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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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S6W-10859

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 26 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what the consequences are for passengers who consume alcohol and breach the ban on ScotRail trains.

Question reference: S6W-10861

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 23 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what estimates it has made of any potential revenue loss to ScotRail of not selling alcohol on trains.

Question reference: S6W-10865

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 23 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many times enforcement action has been taken in relation to the alcohol ban on ScotRail trains, and what estimate it has made of how many times the ban has been breached.

Question reference: S6W-10864

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 23 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how the alcohol ban on ScotRail trains is enforced, and who it is enforced by.

Question reference: S6W-10863

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 22 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to make consuming alcohol on trains in Scotland illegal.

As a publicly owned and controlled railway, it is important that ScotRail plays its part in delivering Scottish Government ambitions for its success. As part of that, ScotRail quite rightly reviewed the ban on alcohol and brought forward proposals for consideration. Following robust scrutiny against wider Scottish Government priorities and policy implications, it was considered that further work on these proposals would be required including wider consultation on the implications.

Given the diversity of views on the sale and consumption of alcohol on ScotRail services, consideration of its reintroduction will form part of the National Conversation on Rail. This will enable a wide range of views to be taken into account before any final decision is made. In the meantime, everyone needs to be mindful that, while many of the pandemic restrictions have been lifted, Covid hasn’t gone away and the Scottish Government’s advisory guidance remains in place.

Question reference: S6W-10862

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 22 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether alcohol should be banned on (a) LNER, (b) Avanti, (c) Cross Country and (d) TransPennine express services when in Scotland.

LNER, Avanti, Cross Country and TransPennine Express are cross-border railway passenger operators whose contracts are specified and managed by the Department for Transport, under UK Government railway legislation which the Scottish Government does not have devolved authority to amend. Therefore the sale and consumption of alcohol on these services is currently a matter for the individual operators in accordance with applicable legislation and the policy of their franchising authority, the Department for Transport.

Question reference: S6O-01406

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 September 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care last met with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, and what issues were discussed.

Question reference: S6W-10472

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 21 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much in total has been allocated to bus operators to support them through the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Scottish Government has provided funding to bus operators through various funds since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic at the end of March 2020. The funding streams within this period that relate to Covid-19 support include the Covid Support Grant, Covid Support Grant – Restart and Network Support Grant Plus.

Detailed information on the funding amounts under each of these grants can be found in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre under Bib number 63569.

Question reference: S6W-10471

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 20 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether there will be a further round of support grants for bus operators as they continue to recover passenger numbers to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels.

The Scottish Government continues to provide financial support for bus services to keep services more extensive, and fares more affordable than would otherwise be the case. On 1 April 2022, the Network Support Grant was introduced, with up to £93.5 million allocated for 2022-23 and an additional £25.7 million is being provided to extend the Network Support Grant Plus until October of this year. The Scottish Government continues to engage with bus operators and local government to keep support under review.

Question reference: S6W-10470

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 20 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is offering to bus operators that may be impacted by COVID-19 support subsidies ending in October 2022.

The Scottish Government is supporting bus operators through the Network Support Grant and Network Support Grant Plus which started on 1 April 2022 and which replace the Bus Service Operators’ Grant and emergency Covid funding.

I met with operators over the course of Summer recess to identify actions for Government and the sector to work in partnership on. As a result I will be convening a Taskforce with operators to further explore what practical solutions can be delivered to help maintain bus services across the country.