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The Scottish Government has spent £67,232 on the construction of safety improvements on the A90 Toll of Birness junction since 1 April 2017. These safety improvements have been delivered through Transport Scotland’s Trunk Road Casualty Reduction programme of works. This spend was primarily associated with the provision of three vehicle activated signs (VAS) recommended from previous safety studies. Two signs were erected in 2017 with a third sign to supplement the northbound VAS erected in 2021. Other work involved the provision of an additional northbound advance direction sign.

This spend does may not include some elements of wider spend across the North East Operating Company Unit as it is not possible identify those that relate specifically to the A90 at this location.

Our Heat in Buildings Strategy recognises that different buildings will require different clean heat solutions and that some properties may have fewer technology options available as a result of location and property type, impact on the fabric of historic buildings and electricity grid capacity. As such, our live consultation on proposals for a Heat in Buildings Bill takes a technology-neutral approach. Alongside air and ground source heat pumps, we foresee heat networks and direct electric heating systems playing a role in the clean heat transition.

Our proposals also recognise that as a renewable, and potentially net zero energy source, bioenergy may represent the best option to help decarbonise some homes for which clean heating systems are not suitable. We also want to ensure that owners who have taken the proactive step of installing renewable bioenergy systems are fairly treated. This is why, in addition to permitting extra time for those currently using bioenergy to meet the clean heat element of the Standard, we are seeking views on whether a more flexible approach to the use of bioenergy under future regulations is needed. We would need to balance this flexibility with the need to protect and ensure the supply of bioenergy in other sectors of the economy that also rely on bioenergy to remove emissions.

We monitor the operational carbon caused both directly and indirectly by the polluting heating systems used in the majority of Scotland’s buildings via the Scottish Greenhouse Gas Statistics ( Scottish Greenhouse Gas Statistics 2021 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) , which provides statistics on the level of emissions by source. Estimates of Scotland’s consumption emissions (broadly analogous to upstream scope 3 emissions) are published in Scotland’s Carbon Footprint ( Scotland’s Carbon Footprint 1998 – 2019 – gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . However, it is not possible to isolate heating systems from other similar products using this dataset.

We are continuing to investigate how we can improve whole life emissions reporting in Scotland’s buildings.

Empty Property Relief was devolved to local authorities on 1 April 2023, and it is for individual local authorities to decide how they will tailor any support for unoccupied property, including listed buildings, to best support their local needs.

As indicated in the recommendations of the New Deal for Business Non-Domestic Rates sub-group, the Scottish Government will undertake an initial review of the devolution of Empty Property Relief before the next revaluation in 2026.

The Scottish Government has spent £6.2m on structural maintenance, strategic road safety and climate change adaption improvements on the A96 between Aberdeen and Nairn in the last 12 months. These costs comprise of construction costs only and do not include design, investigation, or environmental costs of these schemes.

Of the 114,869 premises currently expected to be connected through the R100 contracts, only 1,600 will be connected through Fibre To The Cabinet broadband. The remaining 113,269 will be connected with Fibre To The Premises which is a gigabit-capable technology.

Of the 36,100 premises connected so far through the R100 contracts, 1,600 have been connected through Fibre To The Cabinet broadband which can provide a minimum of a superfast service. The remaining 34,500 connections have been delivered utilising Fibre To The Premises which is capable of delivering a gigabit broadband service.

Over the next five-year investment period, the Scottish Government has committed to invest £4.2 billion in the Scottish rail infrastructure in line with our High-Level Output Specification.

The total invested to 9th December 2023 on projects to reduce journey times between Aberdeen and the Central Belt by 2026 is £15.5m. Of this figure, £8.7m has been spent on the Aberdeen – Central Belt Journey Time Improvement project, and £6.8m has been spent on the project to improve rail line speeds in the Barnhill area between Perth and Dundee. The investment at Barnhill remodelled a junction between the Tay Viaduct at Perth and Barnhill to increase line speeds over it from 20mph to 50mph. It is a direct enabler for the plan to reduce rail journey times between the Central Belt and the North-East, improving connectivity and enhancing capacity for both passenger and freight trains on the route.

The Scottish Government is continuing to develop the business case for Aberdeen to Central Belt rail enhancements. This will be considered in in the coming months and within the context of the funding available for rail enhancements next year. We remain firmly committed to infrastructure investment as a key factor in securing economic growth and high-quality public infrastructure across Scotland, including spending over £1.6 billion in 2024-25 to operate, maintain and improve Scotland’s railway.

Whilst this is an operational matter for ScotRail and the previous Franchisee, Abellio ScotRail prior to 1 April 2022, ScotRail advises that, as part of the Grant Agreement, ScotRail conducts an annual survey of ticketless travel. The fieldwork for the most recent survey was carried out between 9 September and 23 September 2023 and the results reported that ticketless travel was 5.9%, down from 8.8% in 2022, a reduction of 2.9%.

ScotRail also advises that it invested in a mobile revenue protection team of 42 officers in 2023 who conduct revenue protection experience across the network to ensure that passengers pay their fares. In addition, over 130 frontline roles were recruited to ensure trains and automatic ticket gates are staffed.

This is an operational matter for ScotRail and the previous Franchisee, Abellio ScotRail prior to 1 April 2022. The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

The Member may wish to contact ScotRail, who might have the information relating to the period from April 2022.