hold data of this type.

The Scottish Government recognises the excellent work that Citizens Advice Bureaux do in helping some of the most vulnerable people in our communities. The Scottish Government includes funding to support the most vulnerable people as part of the block grant which we provide to all local authorities as part of the annual local government finance settlement. This provides flexibility to local authorities and it is for each of them to allocate their resources in the way that best meets local needs. Each Bureau is responsible for putting together its own package of funding, including any core funding from the local authority and project funding from other sources. I commend Bureaux for their use of a variety of approaches to identify funding streams, and I encourage Bureaux to continue to work closely with potential funders and Citizens Advice Scotland to develop sustainable plans for the future.

The Scottish Government is highly supportive of the cruise industry and its continued growth. Cruise Scotland figures for the 2018 season show an estimated 815 vessel calls at member ports delivering an expected 821,000 passengers right across Scotland. Our public bodies, including VisitScotland and Scottish Enterprise, are working with the industry to help sustainable growth in the industry. This includes increased support for cruise tourism in consumer facing communications from VisitScotland plus closer working with Cruise Scotland at a corporate level.

The Scottish Government has also been working with the cruise industry at the strategic, global level. This is in order to highlight the industry success to date and continued potential sustainable growth in order to encourage further private investment, matching the continued Scottish Government spending on marine infrastructure.

In addition the Scottish Government has run three highly successful Cruise seminars bringing Scottish cruise industry representatives, global operators and relevant Scottish policy makers together.

As part of the Glasgow City Region City Deal, Inverclyde Council and Peel Ports are building an expansion of the quayside and delivering a new visitor centre to further expand cruise ship capacity and facilities at Greenock .

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. However the most recent ScotRail figures we have shown that for the four weeks to 3 March 2018, 633,000 passenger journeys took place using Smart.

The responsibility for the operation management and investment in the Glasgow Subway rests with Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT). The Scottish Government has not undertaken any analysis of the feasibility of expanding the Subway. (The Scottish Government is currently providing SPT with up to £246 million towards its Subway Modernisation programme but this does not involve expanding the Subway system.)

Housing support services are commissioned by Health and Social Care Partnerships as they are best placed to determine local needs and priorities and make best use of resources.

We are supporting Integration Authorities to improve outcomes across health and social care. In particular we are providing support for the effective commissioning of new and better models of care.

In 2018-19 an additional £66 million is included in the Local Government settlement allocations to support additional spending by local government on social care.

In recent years the delivery of housing support services have been undergoing changes to the traditional models. For example the increased use of technology enabled care. However, although the service models may change, the level of support should not be diminished.

The recruitment and retention of Special Constables is a matter for Police Scotland.