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I held discussions with the Minister of State for Transport on 28 June 2021 to discuss progress with the High Speed (Crewe to Manchester) Rail Bill. This proposed phase will build on the benefits of HS2 phase 1 and 2a, bringing further reductions in journey times between Glasgow Central and London when implemented.

Now more than ever it is essential that we are well connected to the rest of Europe and the rest of the World and our ambition is to help airports restore 2019 levels of connectivity as quickly as possible. We are working with airports, including Glasgow Airport, on route recovery, to help rebuild connectivity for business and tourism once we are able to safely lift travel restrictions. This will help win back routes and employment opportunities. Transport Scotland, working in partnership with VisitScotland and SDI, has a well-established process in place to help Scotland’s airports recover routes lost as well as help secure new ones. We provide support to airlines in the form of attractive co-operative marketing packages, and also provide market intelligence and data to airlines on the potential of the Scottish market.

We have extended the 100% non-domestic rates relief for the aviation sector for another year with Glasgow Airport being one of the largest beneficiaries.

In 2020-21, the Scottish Government worked with Unite to support training for staff in the aviation sector which included support for Glasgow Airport ground staff through the National Transition Training Fund. Over 250 Glasgow staff benefitted from a range of training.

Scottish Ministers have now approved a continuation of support for this sector in 2021-22 and we are working with Unite again to agree what training will add most value to recovery of the sector and support the protection of jobs. Glasgow Airport staff will again benefit from this training offer.

The details of the levels of active travel capital funding for the next five years will be discussed and agreed as part of the annual budget process.

Proposals to the Bus Partnership Fund were scored against the following criteria, which were published when the Fund opened on 9 November 2020:

• Evidence of congestion and ideas to reduce congestion, through improved emissions (25%)
• Partnership strength and demonstrated commitment, which will include match in kind (20%)
• Deliverability: the ability of the lead local authority and its partners to deliver the proposed developments, including local political buy-in (15%)
• bus services (40%)
• How the proposal fits with the partnership area’s overall strategy for integrated transport, to encourage a modal shift from cars to more sustainable transport and reduce

The additional £5 million funding allocated in the 2020-21 budget has been used by Transport Scotland to support the rail decarbonisation programme which includes the work currently being undertaken to electrify the routes between Glasgow and Barrhead, and Glasgow and East Kilbride.

These enhancement projects will see the respective railway lines transformed to accommodate quieter, more environmentally friendly electric trains, whilst increasing capacity of services and improving network resilience. They will have a transformative effect on the railway and will deliver wide-ranging passenger benefits.

In addition, the funding supported the platform extensions at Milngavie, which enabled the introduction of a performance-enhancing timetable in 2020, as recommended in the Donovan Review, with the consequence that there is no longer a requirement for any additional infrastructure within the Milngavie area, though, of course, this will kept under review.

The 2017 Programme for Government initially committed to introducing Low Emission Zones (LEZs) into Scotland’s four biggest cities (Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen) between 2018 and 2020. Scotland’s first LEZ (with an initial focus on buses) was launched in Glasgow at the end of 2018.

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered an evaluation of this timeline and the new indicative timeline is for LEZs to be introduced into Scotland’s four biggest cities between February and May 2022. Once introduced, this is when a LEZ grace period of no less than one year and no more than four years will start.

Local authorities have the final decision on the duration of the grace period which is the most appropriate for their LEZ Proposal. Once the grace period has lapsed, penalty charge notice enforcement will commence.

The Scottish Government is aware that issues are being raised on the minimum age to enter a marriage or civil partnership and that a Private Member’s Bill has been lodged at Westminster to increase the minimum age in England and Wales:

The Scottish Government will obtain more information on this issue and discuss the minimum age with key stakeholders. Before any steps were taken to raise the minimum age for entering a marriage or civil partnership in Scotland, there would need to be a full public consultation. If the member has any points she would like to discuss on the minimum age, I would be happy to meet her.

The Scottish Government has made a commitment to phase out the need for new petrol or diesel light commercial vehicles in public bodies by 2025; the need for any new petrol or diesel vehicles in public sector fleets by 2030; and the need for new petrol or diesel cars or vans by 2030.

The Scottish Government is aware of the issue of microplastic and other forms of pollution from road vehicles of all kinds. A 2019 report, “Non-Exhaust Emissions from Road Traffic” concluded the most effective mitigation strategies for reducing wear-generated fine particulate matter are: to reduce overall volumes of traffic; reduce speed limits; and promote good driving behaviour, all of which are part of our plans to reduce casualties and improve air quality.

Reducing the number and use of vehicles is central to reducing all types of pollution that they generate. The National Transport Strategy promotes walking, cycling, public transport and bike, car and ride sharing in preference to single occupancy car use. In the Climate Change Plan update published in December 2020, the Scottish Government committed to reducing car kilometres by 20% by 2030.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-00649 on 5 July 2021. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at /chamber-and-committees/votes-and-motions/votes-and-motions-search.

While the Scottish Government continues to monitor research into issues relating to zero emission vehicles, we have not conducted specific analysis in the potential increase in microplastic waste from electric vehicles.