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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: S5W-17774

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 July 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 1 August 2018

To ask the Scottish Government when it last discussed cross-border rail services with the UK Government and what issues were raised.

Question reference: S5W-17670

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 July 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 1 August 2018

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason there is a delay in introducing the Road Equivalent Tariff scheme on the publicly subsidised ferry route between Scrabster and Stromness in the Pentland Firth.

On routes to Orkney, it has been necessary to engage with commercial operators in respect of introducing the Road Equivalent Tariff scheme on the Pentland Firth routes. To date it has not as yet been possible to reach an agreement.

I am determined to work through the issue to see what more can be done. I will provide a further update to stakeholders and to Parliament as soon as I can, with a view to bringing the full benefits of the scheme to the people of Orkney and Shetland.

Question reference: S5W-17671

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 July 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 1 August 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has requested details of the annual number of passengers and vehicles carried by Pentland Ferries on the Gills Bay to St Margaret’s Hope route in each of the last five years for which there are records.

Question reference: S5W-17674

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 July 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 1 August 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of access to trade union representation for staff at Pentland Ferries.

Question reference: S5W-17669

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 July 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 1 August 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the delay in introducing the Road Equivalent Tariff scheme on public ferry routes to the Orkney Isles is having on the tendering of the next contract for Northern Isles Ferry Services.

Question reference: S5W-17673

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 July 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 1 August 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact that the extension of the Road Equivalent Tariff to private ferry companies will have on compliance with its Fair Work Convention.

The Scottish Government has made no assessment of compliance with its Fair Work Convention for staff at private companies operating commercial ferry services across the Pentland Firth.

As employment law is currently a reserved matter, the Fair Work Framework, developed by the Fair Work convention, is not mandatory, and as such the Scottish Government cannot ensure compliance. The Scottish Government is however actively promoting fair work principles across all employers, in both the public and private sectors.

Question reference: S5W-17672

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 July 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 1 August 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has requested details of Pentland Ferries’ annual fares revenue from the Gills Bay to St Margaret’s Hope route in each of the last five years for which there are records.

Question reference: S5W-17313

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 18 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 30 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the pilot project to recruit wildlife and rural crime special constables for the Cairngorms National Park, what information it has on what the impact has been of the project in Cumbria on which it is based.

The idea for this pilot project to recruit a cadre of wildlife and rural crime Special Constables was developed following a discussion with Police Scotland, including on the occasional use of Special Constables in Cumbria in support of wildlife crime action. However, we are not aware of specific projects involving Special Constables dedicated to wildlife and rural crime in Cumbria which would be comparable to the pilot scheme currently running in the Cairngorms National Park.

Question reference: S5W-17359

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 26 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what annual savings Serco NorthLink has made from reduced sailings on the Northern Isles Ferry Services contract since July 2012.

In specifying the tender for the 2012-18 Northern Isles ferry services contract, bidders were invited to make their own analysis of demand for the services and propose timetables accordingly. Following consultation with Transport Scotland, Serco NorthLink subsequently introduced a set of timetables better shaped to fit seasonal demand.

Any cost savings as a result of the revised timetables were reflected in the total bid price for providing the Northern Isles Ferry Service and cannot be split out annually.

Question reference: S5W-17513

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 25 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the position of the operators on the Scrabster-Stromness route with regard to the introduction of Road Equivalent Tariff (RET), and whether it will confirm whether RET fares will not be introduced within the first six months of 2018.

Following a 2016 manifesto commitment to reduce ferry fares to Orkney and Shetland, the then Minister for Transport and the Islands, Humza Yousaf MSP, previously announced plans to introduce reduced fares on services to the Northern Isles in the first half of 2018.

In order to implement these plans, we sought to reach an agreement with the commercial operators on the Pentland Firth in order to satisfy State aid and Competition rules and protect their market share. Unfortunately not all the commercial operators felt able to agree to our proposals. This means that we cannot currently implement reduced fares on any of the routes between the Scottish mainland and Orkney without the risk of legal challenge.

However a 20% reduction on passenger and car fares was introduced on the Aberdeen - Lerwick and and Kirkwall - Lerwick services on 30 June 2018.

This Scottish Government remains committed to delivering RET for Orkney and Shetland and we will fully consider the options available for the way forward as a matter of urgency.