- Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 June 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 15 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a full breakdown of ScotRail’s fleet of trains, including details of until when ScotRail is contracted to keep the current fleet, and how much it currently costs ScotRail to lease the trains on the fleet.
Answer
The details requested of ScotRail’s fleet of trains are commercially sensitive, however information concerning the fleets can be requested via:-
Information Requests | ScotRail
The member may wish to note that the fleet end dates are contained within the ScotRail Grant Agreement (page 19) available via:-
ScotRail+Grant+Agreement+-+24+June+2022_Published.pdf (squarespace.com)
- Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 June 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 15 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to remove the previous franchisee of ScotRail, Abellio, entirely from any role in ScotRail's operations, now that it is publicly-owned.
Answer
As part of the transition to a public ownership of ScotRail, there was a continuation of four existing Abellio contracts. This was necessary to ensure consistency of service for passengers and facilitate a smooth transition. These four Abellio contracts are for 1) Shared Services Centre, 2) Bus Service link between Central, Queen Street and Buchanan Street, 3) Rail Replacement and 4) the Management of Station Tenancy and Advertising Management.
One of these contracts is now operating in-house within ScotRail with the remaining three being at various stages of procurement for replacement contracts.
- Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 13 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether ScotRail's High Speed Train (HST) fleet meets modern safety standards.
Answer
The RAIB’s accident investigation report following the Carmont rail accident in 2020 concluded that the HSTs are not unsafe, a position which has also been confirmed by the independent safety regulator, the Office of Rail and Road. The Carmont accident was caused by a fault on the infrastructure.
- Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 13 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government when ScotRail's High Speed Train (HST) fleet will be replaced.
Answer
Any considerations for HST replacement including timescales must take account of the conclusions of the Carmont Steering Group, and must be informed by the available budgets and the business case for change. The procurement of new rolling stock forms an integral part of Transport Scotland’s Decarbonisation Action Plan.
- Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 13 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions have taken place between Transport Scotland, ScotRail and any rolling stock companies in relation to hydrogen-powered trains.
Answer
Transport Scotland engages with all the train rolling stock companies on a regular basis to discuss the full range of fleet related topics including hydrogen powered trains.
- Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 13 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether ScotRail's High Speed Train (HST) fleet is (a) reliable, (b) clean and (c) economically viable.
Answer
ScotRail fleet reliability and cleanliness are operational matters for which ScotRail Trains Ltd is responsible. Details of how ScotRail is monitored for its Public Performance Measure (punctuality and reliability) and also how its stations and trains are monitored via Transport Scotland’s Service Quality Incentive Regime (SQUIRE) can be found by accessing the following link:-
Performance & Reliability | Public Performance Monitoring | ScotRail
- Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 13 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what contingency plans it has in place to replace ScotRail's High Speed Trains (HSTs) in the event that drivers choose not to drive them out of concern that they do not meet the expected safety standards.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-18442 on 13 June 2023 . All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
- Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 13 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has undertaken in relation to hydrogen-powered trains.
Answer
Transport Scotland as part of considering future fleet options continues to analyse the possibility of hydrogen powered trains on Scotland’s Railway, informed by lessons from the Scottish Hydrogen Train project and other relevant projects.
- Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 13 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what its assessment is of the creditworthiness of the High Speed Trains (HSTs) that are currently part of the ScotRail fleet.
Answer
High Speed Trains are known to be popular with passengers. The Scottish Government has commissioned the Carmont Steering Group to make recommendations concerning the future of the High Speed Trains in Scotland.
- Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 25 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what the real terms spending, based on current prices, was on Scottish schools, in each year since 2007.
Answer
Table 1 provides real terms expenditure based on 2021-22 prices for Scottish schools in each year since 2007. Real terms expenditure is broken down by primary, secondary, and special education.
Table 1: Real terms expenditure, 2007-08 to 2021-22 (£000)
Financial Year | Primary Education | Secondary Education | Special Education | School Education |
2007-08 | 2,291,312 | 2,570,000 | 641,962 | 5,503,273 |
2008-09 | 2,266,389 | 2,550,632 | 645,280 | 5,462,301 |
2009-10 | 2,238,327 | 2,469,714 | 656,351 | 5,364,393 |
2010-11 | 2,247,021 | 2,441,262 | 648,359 | 5,336,642 |
2011-12 | 2,185,497 | 2,330,489 | 619,960 | 5,135,945 |
2012-13 | 2,157,200 | 2,309,964 | 605,403 | 5,072,566 |
2013-14 | 2,143,300 | 2,257,681 | 607,647 | 5,008,629 |
2014-15 | 2,137,097 | 2,225,583 | 614,385 | 4,977,065 |
2015-16 | 2,178,851 | 2,226,211 | 628,597 | 5,033,659 |
2016-17 | 2,210,760 | 2,213,670 | 618,241 | 5,042,671 |
2017-18 | 2,277,852 | 2,210,339 | 622,918 | 5,111,109 |
2018-19 | 2,356,577 | 2,304,687 | 645,383 | 5,306,647 |
2019-20 | 2,434,207 | 2,395,751 | 678,111 | 5,508,069 |
2020-21 | 2,395,511 | 2,358,155 | 667,672 | 5,421,337 |
2021-22 | 2,553,716 | 2,503,212 | 704,929 | 5,761,857 |
Figures are adjusted to exclude inter-authority transfers. Inflation adjustments are based on HM Treasury’s 31 March 2023 GDP Deflator outturn data.
Sources:
1. Local Financial Returns – Education (LFR 01) statistical return provided by local authorities to the Scottish Government: Local government finance statistics - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
2. GDP deflators at market prices: GDP deflators at market prices, and money GDP - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)