Chamber and committees

Transport Scotland on behalf of Scottish Ministers is responsible for managing, maintaining and improving Scotland’s trunk road and motorway network. The statutory responsibility for local roads improvement, maintenance and repair lies with local road authorities.

Trunk road works are developed and planned to minimise disruption to businesses, local communities and the travelling public. For major capital projects or maintenance works, road closures and operations at peak times are avoided where possible, with works often planned overnight. Other key matters that are balanced in scheduling works include the safety of the public and operatives, environmental issues, impacts on the surrounding transport networks and local stakeholder feedback.

Depending on the size, duration, traffic management proposals or expected disruption from a project or scheme, formal consultation is undertaken with affected groups and feedback incorporated where safe to do so. Advance notice of road works is conveyed through press releases, local/national radio, social media and road signage to enable road users to plan their journeys accordingly during times of disruption. Disruption is then monitored by Traffic Scotland and works contractors, with information being passed to the public via radio and website updates and on variable message signs. Traffic management arrangements are reviewed and amended where possible to mitigate significant delays.

This commitment to our customer-focussed approach is key to safely and effectively operating the trunk network during periods of essential works.

For environmental impacts, all projects and maintenance works on the trunk road network are robustly assessed for their potential effects. Proposals are screened by environmental specialists and a record of the assessment is prepared, which includes the mitigations that will be implemented in order to avoid or minimise any environmental impact. The assessment process ensures that legislative requirements are met and best practices are implemented to minimise any environmental effects.

All of our major trunk road projects are subject to detailed review and assessment work to ensure we keep impacts on the environment to the absolute minimum. Compliance with environmental commitments is monitored as construction work progresses.

All food and drink served in local authority and grant aided schools must meet the standards set out within The Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2020. These Regulations are supported by statutory guidance on ‘Healthy Eating in Schools’, which is available on the Scottish Government’s website through the following link: Healthy eating in schools: guidance 2020 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

Whilst local authorities and schools are required to meet the standards set out within the school food and drink Regulations, any decisions about the type produce used, and where it is sourced from, are for individual local authorities, who should take into account local needs, priorities and circumstances as well as their duty to consider sustainable development as they procure food and drink for their school menus.

Since these Regulations were first introduced, we have expanded the availability of universal free school lunches during school term-time to include all children in primaries 1 to 5 at publicly-funded schools. We remain committed to the expansion of free school meals in primary and special schools as described in our programme for government.

Transport Scotland has engaged with representatives from the Love My Bus campaign at Transform Scotland and will be promoting Scottish Bus Week as agreed in these discussions, including through social media engagement.

Transport Scotland has also undertaken close engagement with the bus industry to launch the Choose the Bus marketing campaign. The campaign seeks to promote the benefits of bus and encourage people to travel by bus more often. The campaign will be live across a range of advertising channels during Scottish Bus Week, including TV, digital, radio and outdoor.

We remain committed to the expansion of free school meals in primary and special schools as described in our programme for government. All food and drink, including free school meals, served in local authority and grant aided schools must meet the standards set out in the Nutritional Standards for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2020. What produce is used and where it is sourced from is a matter for individual local authorities taking into account local needs, priorities and circumstances as well as their duty to consider sustainable development as they procure food and drink for school menus.

However, the member raises an important matter. I have asked to meet with the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs to discuss the points raised by this question in more detail.

I understand, from recent communication with Liberty Steel UK, that the Clydebridge Steelworks site in Cambuslang is not currently operational. The future of the site is an operational matter for Liberty Steel and I further understand that a number of options for the future of the site are being considered.

There are currently no staff employed at the Clydebridge site. Staff from Liberty Steel’s other Scottish facility, Liberty Steel Dalzell in Motherwell, are able to attend the site to attend to any necessary operational matters if required.

Liberty Steel have been working closely with Police Scotland and Securitas to ensure appropriate measures are in place to minimise intrusion and further damage to the Clydebridge site. There are significant security measures in place which are linked up to Securitas offices and security staff at Liberty Steel Dalzell. The Clydebridge facility itself is fully secure and further work has been carried out in reinforcing existing secure entrance points. Mobile security inspections are also being undertaken.

In line with our commitment to bring forward a Circular Economy Bill in this parliamentary year, we will introduce a Bill ahead of summer recess. The Bill will be designed to advance a zero waste and circular economy by increasing reuse and recycling rates, and improving waste and recycling services.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-16945 on 2 May 2023. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how many people under 22 in South Ayrshire have registered for a free bus pass through the Young Persons' (Under 22s) Free Bus Travel scheme, and what this is as a percentage of eligible under-22s in that area.As at the end of the day 30 April 2023, there were 10,069 cardholders under the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme in South Ayrshire. This represents 56.4% of the estimated eligible population in the local authority area.

Cardholder data is supplied by the National Entitlement Card Programme Office (NECPO). NECPO supports the 32 local authorities by assisting with the integration of various national and local public services on the National Entitlement Card (NEC) and are the joint controller with local authorities of this data. The figure includes travel products collected from the Transport Scot Pass Collect mobile app.

The Scottish Government is currently planning to implement provisions from the Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Act 2022 restricting the days when F2 and F3 fireworks can be supplied to and used by the general public, as well as the compensation regulation making powers connected to the restricted days of supply, during the 2024-25 financial year at the earliest.

The Scottish Government does not hold data on how many GPs are able to send patients directly to diagnostic tests. GPs make appropriate clinical decisions based upon the individual assessment of patients, this includes referrals for diagnostic tests.