Chamber and committees

ScotRail Trains Limited will be responsible for operating services from 31 March 2022 and it is currently finalising plans for its future fleet requirements, including the new emission free vehicles needed to deliver the Scottish Government’s Rail Decarbonisation Action Plan.

Further information on the Decarbonisation Action Plan can be accessed via the following link:-

Rail Services Decarbonisation Action Plan (transport.gov.scot)

Transport Scotland has no plans for voluntary redundancies or voluntary retirement schemes to be offered to ScotRail employees at the present time.

ScotRail’s (a) newest rolling stock are the seventy class 385 trains which were introduced in 2018-19 and (b) oldest rolling stock are the twenty-five Inter-city High Speed Trains which were introduced from the late 1970s and extensively re-engineered and refurbished in 2017-2020.

The Scottish Government recognises the sustainability advantages of re-engineering older rail vehicle structures, when appropriate, thus avoiding the energy expended in the production of new rail vehicles.

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) figures from 2020-21 calculates that the average age of the 350 trains in the ScotRail fleet is 21.69 years.

The latest annual data available, published in March 2020, estimates that 24% of children lived in relative poverty, after housing costs, in Scotland in the period 2017-20.

These statistics predate the impact of Covid-19 on the financial security of families and the removal of the £20 per week uplift to Universal Credit and Working Tax Credits. Data covering the first year of the Covid pandemic (2018-21) will be published by the end of March 2021.

We recognise the challenge faced in reaching the interim child poverty targets for 2023-24, that is why we have declared a national mission to tackle child poverty and have committed concrete action including the doubling of the Scottish Child Payment from April 2022.

The Scottish Government will publish the second Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan by the end of March 2022, setting out a range of actions which will put us on a critical path to the targets set.

Abellio ScotRail staff will transfer to the new operator, ScotRail Trains Limited on 1 April 2022. In accordance with the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (TUPE) regulations, all employees will transfer on their current contractual terms and conditions, which in some cases may include car allowances and healthcare provisions. Non-contractual bonus schemes are not covered by TUPE. As new staff are recruited, previous terms and conditions covered by TUPE need not apply to new contracts.

There are no plans for a compensation scheme to be offered to businesses due to travel disruption as a result of ferry delays and cancellations. Any such scheme would be extremely challenging and would ultimately draw resources otherwise intended for the operation of ferry services.

Scottish Ministers do fully recognise the importance of reliable ferry services to the economic, social and cultural development of island and remote mainland communities. We have committed to investing at least £580 million in ports and vessels over the next five years to improve resilience.

CalMac Ferries Ltd (CFL), have operational responsibility to deliver the lifeline services and work throughout disruptions to find ways to continue the freight and passenger service to the communities. However, it is impossible to completely remove the risk of disruption due to either inclement weather or other reasons.

Transport Scotland continue to work with CalMac Ferries Ltd and engage with local stakeholders in order to ensure any disruption to services have minimum impact on communities, and assess all the options available to maximise available capacity across the CHFS network.

Our draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan, to be published next year, will provide a roadmap for the future of Scotland’s energy system. We will co-design this Plan with the workers, businesses and communities most impacted by the net zero transition, including those within or associated with the nuclear energy industry. Workers, unions and the communities they are part of have always been at the heart of a just transition and will continue to be so. Together, we must provide certainty for those affected as we set out how the economic and social impacts of Scotland’s changing energy system will be managed.

We will outline the sequencing for specific Just Transition Plans in the new year, and as part of that, will explore if there are any sub-sectors of the energy system that would benefit from a standalone Plan.

I am pleased to inform Parliament that the Scottish Government has today laid its response to Scotland’s Climate Assembly.

The Assembly has been a truly historic process resulting in recommendations which are already guiding the future of our country. Our response has been a cross-Government effort and we have set out the actions that we are taking in response to each recommendation.

These actions include the roll-out of support for a new network of sharing libraries across Scotland, work with Scottish landowners to increase woodland creation and peatland restoration, and integrating emissions and emission reduction topics into education programmes across the country, ensuring people of all ages are supported to learn about and act on climate change.

We have been clear where action is already underway, and where we need to explore the feasibility of proposals or consult further. As we work towards net zero, we will ensure the Assembly's recommendations continue to guide decision-making. We will also take relevant recommendations to the UK Government to urge them to act in areas that would enable Scotland to reach its full emissions reduction potential.

As you will know, the Climate Assembly worked closely with the Children’s Parliament, ensuring that for the first time, children have directly been involved in such a process. The responses to their calls to action have been integrated into our main response. Additionally, we will respond directly to the Children’s Parliament.

I look forward to hearing the outcome of the eighth and final meeting of the Assembly and will make a statement to Parliament following this.

Scotland’s Climate Assembly, as representatives of our nation, told us what they want to see to meet net zero, and I am delighted to support this package of recommendations.

I am pleased to confirm the publication today of the Scottish Government’s second thematic report on implementation progress following Dame Elish Angiolini’s Final Report.

The thematic progress report showcases the significant steps partners have taken to implement Dame Elish Angiolini’s recommendations, as well as highlighting our commitment to consult next year on legislative proposals in advance of bringing forward primary legislation.

I commend Police Scotland, the Scottish Police Authority, the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland for the collaborative working and progress to date. As set out in the last report, this second report features updates from all partners, with tables to record progress against every recommendation grouped under the following themes:

• Rights & ethics
• Jurisdiction & powers
• Governance & accountability
• Transparency & accessibility
• Equality, diversity & inclusion
• Conduct & standards
• Training & HR
• Efficiency & effectiveness
• Audit & review

The report can be accessed here: http://www.gov.scot/ISBN/9781802017168

Transport Scotland has been liaising with the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) about the appropriate processes necessary for the commencement of ScotRail Trains Limited including issues such as Operator Certificates.