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Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S6W-03778

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 15 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 11 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when it will update the guidance for international school and educational visits, which was due to be reviewed at the end of August 2021, in order to bring it in line with the current framework for international travel.

Question reference: S6O-00291

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S6W-03432

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 01 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 19 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-02205 by Michael Matheson on 8 September 2021, when it will publish details of the projects that it will fund from the £33 billion National Infrastructure Mission, and for what reason Annex D (Major Projects and Programmes for reporting to Public Audit and Post Legislative Scrutiny Committee) of the document, A National Mission with Local Impact: Infrastructure Investment Plan for Scotland 2021-22 to 2025-26, lists less than £15 billion worth of projects.

The National Infrastructure Mission includes all capital investment made by the Scottish Government, including that which is aimed at boosting supply chains and promoting private sector investment in our infrastructure and wider economy.

The Capital Spending Review, published on 04 February, sets out the total funding available to support the National Infrastructure Mission: £33,461 million over 5 years. A breakdown of this investment is provided in Table 3 on page 17/18. Table 4 of the Capital Spending Review shows the allocations made to individual portfolios and Annex A shows level 2 and level 3 budget allocations, by portfolio, across the same period.

The Infrastructure Investment Plan (IIP) lists in the Theme Chapters on pages 32 to 43 a breakdown of the main areas of investment by Scottish Government and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies – with a value of around £23.5 billion of capital investment. In addition, a value of £3 billion has been assumed for projects which are expected to be revenue funded. These two figures together are the basis of the £26 billion of investment cited in the Ministerial Foreword of the IIP.

The Infrastructure Investment Plan Pipeline, set out in Annex D, includes only a subset of the projects and programmes from the IIP total. Projects with a capital value of £5 million and Programmes with a £20 million value are included in this subset. As new projects and programmes are developed, they can be added to the pipeline when they are suitably ready, and consequently reported to the Parliament’s Public Audit Committee. This approach is explained on page 29 of the IIP.

Question reference: S6W-03223

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 6 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how it will prevent a loss of rural bus services as small operators are asked decarbonise before the end of 2023.

The Scottish Government has established the Bus Decarbonisation Taskforce, comprised of leaders from the bus operating, bus manufacturing, energy and finance sectors, including representation from rural bus operators. At its first meeting the group set out its vision for a future where “Bus operators are exclusively running zero-emission battery-electric and hydrogen fuel-cell buses, and the bus sector provides an excellent service meeting passengers’ day-to-day needs”. The guiding vision informs all aspects of the Taskforce’s work. The Scottish Government is making £120 million available over the coming years to support operators in both urban and rural areas transition to zero-emission technology. The first phase of our Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund, worth £50 million, is currently open for bids. A second phase will be subject to review of the first.

Question reference: S6W-03219

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 6 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what evaluation it has carried out of ScotZeb scheme, and how many buses have been purchased using this.

Question reference: S6W-03224

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 6 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what impact introducing free bus travel for under-22s will have on the number of people using the active travel infrastructure.

The proposed National Bus Travel Concession Scheme for Young Persons is expected to increase patronage and cause modal shift but the precise impact of these changes is uncertain. The Scottish Government will monitor the scheme to assess the level of take up and the impact it has on people’s travel behaviours and on other modes of transport, including active travel.

Evidence from the existing National Bus Travel Concession Scheme for Older and Disabled Persons indicates that people who benefit from free public transport tend to be more active as a result. These journeys can be used to access outdoor activities and most will involve an active component, for instance to get to or from the bus stop.

Question reference: S6W-03220

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 6 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many diesel buses will have to be replaced to meet the 2023 net-zero target.

Question reference: S6W-03225

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 6 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what impact introducing free bus travel for under-22s will have on bus operators, and whether any subsequent fare pressure will lead to 23- to 59-year-old passengers paying more.

It is an objective of the National Bus Travel Concession Scheme for Young Persons that bus operators are reimbursed for the costs of carrying concessionary passengers so as to leave them no better and no worse off through their participation in the Scheme. This objective should mean that there are not subsequent fare pressures on fare paying passengers as a result of the scheme.

We have worked with the Confederation of Passenger Transport to arrive at the reimbursement rates for the Scheme which seek to deliver this objective.

The new Scheme will be monitored closely in order to identify any significant adverse financial impacts, generally or for individual operators or groups of bus operators.

Question reference: S6W-03221

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 6 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what financial support it will provide to bus operators to meet the costs and deliver at pace the necessary depot charging infrastructure before the end of 2023.

The Scottish Government ran two rounds of the Scottish Ultra Low Emission Bus scheme in 2020/21, awarding a total of £39.6 million to support operators acquire new zero-emission buses, and £11 million to support operators install the necessary depot charging infrastructure. Phase one of the Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund, has a total of £50 million available and is currently open for bids. The funding is to support the cost of both zero-emission buses and the associated charging infrastructure. Bidders can request up to 75% of the cost of battery-electric charging infrastructure, and up to 85% of the cost of hydrogen fuel-cell charging infrastructure.

Question reference: S6W-03222

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 6 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what preparations it has made to ensure that bus operators in rural areas have access to charging infrastructure before the 2023 deadline for decarbonisation,

The Scottish Government has established the Bus Decarbonisation Taskforce, comprised of leaders from the bus operating, bus manufacturing, energy and finance sectors, including representation from rural bus operators. The Taskforce has explored energy infrastructure in depth and actions now being undertaken by the Taskforce include production of a “How To” guide for bus operators about working with the electricity sector to plan for and install the necessary charging infrastructure. The Taskforce has also discussed the suitability of hydrogen fuel-cell buses for rural bus services, and the challenges and opportunities associated with hydrogen refuelling stations. The Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund is currently available to bidders and is designed to encourage collaborative and consortium bids, with support of up to 75% of the cost of battery-electric charging infrastructure, and up to 85% of the cost of hydrogen fuel-cell charging infrastructure.