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Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 26 April 2025
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Displaying 2643 contributions

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Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Meeting date: 5 March 2024

Mark Ruskell

Was that at a time when patronage was growing substantially, or was that predicted? I think that we are now growing back very slowly from Covid—that seems to be the case from the modelling that I have seen. From discussions with bus companies, I think they are not expecting a huge surge in older people being back on the buses. What was the trend that led up to the breach of the cap in a single year, in 2018?

09:45  

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Meeting date: 5 March 2024

Mark Ruskell

The young persons scheme has been really successful. There were a few teething problems at the beginning, but there is now substantial uptake among young people under the age of 22 who have the card.

Is there a target for how much you want the percentage of cardholders to go up in the next year? Will we reach a plateau in the numbers of people and their families who want a card, or do you think there is still a gap and that councils and schools could encourage young people to take up the card in greater numbers? Are we at the limit of uptake of the card, or do you think there is still a little way to go in getting the last folk on board?

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Environmental Governance

Meeting date: 5 March 2024

Mark Ruskell

That all sounds substantial. I am sure that it will be a great help to the committee when those reports are published and we can look at that.

Can I take it from your answer that that will feed into ministerial objectives for Scottish Water’s investment and that the report will be timed in such a way as to inform ministerial thinking and choices?

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Environmental Governance

Meeting date: 5 March 2024

Mark Ruskell

I will move from water to air. The committee did an inquiry on the back of ESS’s first air quality report. I note that you have now produced a subsequent air quality report, which recommends the adoption of the World Health Organization’s very stringent limits for particulates. That was not an improvement report on the Scottish Government, so I am interested in what that report’s headlines are—the top asks—and also what the conversation with the Government on air quality now looks like, given that you have, in effect, produced an advisory set of recommendations with a slightly different status to the first report on air quality.

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Meeting date: 5 March 2024

Mark Ruskell

I was going to ask about how long the older and disabled persons scheme has been in place, how many times the cap has been breached, and what happened, but I think that Bettina Sizeland—

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Environmental Governance

Meeting date: 5 March 2024

Mark Ruskell

This is obviously an issue of great public concern, and I note the number of submissions that ESS has received. The primary focus of those submissions has been SEPA’s discretion under the Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations 2011 to regulate in that area and take enforcement action. Can you give the committee the top line from your investigations and spell out the next major steps for regulators and others in that area?

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Environmental Governance

Meeting date: 5 March 2024

Mark Ruskell

Are you talking about CSO monitoring?

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Environmental Governance

Meeting date: 5 March 2024

Mark Ruskell

What practical changes are needed on the ground? Is it greater regulation of traffic and of wood-burning stoves, for example? Will a lot more work need to be done in terms of the Government and stakeholders coming up with an action plan to make progress towards a much more stringent WHO target, or is it pretty clear what the next steps will be?

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Environmental Governance

Meeting date: 5 March 2024

Mark Ruskell

Could the Scottish Government fill the gap unilaterally, or would it have to work within the UK framework?

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Meeting date: 5 March 2024

Mark Ruskell

Could you stay with your crystal ball for a minute, minister?