The Scottish Government requires ScotRail and Network Rail in Scotland to co-operate in the management, monitoring and improvement of Scottish train performance. The Office for Rail and Road publishes performance data for Scotland on its website. Delays and cancellations to Scottish rail services can be caused by problems with infrastructure, rolling stock, availability of staff (including through industrial action) and delays introduced to the Scottish rail network by poor performance of cross-border rail services from England.

Transport Scotland officials have regular discussions with ScotRail regarding various matters. ScotRail continuously reviews its services to best meet the passenger demand with the resource it has available.

Nationally, more services run on a Sunday in the December 2024 timetable than before Covid. In particular, for the Glasgow area, following the introduction of the new December 2024 timetable, late night Sunday services have been enhanced on the Springburn line in Glasgow, and from Exhibition Centre.

Local authorities are responsible for the developing and delivering flood protection schemes, supported by Scottish Government funding. The 2015-2021 Flood Risk Management Strategies published by SEPA prioritised 42 flood protection schemes. These schemes require complex planning and consultation and often take years to complete, so it has always been recognised that completion of construction work on all 42 schemes might not have taken place by 2021.

In addition to an annual £42 million provided to local authorities for flood resilience, Scottish Government has committed to an additional £150 million over the course of this Parliament.

Since 2015 this investment has led to the completion of 18 flood resilience projects, including Millport Coastal, one of three completed in 2024. An additional two projects are in an advanced stage and nearing completion.

The National Flood Resilience Strategy published in December underscores Scottish Government’s long term commitment to tackling climate-related challenges. An additional £15 million has been set aside in the draft 2025-2026 Scottish Budget to support the delivery of the Strategy, wider flooding resilience and coastal adaptation work.

Transport Scotland officials have regular discussions with Network Rail regarding various matters. Performance of Network Rail is a matter for the Office of Rail and Road who holds Network Rail to account for delivering a safe, high-performing, and efficient railway.

The project is nearly at construction stage and has been assessed by Transport Scotland for construction-ready funding through Tier 2 of the Active Travel Infrastructure Fund (ATIF). Our operating company, BEAR Scotland, has been working with the original project designers to progress the remaining elements of the design. Recent work has included updating traffic counts, traffic modelling and traffic signal design, and included resolving carriageway level and drainage issues. The next stage will involve BEAR Scotland’s environmental team carrying out site visits in January 2025. The findings of this will determine the requirement for further environmental work.

Once the design package has been finalised, in early 2025 it is proposed to seek tendered prices for delivery of the project. Funding for the ATIF is allocated on an annual basis subject to the Scottish Government’s final budget approval and internal governance processes. Upon confirmation of ATIF funding for next financial year, this project will be included within the prioritisation list for funding support. Once funding has been confirmed, a programme for delivery of the works can then be developed.

This is a matter for Scottish Rail Holdings (SRH), who oversees the delivery of Caledonian Sleeper services on behalf of Scottish Ministers. The Member may wish to contact SRH directly. Since coming into public ownership in June 2023, Caledonian Sleepers right time arrivals have improved to over 88%. This is well above the GB average.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-32124 on 7 January 2025. 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.

Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, land contamination is the responsibility of local authorities. Any land which is identified as being contaminated, including any contaminated by historic metal mining, should be managed in accordance with their routine regime of identifying and securing remediation for contaminated land.

ScotRail performance metrics, including cancellations are published on Office for Rail and Road website for the year up to April 2024. The Member may wish to contact ScotRail to secure information regarding its current performance. ScotRail performs well as compared to many GB operators and its average performance is consistently higher than the GB network as a whole.

This is a matter for ScotRail as the employer.