Question ref. S6W-08893
Asked by: Kerr, Liam, North East Scotland, Date lodged: 7 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many of the travel cards issued to date as part of the Young Persons’ (Under 22s) Free Bus Travel Scheme have been used on more than 10 occasions since being issued, and, of those, what proportion have been used to take more than 10 journeys per week.
Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 30 June 2022
Since the launch of the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme around 390,000 National Entitlement Cards (NEC) have been issued to young people across Scotland. The scheme aims to embed sustainable travel behaviours, open social, education, employment and leisure opportunities and reduce household outgoings to aid young people and their families, particularly those living in poverty.
71% (approx. 277,000) of cards have been used at least once to access free bus travel. In comparison to 56% of older and disabled cardholders over the same period, more young cardholders are choosing to use free bus when they travel.
62% (approx. 170,000) NECs have been used more than 10 times, and 16% (approx. 61,000) of NECs have been used to make smart journeys on more than ten occasions within at least one week.
149 NECs have been used by young people to make smart journeys on more than ten occasions every week since the scheme launched.
The figures have been produced using the data on number of journeys per National Entitlement Card and come from the secure ITSO messages (alerts from ticket machines when National Entitlement Cards are scanned) that come into Transport Scotland’s reimbursement system, which are used to pay operators.
Question ref. S6W-08894
Asked by: Kerr, Liam, North East Scotland, Date lodged: 7 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has carried out of the economic impact of removing 700 ScotRail services.
Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 23 June 2022
ScotRail has not undertaken an economic impact assessment on what is a temporary timetable change. There is positive progress being made on pay negotiations with ASLEF in Scotland, and I am hopeful that additional services will be added in the near future.
Question ref. S6W-08895
Asked by: Kerr, Liam, North East Scotland, Date lodged: 7 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has carried out of the environmental impact of removing 700 ScotRail services.
Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 23 June 2022
I have not instructed ScotRail to undertake an environmental impact assessment on what is a temporary change. There is positive progress being made on pay negotiations with ASLEF in Scotland, and I am hopeful that additional services will be added in the near future.
I would note that any environmental modelling undertaken but UK government in relation to the UK-wide RMT strikes, has not to this point been shared with the Scottish Government, although I would welcome sight of any such reports.
Question ref. S6W-08649
Asked by: Kerr, Liam, North East Scotland, Date lodged: 24 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many complaints from (a) passengers and (b) staff were received by ScotRail services between 1 and 30 April 2022, broken down by the reason for the complaint.
Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 23 June 2022
The number of passenger complaints received by ScotRail, through their official complaints process, is set out on the following table for the period 1 and 30 April 2022. The complaints may involve accidents that occurred before 1 April 2022.
The average recorded number of complaints per period for previous years is as follows:-
2019-2020 - 1,664 complaints
2018-2019 - 2,064 complaints
The figure of 1,144 complaints for April 2022 is lower than the above period averages.
ScotRail do not record staff complaints and therefore the information is not available.
Complaint Categories | Period 1 2022-23 |
Staff | 272 |
Policy And Product | 206 |
Train Service Performance | 152 |
1st Class | 85 |
Promotions | 77 |
Capacity | 62 |
Environment | 57 |
Ticket Buying Facilities | 44 |
Safety & Security | 36 |
Station Facilities | 29 |
Information Provision | 28 |
Timetable | 25 |
Customer Provisions | 17 |
Assisted Travel | 15 |
Cycles | 13 |
Rail Replacement | 11 |
Smartcard | 10 |
Contact Centre | 3 |
Double Debit | 2 |
Total | 1,144 |
Question ref. S6W-08745
Asked by: Kerr, Liam, North East Scotland, Date lodged: 26 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government when the steering group to implement the recommendations on safety performance in response to the Carmont rail accident will be convened, and when it anticipates it will report.
Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 21 June 2022
Now that the Terms of Reference (ToR) for the steering group have been developed, it is anticipated that the group will convene shortly. The agenda for the first meeting will include endorsement of those ToR by the stakeholders.
Question ref. S6W-08739
Asked by: Kerr, Liam, North East Scotland, Date lodged: 26 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government when Transport Scotland will publish the post-completion noise monitoring reports for the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route.
Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 21 June 2022
Although there is no legislative requirement to publish noise reports for major roads projects Transport Scotland has previously published these where appropriate to be helpful, transparent and open.
Following introduction of the Data Protection Act 2018, Transport Scotland has considered how the requirements of the Act apply to the information contained within these noise reports and whether their publication would still be possible.
It has concluded that to ensure it does not breach the Act, all personal data such as addresses would require to be removed prior to publication, making the remaining published information incapable of interpretation and informing the public and communities of anything meaningful.
However, in line with Data Protection Act 2018, property owners can request access to their own personal data contained within the noise survey reports by contacting Transport Scotland.
Question ref. S6W-08870
Asked by: Kerr, Liam, North East Scotland, Date lodged: 6 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what support it will offer to ports not successful in the Green Freeports Programme to help them become supply chain and manufacturing bases for offshore renewables.
Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 21 June 2022
The Scottish Government will engage with all bidders for Green Freeport status, to examine relevant opportunities and build on the strategies they have set out.
As Co-Chair of the Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council (SOWEC), I am leading on work to implement the five key recommendations in the Strategic Infrastructure Assessment (SIA) published in 2021, starting with the creation of a Scottish Offshore Wind Port Cluster.
On 11 May, we published the Offshore Wind Collaborative Framework Charter. 24 developers signed up to the Charter, which includes all active developers in Scotland and encompasses all 17 ScotWind projects.
The Charter builds on the 2021 SIA recommendations adopted by the Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council (SOWEC), and is a clear way to support and enable developers’ collective supply chain commitments. The Charter will help forge effective partnerships to deliver on the potential that offshore wind presents in the coming years particularly those that present via our ports and harbours.
Question ref. S6W-08744
Asked by: Kerr, Liam, North East Scotland, Date lodged: 26 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government when it anticipates Transport Scotland will (a) commence and (b) conclude its review of ScotRail's rolling stock.
Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 21 June 2022
The appropriate rolling stock for ScotRail’s services is kept under consideration at all times and changes and investment decisions will be announced from time to time in the normal manner.
Question ref. S6W-08871
Asked by: Kerr, Liam, North East Scotland, Date lodged: 6 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will introduce a financial support mechanism for small- and medium-sized supply chain businesses to help them to develop their renewable energy capabilities.
Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 17 June 2022
In line with the Programme for Government, we are helping manufacturing businesses to make the transition to net zero and realise the opportunities of a low carbon economy
The recently launched Low Carbon Manufacturing Challenge Fund will provide research and development funding for projects that result in increased product circularity, reduced waste during the manufacturing process and reduced carbon. Innovative proposals will be supported with £3 million funding this year and a total of £26 million over five years.
We are also supporting supply chains through our supply chain development programme which has an initial focus on net zero and is providing significant public sector procurement to build resilient supply chains.
Question ref. S6W-08866
Asked by: Kerr, Liam, North East Scotland, Date lodged: 6 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting Scotland's renewable energy suppliers to export to international markets.
Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 17 June 2022
In 2019 we published “Scotland: a trading nation”; a plan to grow Scotland’s exports which highlighted energy as a key sector. This year will also deliver a Renewable Energy Sector export plan showing our long term growth plan for exports.
Scottish Development International is the primary delivery arm for providing in-depth export support to Scottish businesses, both in Scotland and overseas. This is undertaken through a combination of individual company work, industry exhibitions and conferences.
Ministers are supporting Scotland’s renewable energy suppliers by engaging in high level events focused on export. June 2022 will see the next GlobalScot Energy Showcase; an opportunity for Scottish businesses to connect with a community of internationally-based business ambassadors with in market knowledge to support export.