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: S6W-15105

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 15 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when a £2 cap for single adult bus fares will be introduced in Greater Glasgow, similar to that in operation in Greater Manchester.

The Scottish Government's concessionary bus travel schemes are the most generous in the UK, with free travel for under-22s, over-60s, and people with disabilities. The Partnership and Franchising powers in the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 allow Local Transport Authorities, such as those covering Greater Glasgow, to gain control over the fares in their area, but that would be a matter for the relevant Local Transport Authority.

Question reference: S6W-15023

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 15 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the operational status of the MV Isle of Mull.

Question reference: S6W-15126

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 15 March 2023

To ask Scottish Government what its position is on the proposed introduction of a congestion charge in Edinburgh.

The Scottish Government welcomes the City of Edinburgh Council’s commitment to cut car kilometres by 30% by 2030, and will work with all local authorities to support equitable measures which discourage car use to accompany greater investment in public transport and active travel for a fairer and greener transport system. As outlined in our route map to achieving a 20% reduction in car kilometres by 2030, jointly developed with COSLA, the scale of the climate challenge means that we need to take forward a broad combination of interventions including infrastructure, incentives and regulatory actions, taking into account the needs of people on low incomes to help ensure a just transition to net-zero.

Question reference: S6W-15027

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 15 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government on how many occasions ministers have met with representatives of the Clyde Catamaran Group from 1 October 2022 to date, and what the outcomes were of any meetings.

Question reference: S6W-15162

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 15 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects ScotRail to complete repairs to the indoor shelter on platform 1 at Irvine Train Station, and how many days the shelter has been out of use.

Question reference: S6W-15031

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 15 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many times Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd has time chartered the MV Arrow for service on publicly-contracted ferry routes in Scotland from January 2012 to date, and what the (a) duration and (b) cost was of the time charter in each instance.

Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) have never chartered the MV Arrow, which is owned by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company. Any charter has been between the publicly funded ferry operator and the owner of the vessel.

The following table details, from January 2012, when either CalMac Ferries Ltd or Serco NorthLink Ferries have chartered the MV Arrow.

Operator	Network *	Period of Charter
Serco NorthLink	NIFS	18-10-14 to 12-11-14
Serco NorthLink	NIFS	02-11-17 to 12-11-17
Serco NorthLink	NIFS	22-11-17 to 30-11-17
Serco NorthLink	NIFS	18-01-18 to 19-02-18
Serco NorthLink	NIFS	14-09-18 to 07-10-18
Serco NorthLink	NIFS	14-10-18 to 07-11-18
Serco NorthLink	NIFS	31-10-19 to 23-11-19
Serco NorthLink	NIFS	13-01-20 to 26-01-20
Serco NorthLink	NIFS	16-06-20 to 25-06-20
Serco NorthLink	NIFS	10-05-22 to 24-05-22
Serco NorthLink	NIFS	07-11-22 to 28-11-22
CalMac Ferries	CHFS	16-07-21 to 09-09-21
CalMac Ferries	CHFS	01-11-21 to 13-11-21
CalMac Ferries	CHFS	14-01-23 to 15-03-23

*	CHFS – Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services NIFS – Northern Isles Ferry Services

The cost of any charter is commercial in confidence between the respective ferry operator and owner of the MV Arrow.

Question reference: S6W-15159

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 17 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 15 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether spill data on monitored combined sewer overflows (CSOs), where data is currently reported to SEPA, will be published annually, in light of the commitment in Scottish Water's Improving Urban Waters route map that annual publication of this data would commence by December 2022.

As indicated in Scottish Water’s first annual update to its Improving Urban Waters Routemap, which I referenced in my response to S6O-01493 on 23 November 2022, spill data has been published at https://www.scottishwater.co.uk/Your-Home/Your-Waste-Water/Sewer-Overflow-Spill-Data .

I refer the member to the Official Report: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament/meeting-of-parliament-23-11-2022?meeting=14005&iob=126871

Question reference: S6W-15180

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 15 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has investigated the use of waste plastics in road repairs.

As we strive towards a lower carbon transport network and reduced environmental footprint, the wider re-use or recycling of waste materials within construction is of significant interest. Transport Scotland has investigated the potential use of waste products (including plastic) under a project funded by Scottish Road Research Board. The study provides a valuable contribution in exploring the re-use of waste derived materials within road construction and the evaluation of their overall benefits. The report, published in 2019, is available at the link below.https://www.transport.gov.scot/media/50949/briefing-report-recycled-materials-in-road-construction-and-maintenance.pdf

The report concluded that the case for waste-derived plastics to improve the performance of road materials is far from proven. There are also concerns around the quality control of mixed waste-derived plastics and this needs to be addressed to prevent variations in the material which can influence pavement performance.

The Scottish Government is a signatory of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's New Plastics Economy global commitment to end plastic pollution and has introduced legislation to prevent the use of micro-beads and single-use plastic items. Transport Scotland continues to maintain a watching brief on this topic and any such proposals will continue to be subjected to technical review against the published national standards for the design and construction of trunk roads.

Question reference: S6W-15142

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 15 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many instances of trespassing have been recorded on the (a) Forth Rail Bridge, (b) Forth Road Bridge and (c) Queensferry Crossing in each year since 2018; what the estimated cost of this was to the emergency services, and in how many instances the bridges were closed as a result.

Instances of trespassing recorded on the (a) Forth Rail Bridge, (b) Forth Road Bridge and (c) Queensferry Crossing each year since 2018, the estimated cost of this to the emergency services, and in how many instances the bridges were closed as a result is as follows:

	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
Forth Rail Bridge
Instances of trespassing	0	3	0	2	2	0
Resultant closures	0	1	0	0	0	0
Costs to Emergency Services	Information not held by Transport Scotland
Forth Road Bridge
Instances of trespassing	0	0	3	0	0	0
Resultant closures	0	0	0	0	0	0
Costs to Emergency Services	Information not held by Transport Scotland
Queensferry Crossing
Instances of trespassing	0	0	1	0	1	0
Resultant closures	0	0	0	0	0	0
Costs to Emergency Services	Information not held by Transport Scotland

Question reference: S6W-15188

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 15 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a progress update on the National Speed Management Review, including the consideration of HGV speed limit policy, as outlined in the Road Safety Framework to 2030.

Transport Scotland is undertaking the National Speed Management Review to support a range of policy drivers including better road safety and health outcomes, promotion of active travel, climate change mitigation, place making and economic growth.

The review covers comprehensive analysis of all types of speed management policies including HGV speed limits as well as a review of what has been introduced in other countries throughout the world.

We will consult with stakeholders and the public this year to gather and consider their views on future changes to speed limit policies and speed management measures.