- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 30 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 6 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the Aberdeen to Central Belt rail enhancement project, when it expects to publish the outline business case that it had previously planned to publish in 2022.
Answer
The Outline Business Case for the Aberdeen to Central Belt Enhancement Project is currently planned to be published later this year.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 31 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 6 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to its funding of £200 million for the north east through the Aberdeen City Region Deal to reduce the ScotRail journey time between Aberdeen and Edinburgh by 20 minutes, on what measures, and where, geographically, will the funding be spent.
Answer
Funding will be spent on a series of infrastructure upgrades on the route south from Aberdeen to the Central Belt, including signal enhancements and specific capacity alterations to facilitate the operation of more and faster trains on the same route.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 6 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how much subsidy it provided to ScotRail in each financial year since 2017-18, and how much it expects to provide in each of the five financial years after 2022-23.
Answer
The subsidy provided to ScotRail from 2017 to 2022 is contained within Transport Scotland’s annual report and accounts which is published on Transport Scotland’s website. The hyperlinks listed below cover the financial years from 2017 to 2022.
For financial year 2022-23 this information will be published on the website once audited. Future years will be published once budgets are agreed.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 31 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 6 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how it proposes to reduce the ScotRail journey time between (a) Aberdeen and Dundee by three minutes and (b) Dundee and Edinburgh by 17 minutes, by 2026.
Answer
Transport Scotland intends to achieve journey time savings via a series of infrastructure upgrades including signal enhancements and specific capacity alterations to facilitate the operation of more and faster trains on the same route.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 03 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 6 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to its pilot to remove peak ScotRail
fares, what its rationale is for running the pilot over a six-month
period, and what its position is on whether this will be a sufficient period of
time during which to assess the success or otherwise of the trial; what it
considers would constitute the success of the pilot, and how this will be
measured; what the rationale is for potentially removing peak fares, and
what the evidence base is that suggests that removing peak fares will achieve
this; in which geographical area(s) it expects the removal of peak fares to have the most impact, and what impact it projects the removal of peak fares will have on the ScotRail's income from
ticket fares during the trial period.
Answer
The ScotRail peak fares removal pilot reflects the cost of living crisis and takes account of changing travel patterns in the post-Covid period. Further details on the Scottish Government’s ScotRail peak fares pilot will be confirmed in due course.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 20 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 5 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its announcement in June 2022 that £30 million would be spent “this financial year” to “accelerate the shift to zero emission transport”, how much of this funding it has spent to date, broken down by what it has been spent on; which geographical areas it has been spent in, and whether it has been allocated to (a) the corporate sector, (b) charitable organisations, (c) individuals and (d) others.
Answer
Of the £30 million support that was announced in June 2022, £28 million was allocated to the Low Carbon Transport Loan and the remaining £2 million was allocated to the Plugged-In Communities Schemes. Both have been fully allocated and are pending final claims being received.
Table 1 below gives a breakdown of loans paid under of the Low Carbon Transport loan by local authority area and type of recipient, reflecting payments up to 28 February 2023.
Table 1: Low Carbon Transport Loan – paid loans in financial year 22-23 to 28 February 2023 |
Local Authority Area | New Business Loan | Switched on Taxis Loan | Used Domestic Loan | Used Business Loan | Grand Total (to 28-02-23) |
Argyll and Bute | £0.00 | £0.00 | £193,983.50 | £46,800.00 | £240,783.50 |
Highland | £130,000.00 | £0.00 | £325,320.98 | £39,194.00 | £494,514.98 |
Na h-Eileanan Siar | £29,495.00 | £0.00 | £38,744.00 | £0.00 | £68,239.00 |
Orkney Islands | £0.00 | £0.00 | £59,093.00 | £27,600.00 | £86,693.00 |
Aberdeen City | £58,499.00 | £150,000.00 | £521,317.56 | £109,394.00 | £839,210.56 |
Aberdeenshire | £30,000.00 | £30,000.00 | £794,529.23 | £121,936.50 | £976,465.73 |
Angus | £30,000.00 | £0.00 | £250,730.00 | £59,398.00 | £340,128.00 |
Dundee City | £53,684.56 | £28,195.00 | £513,198.20 | £28,295.00 | £623,372.76 |
Moray | £0.00 | £0.00 | £147,881.00 | £0.00 | £147,881.00 |
Perth and Kinross | £34,999.00 | £0.00 | £641,044.60 | £92,617.00 | £768,660.60 |
City of Edinburgh | £90,979.00 | £831,821.44 | £1,697,763.01 | £123,612.00 | £2,744,175.45 |
East Lothian | £0.00 | £34,093.00 | £587,197.00 | £0.00 | £621,290.00 |
Fife | £35,000.00 | £63,805.00 | £800,616.00 | £0.00 | £899,421.00 |
Midlothian | £0.00 | £121,898.20 | £432,242.00 | £0.00 | £554,140.20 |
Scottish Borders | £0.00 | £0.00 | £377,066.00 | £23,500.00 | £400,566.00 |
West Lothian | £70,000.00 | £128,473.00 | £475,531.81 | £0.00 | £674,004.81 |
Dumfries and Galloway | £0.00 | £0.00 | £285,852.00 | £11,499.00 | £297,351.00 |
East Ayrshire | £0.00 | £0.00 | £134,602.21 | £111,834.00 | £246,436.21 |
North Ayrshire | £0.00 | £0.00 | £144,256.06 | £28,437.60 | £172,693.66 |
South Ayrshire | £120,000.00 | £93,658.00 | £204,350.00 | £25,200.00 | £443,208.00 |
Clackmannanshire | £0.00 | £0.00 | £154,468.00 | £0.00 | £154,468.00 |
East Dunbartonshire | £60,000.00 | £252,771.40 | £324,659.03 | £25,198.80 | £662,629.23 |
East Renfrewshire | £0.00 | £185,751.80 | £436,581.00 | £89,498.00 | £711,830.80 |
Falkirk | £51,165.48 | £0.00 | £353,921.00 | £27,500.00 | £432,586.48 |
Glasgow City | £130,000.00 | £586,127.60 | £1,286,187.01 | £168,160.00 | £2,170,474.61 |
Inverclyde | £31,093.50 | £0.00 | £222,936.93 | £0.00 | £254,030.43 |
North Lanarkshire | £0.00 | £154,718.00 | £575,597.99 | £0.00 | £730,315.99 |
Renfrewshire | £0.00 | £148,558.00 | £273,222.00 | £67,507.30 | £489,287.30 |
South Lanarkshire | £152,629.00 | £152,001.10 | £815,437.47 | £100,186.60 | £1,220,254.17 |
Stirling | £97,000.00 | £0.00 | £790,167.00 | £22,700.00 | £909,867.00 |
West Dunbartonshire | £0.00 | £0.00 | £119,368.00 | £23,149.00 | £142,517.00 |
Grand Total | £1,204,544.54 | £2,961,871.54 | £13,977,863.59 | £1,373,216.80 | £19,517,496.47 |
Tables 2 and 3 below give a breakdown of payments under the Plugged-in Communities schemes, reflecting payments up to 28 February 2023. Table 2 reflects payments to Community Transport Organisations, and Table 3 reflects payments to car clubs.
Table 2: Plugged-in Communities, Grants to Community Transport Organisations, payments in financial year 22-23 to 28 February 2023 |
Local Authority Area | Amount Paid | Community Transport Organisation. |
Highland | £83,603.70 | Wheels in Nairnshire |
Orkney | £80,856.00 | Island of Hoy Development Trust |
Argyll and Bute | £66,638.00 | Ross of Mull and Iona Community Trust |
Highland | £67,371.40 | Transport for Tongue |
Aberdeen | £76,535.00 | Clan Cancer Support |
Dumfries and Galloway | £46,000.00 | Galloway Community Transport |
Aberdeen | £76,535.00 | Camphill School Aberdeen |
West Lothian | £41,979.80 | The Larder (West Lothian) |
Dumfries and Galloway | £71,040.00 | Annandale Community Transport |
Highland | £8,400.00 | Connect Assynt |
Total | £618,958.90 | |
Table 3: Plugged-in Communities, Grants to Car Clubs, payments in financial year 22-23 to 28 February 2023 |
Local Authority Area | Amount Paid | Car Club |
Aberdeen | £13,801.68 | Grampian Housing Association |
Renfrewshire | £3,375.00 | Linstone Housing Association |
Glasgow | £9,201.12 | Queens Cross Housing Association |
Glasgow | £15,335.14 | Glasgow Housing Association |
Aberdeen | £10,351.25 | Osprey Housing Association |
Fife | £19,584.00 | Ore Valley Housing Association |
City of Edinburgh | £39,168.00 | Blackwood Group |
Total | £110,816.19 | |
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 3 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide further clarification regarding the £25,000 working capital loan that has been made available to Ferguson Marine, including what the loan (a) is expected to be used for, (b) interest rate is and (c) repayment date is; what assurances it has received regarding the repayment of the loan, and whether the loan funding support was a requirement from BAE systems.
Answer
The working capital loan made available to Ferguson Marine is expected to be used to ensure that Ferguson Marine has the necessary cashflow to make payments in relation to salaries and VAT as required while they await repayment from BAE Systems for services rendered in line with the terms of the contract.
Scottish Government has followed Scottish Public Finance Manual procedure with regards to the interest rate and is satisfied that the loan will be repaid, should the facility be drawn upon. The loan follows standard practice for working capital requests from a public body.
The rate of interest and repayment date are not disclosed due to commercial sensitivity.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 17 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by George Adam on 28 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether, under the terms of
the Scottish Ministerial Code, a minister who knowingly misleads a member of
the public in their capacity as a minister should resign from the Scottish
Government.
Answer
The Scottish Ministerial Code provides clear guidance to Ministers on how they should act and arrange their affairs in order to uphold the highest standards of propriety and is intended to speak for itself. Ministers are personally responsible for deciding how to act and conduct themselves in light of the code and for justifying their actions to Parliament and the public. The First Minister is the ultimate judge of the standards of behaviour expected of a Minister and of the appropriate consequences of a breach of those standards.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 28 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, how many of the (a) 46 diesel vehicles and (b) 16 petrol cars in the fleet that it and its agencies run were purchased in each year from 2018 to 2023 to date.
Answer
A list of all diesel and petrol vehicle purchases since 2018 is provided in the following table.
The 2 most recent purchases, a Mercedes Sprinter and Vito Minibus Combo are used for specific business related purposes. The Mercedes is used by Marine Scotland to transport shipping supplies and equipment throughout Scotland, whilst the Vito Minibus is used by our Video Production Team to transport team members and bulky audio visual equipment. At the time of purchase, there were no suitable fully electric (EV) or plug in hybrid (PHEV) alternatives available.
Year | Diesel purchases | Petrol purchases |
2018-19 | 8 | 0 |
2019-20 | 6 | 0 |
2020-21 | 3 | 0 |
2021-22 | 0 | 0 |
2022-23 | 2 | 0 |
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 27 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will list any cases in which sewage leaks have been recorded in NHS hospitals in each year since 1 January 2022, broken down by (a) hospital and (b) part of the building in which the leak occurred.
Answer
This is a matter for NHS Boards. The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.