Chamber and committees

By law, you must wear a face covering on trains and inside railway stations in Scotland.

ScotRail has clearly communicated this message to customers via prominent signage and announcements on trains and within stations, social media messaging and joint media releases with the British Transport Police (BTP) and Network Rail Scotland.

Enforcement of the wearing of face coverings on the railway rests with the BTP. BTP officers continue to conduct join initiatives with ScotRail and deploy to non-compliance hotspots.

We are currently considering the appropriateness of such agreements, similar to those developed south of the Border, for Scotland. Initial discussions have been held with trade union colleagues and we are keen to explore constructively how they might be involved in any such future arrangement.

Throughout the pandemic we have supported bus operators to keep Scotland moving, and have made up to £210 million in additional financial support available since June 2020. Operators receiving this funding enter into public service contracts and are required to meet certain conditions including running a specified level of service mileage set at 95% of pre-COVID levels unless otherwise agreed with Transport Scotland. Some operators are running less bus mileage due to constraining factors such as bus driver shortages. Given reduced patronage and changing travel patterns, operators are also required to adapt services to meet demand as it now arises. When doing so, operators are required to consult and cooperate with local transport authorities, have regard to public transport connectivity, and keep services under review. The model public service contract, setting out the full terms and conditions, can be found on the Transport Scotland website: https://www.transport.gov.scot/public-transport/buses/covid-19-support-grant/

I pre-recorded a keynote speech for the Scottish Maritime Cluster’s reception at London International Shipping Week. Transport Scotland officials attended the event at Dover House to highlight the Scottish Government’s continued support for an active relationship with the Scottish Maritime Cluster and key stakeholders from the wider maritime sector.

This would be a matter for North Ayrshire Council to consider. However we continue to work closely with North Ayrshire Council to secure an appropriate outcome for Ardrossan.

Police Scotland have advised that this has been an exceptionally busy period for the service and particularly for the Contact, Command and Control Division, with an unprecedented call levels to both the 101 non-emergency number and 999 call lines. The COVID pandemic has and continues to place unprecedented pressures on our emergency services. Across Scotland all organisations have had to manage increased leaves of covid-related absence while maintaining service levels.

While delivery of the police 101 service is a matter for Police Scotland, I have sought assurances around its operation and the Chief Constable has outlined a number of improvements, including updated options for callers and system changes to better prioritise calls have been outlined as part of these discussions. Callers to the 101 service are advised if their call is related to an emergency to dial 999. The latest figures show that 999 calls are answered on average within 7 seconds.

Through the establishment of a Rail Recovery Task Force, attended by Transport Scotland and our rail delivery partners, the focus of the restoration of rail services has been aligning capacity with demand taking into account changing and emerging travel patterns and insight into passengers’ expectations/concerns.

We have supported bus operators throughout the pandemic, providing up to
‎ £42 million until the end of this financial year. Operators receiving our funding enter into public service contracts and are required to meet certain conditions including running services close to 100% of pre-COVID levels and consulting with local transport authorities in keeping services under review.

In addition, the Government continues to support island and remote communities, working closely with ferry operators and other stakeholders throughout all stages of the pandemic including the approach to recovery.

As at Scottish Budget 2020-21, 4% of Scotland’s GDP was planned to be spent on infrastructure, which is on a par to the percentage of UK GDP allocated to capital expenditure by the UK Government at Budget 2020.

The Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Requirements) (Scotland) Amendment (No. 2) Regulations 2021, which amend the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Requirements) (Scotland) Regulations 2021, were made today and will take effect on Friday, 1 October 2021, with the offence provisions coming into effect on 18 October.

The Regulations implement the Scottish Government’s COVID-19 vaccine certification scheme. The scheme is intended to add to the other control measures currently in place and help reduce the rate and impact of transmission of coronavirus while seeking to alleviate the economic harm caused by its transmission. The Regulations support the Scottish Government’s strategic intent to “suppress the virus to a level consistent with alleviating its harms while we recover and rebuild for a better future”.

In line with our strategic intent, the COVID-19 vaccine certification scheme will allow us to meet the following aims:

• reduce risk of transmission;

• reduce risk of serious illness and death and in doing so alleviate pressure on the healthcare system;

• to allow high risk settings to continue to operate as an alternative to closure or more restrictive measures; and

• increase vaccine uptake.

The Regulations provide that late night premises and premises where a relevant event is taking place must operate a reasonable system for checking that persons on, or seeking to enter, their premises are fully vaccinated against coronavirus or are exempt from the requirement to demonstrate that they are fully vaccinated. Relevant premises must also prepare a compliance plan describing how their systems will operate and other measures in place to prevent or minimise the spread of coronavirus.

The Regulations enable a local authority to take appropriate steps to enforce the requirement to operate a vaccine checking system and introduce a right of entry for persons designated by a local authority to enter premises to which this requirement applies. The Regulations also remove capacity limits on stadia and live events above which a capacity exemption application must be approved by a local authority.

The Regulation provides that the system will come into place on 1 October but that the enforcement provisions will be delayed until 18 October, when those provisions come into effect.

The regulations amended by this regulation require Scottish Ministers to review the requirements at least once every 21 days and the regulations require Scottish Ministers to revoke any requirement as soon as it is no longer necessary.

The Regulations have been published at https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2021/349/contents/made .

Following publication of the second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2), Initial Appraisal: Case for Change Reports in February 2021. The following fixed links were included for consideration as part of the appraisal process for Phase 2 of the review:

• New rail connection to/from Cowal linking to the West Highland Line or rail network in Inverclyde or North Ayrshire, including fixed link or ferry crossings
• New rail connection to/from Kintyre linking to Cowal, including fixed link or ferry crossing
• From South Ronaldsay (Orkney Islands) to Gills Bay (Scottish Mainland)
• Sound of Harris
• Sound of Barra
• From Western Isles to the Scottish Mainland
• Between Mull and Scottish mainland
• A tunnel between Benbecula and Skye