Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-02966

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 23 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the Spaces for People scheme, which temporary installations have been removed or reversed; which of the infrastructure is scheduled to be removed or reversed; how much it will cost to remove or reverse this infrastructure, and what the original cost was of each project.

Spaces for People (SfP) schemes are the responsibility of individual local authorities. It is therefore for local authorities to determine the length of time SfP measures should remain in place and to take decisions on their removal. Sustrans has provided support and advice to local authorities intending to make SfP infrastructure permanent.

The Spaces for People programme provided local authorities with funding to deliver temporary active travel infrastructure. As local authorities are fully responsible for the delivery of SfP measures, they hold information on installation and removal costs for individual interventions.

A total of £38.9 million was awarded to local authorities, Regional Transport Partnership (RTPs), the National Health Service (NHS) and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) via Spaces for People as set out in the following table:

Partners	Funding award
Aberdeen City Council	£ 1,760,000
Aberdeenshire Council	£ 310,000
Angus Council	£ 788,958
Argyll & Bute Council	£ 915,000
City of Edinburgh Council	£ 5,000,000
Clackmannanshire Council	£ 367,000
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles Council)	£ 128,850
Dumfries and Galloway Council	£ 595,000
Dundee City Council	£ 2,460,000
East Ayrshire Council	£ 555,000
East Lothian Council	£ 1,400,000
East Renfrewshire Council	£ 1,030,000
Falkirk Council	£ 190,000
Fife Council	£ 2,420,000
Glasgow City Council	£ 7,500,000
Inverclyde Council	£ 585,000
Midlothian Council	£ 191,962
Moray Council	£ 778,800
NHS Grampian	£ 817,500
NHS Lanarkshire	£ 210,000
NHS Lothian	£ 90,000
North Ayrshire Council	£ 400,000
North Lanarkshire Council	£ 1,066,978
Perth and Kinross Council	£ 1,353,000
Renfrewshire Council	£ 695,000
Scottish Borders Council	£ 1,200,000
Scottish Environment Protection Agency	£ 120,000
South Ayrshire Council	£ 510,000
South Lanarkshire Council	£ 1,200,000
Stirling Council	£ 513,000
TACTRAN	£ 250,000
The Highland Council	£ 1,968,560
West Dunbartonshire Council	£ 740,000
West Lothian Council	£ 641,500
ZetTrans	£ 200,000

Question reference: S6T-00146

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the announcement by the UK Government not to proceed with plans to introduce vaccine passports.

Question reference: S6W-02372

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 13 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether buses funded through the Scottish Ultra-Low Emission Bus Scheme (SULEBS) that were built abroad have been subsidised by foreign governments, and, if so, to what extent.

Of 272 buses supported by the Scottish Ultra-Low Emission Bus Scheme only 61 are being imported from abroad. This is in line with Scottish Government's Trade Vision, where we committed to supporting domestic manufacturing while balancing this with active participation in diversified Global Value Chains. Scotland remains committed to a rules-based trade agenda and supports open, fair and transparent trade without protectionism.

Question reference: S6W-02373

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 13 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it put in place to prevent money allocated through the Scottish Ultra-Low Emission Bus Scheme (SULEBS) from being spent outside of Scotland and the UK.

Question reference: S6W-02371

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 13 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of where buses funded through the Scottish Ultra-Low Emission Bus Scheme (SULEBS) are being built.

The completed bids are published on the Transport Scotland website. The manufacturer that has been contracted by the Bus Operators to supply the battery electric buses is noted at https://www.transport.gov.scot/public-transport/buses/scottish-ultra-low-emission-bus-scheme/scottish-ultra-low-emission-bus-scheme-completed-bids/ 207 of the total 272 buses funded under SULEBS have been ordered from Alexander Dennis Ltd, the bus manufacturing company based in Larbert, Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-02205

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 8 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its most recent estimate is of government investment in infrastructure, and what information it has regarding how this compares with other OECD countries.

Our National Infrastructure Mission plans for over £33 billion of Scottish Government investment over the course of the current Parliamentary term. This means that annual investment in our hospitals, schools, houses, transport, low carbon technology and digital connections, will be around £1.56 billion higher by 2025-26 than in 2019-20.

All international studies show that boosting infrastructure investment is expected to have a positive impact on Scotland’s long-term economic growth. Scottish Government analysis published in 2018 available at www.gov.scot/Infrastructure investment: evidence summary showed the annual UK government investment was around 2.6% of UK GDP, one percentage point below the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) average.

The National Infrastructure Mission represents an increase in annual investment by 1% of 2017 Scottish GDP by the end of this Parliament, raising the level of public investment in infrastructure in Scotland to internationally competitive levels and providing economic stimulus.

Question reference: S6W-02202

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 7 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether the adoption of the sustainable investment hierarchy will have an impact on decisions to proceed with any of the road-building projects that it has previously committed to.

The Scottish Government and Scottish Green Party agree that transport plays a crucial role in supporting a green and fair recovery and our shared position on this is included in the draft shared policy programme, forming part of the cooperation agreement.

We believe that bold action is needed to increase the pace of change and the scale of investment to support the priorities and outcomes set out in the National Transport Strategy, including our ambitious climate goals. We agree that in the face of the climate emergency we need to shift away from spending money on new road projects that encourage more people to drive, and instead focus our money and effort on maintaining roads, improving safety and providing a realistic and affordable alternative through investing in public transport and active travel.

The Sustainable Investment Hierarchy contained in the second National Transport Strategy and published in February 2020, can trace its linage back to the first Strategic Transport Projects Review in 2008, which in turn was developed from Scotland’s first National Transport Strategy (NTS) published in 2006. This was enhanced as part of the second NTS to include reducing the need to travel unsustainably at the top of the hierarchy. In addition, NTS sets out the commitment to ensure we will not build road infrastructure to cater for forecast unconstrained increases in traffic volumes.

We need to balance the significant changes in travel behaviour required to meet a target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions with our duty to ensure that Scotland has high quality infrastructure to meet the needs of all our residents, businesses and visitors. That is why we are continuing work on our programme of trunk road improvement scheme to improve resilience, safety and deliver sustainable inclusive growth for the people of Scotland. Work on the trunk roads projects and programmes under construction, procurement or design and development continue and are subject to the statutory assessment and business case processes.

Question reference: S6W-02182

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 6 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what progress has been made with the delivery of the Infrastructure Investment Plan 2021-22 to 2025-26, and whether it will provide the Parliament with regular updates.

Question reference: S6W-02217

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 6 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of the funding in the Infrastructure Investment Plan 2021-22 to 2025-2026 has been allocated to projects related to (a) utility networks, (b) transport and (c) digital communications.

The proportion of the total estimated Scottish Government investment at Annex D of the Infrastructure Investment Plan between 2021-22 to 2025-2026 in relation to a) utility networks, b) transport and c) digital communications is 8.7%, 27.2% and 5.4% respectively.

Further details relating to this estimated five-year planned investment are contained within the following table noting that gas and electricity network policy and regulation as well as digital infrastructure is reserved to the UK Government. The Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme (LCITP) funding covers a range of projects relating to low carbon infrastructure, some of which include heat networks. For the purposes of this answer, the full LCITP allocation has been included within the table as it is not currently possible to say what share is dedicated to utility networks.

SECTOR	PROJECT NAME	CAPITAL INVESTMENT (£M)
Utility Networks	Scottish Water Investment Programme	850
Utility Networks	Clyde Mission Low Carbon Infrastructure	25
Utility Networks	Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme (LCITP)	405
TOTAL		1,280
Transport	Support for Sustainable and Active Travel	352
Transport	Active Freeways	50
Transport	Future Transport Fund - capital to support a range of low and zero carbon investment	287
Transport	Future Transport Fund – Bus Priority Investment	495
Transport	Support for zero-emission bus fleet transition	120
Transport	Road Adaptations Fund	60
Transport	A9 Dualling Programme	328
Transport	A96 Dual carriageway	20
Transport	A82 Tarbet to Inverarnan	136
Transport	A77 Maybole Bypass	5
Transport	A92/A96 Haudagain Junction Improvement	7
Transport	A737 Improvements at Beith	10
Transport	A801 Improvement project	22
Transport	STPR – potential pipeline projects	45
Transport	Rail Major Project Enhancements	1,200
Transport	Glasgow Subway Modernisation	104
Transport	CMAL – Two new 100 metre ferries	84
Transport	CMAL – Voted Loans – net vessel investment	281
Transport	Piers and Harbours Grants	306
Transport	Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd Air Traffic Control Services	28
Transport	Additional transport links alongside City Region Deals	68
TOTAL		4,008
Digital Communications	Digital Public Services Programme	110
Digital Communications	eHealth	25
Digital Communications	Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme (ESMCP)	122
Digital Communications	Reaching 100% programme (R100)	542
TOTAL		799

Question reference: S6W-02116

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 6 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what funding mechanism it plans to use for the works on the sections of the A9 that are still to be dualled.

I can confirm that we are using capital funding for the third section of the A9 to be dualled between Tomatin to Moy.

A market consultation exercise commenced earlier this year to inform assessment of procurement options for remaining sections when the statutory processes are complete. Determination of the optimal procurement option is a complex exercise which is considering a pipeline of work in a form that can be delivered by the industry, supports the economic recovery post COVID and minimises disruption to users if this lifeline route.

It is expected this analysis will be completed in the coming weeks and will inform decision making on our procurement approach and phasing.

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