Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government currently has no plans to extend the statutory free bus schemes to include rail services.

We are, however, undertaking a Fair Fares Review that will look at look at the range of discounts and concessionary schemes which are available on all modes including bus, rail and ferry.

Transport Scotland has corresponded with relevant local transport authorities in respect of the 101/102 bus service between Dumfries and Edinburgh. I am pleased that those authorities have now reached an agreement to continue a service until 31 March 2023 and I welcome the discussions now beginning with local communities to find long term solutions for this route.

Bus service provision in Scotland operates in an open de-regulated market and the provision of local bus services is a matter for bus operators and local transport authorities. The Scottish Government has, however, extended recovery funding for bus services via the Network Support Grant Plus, prioritising essential support for operators to support bus services like this with extra funding while travel patterns and demand adapt following the pandemic.

A table showing spend by Scottish Government directorates within hospitality codes in the Scottish Government ledger in the financial years 2020-2021 and 2021-22 is as follows.

Transport Scotland officials have regular engagement with local transport authorities regarding bus services. These have included discussions with SWestrans officials in October 2021 and June 2022 regarding bus services and concessionary bus schemes as well as more recent correspondence with relevant local transport authorities (SPT, SWestrans and Scottish Borders Council) regarding the 101/102 bus service from Dumfries to Edinburgh.

The content of the resource was developed based on a survey of research conducted by Professor of Educational and Social Research at the University of Dundee, Professor Keith Topping.

Scottish Ministers are absolutely committed to a publicly owned and operated NHS, and for the people of Scotland to have free and timely access to health services. Our NHS in Scotland makes very limited use of the independent sector for targeted services and to supplement NHS capacity, where necessary.

In 2020-21, use of the independent sector in NHS Scotland represented just 0.5% of the frontline health budget. For NHS England, use of the independent sector was 7%, £12.2 billion, of the English health budget for the same period.

Total spend with independent providers is published annually in NHS Board accounts which are available on each Board’s website. Detail not included in the accounts would require to be requested from Health Boards.

The following table provides an overview of P1 learners who have undertaken (a) one or (b) both parts of the Scottish National Standardised Assessments since 20 September 2018, broken down by (i) school year and (ii) local authority.

Please note that figures less than five have been suppressed to prevent the potential identification of individuals.

The row "n/a" denotes publicly-funded schools outwith local authority control.

Table 1 - Number of P1 Children undertaking SNSA since 20 September 2018 - by year and local authority

British Transport Police (BTP) is a reserved matter and as such the Scottish Government has no locus in their operations. I have recently had meetings with BTPs Chief Constable and the Chief Superintendent of D Division (Scotland) and discussed this very matter with them.

In addition officials are undertaking research on women and girls’ personal safety across and around public transport. This includes engagement with national and local organisations representing the interests of a cross-section of women, as well as Trade Union groups who represent female staff working on the public transport network.

This engagement work with women and girls, which is currently underway, is expected to capture views and experiences of accessing and using public transport. The outcomes of this engagement work, alongside our evidence review, will be used to inform our understanding and any future policy development.

We’re working closely with Openreach to address the delays being experienced in R100 contract build, which is impacting a small number of properties that will now receive their superfast broadband connections later than indicated by our online address checker.

While the checker aims to provide the most up to date information available, details may change from time to time due to a number of factors including engineering and planning constraints and ongoing updates by commercial broadband providers.

Like many other services, we’re doing our best to minimise disruption caused by the impact of COVID-19 and associated global supply chain issues, and will continue to work with suppliers and ensure that the checker is updated as further information is supplied.

The SPCB first agreed to the provision of free period products at the Holyrood building at their meeting on 3 May 2018. The SPCB is committed to providing an inclusive working environment for all staff throughout all stages of their working lives. This includes creating a culture where staff experiencing problematic periods or menopausal symptoms get the support they need to manage their symptoms at work.  For a variety of reasons, including the menopause, people may not always be prepared or have products to hand.   The SPCB agreed that this should not be a barrier to participation in the workplace. The provision of free products supports the Parliament’s aim to support the mental and physical health care needs of staff. This is in line with our value of respect.

The restocking of products is arranged by the cleaning team, who are provided under a contract managed by the Facilities Management office.   The Facilities Management team are currently working with the cleaning contractor to source a suitable, sustainable brand for the provision of period products. These should be available in the near future. Reusable products will not form part of this offering. 

A review of the provision of period products is planned for this year. The different types of products available, including reusable, will be considered in that review.