Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Scottish Government is prioritising those routes associated with live investment projects as set out in the answer to the question S6W-06702 on 8 March 2022, namely Mallaig – Lochboisdale Vessel Replacement Project, Oban – Craignure and Gourock – Dunoon – Kilcreggan. 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 .

Scottish Ministers meet regularly with UK Government Ministers on a range of topics, however there have been no specific requests from Scotland Office Ministers to meet regarding the A75 and A77, therefore no meetings on this specific topic have taken place.

The new powers under section 34 (provision of bus services by local authorities) of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 do not affect the entitlement to free bus travel for people who currently receive it.

The number of passenger complaints received by ScotRail, through their official complaints process, is set out on the table below for the period 1 and 30 June 2022. The complaints may involve incidents that occurred before 1 June 2022.

The average recorded number of complaints per period for previous years is as follows:-

2019-2020 - 1,664 complaints

2018-2019 - 2,064 complaints

The figure for 1 April to 30 April 2022 is 1,144. The figure of 1,493 complaints for June 2022 is higher than April 2022 as during May and June 2022 several services were impacted due to driver shortages and the subsequent temporary timetable that was introduced on 23 May 2022. The temporary timetable that was in place until 20 July 2022 aimed to provide the best possible service to as many passengers as possible with the available resources.

ScotRail do not record staff complaints and therefore the information is not available.

The local road network is the responsibility of local authorities and they will allocate resources on the basis of local priorities. The vast majority of funding to local authorities from the Scottish Government is provided via a block grant and we do not stipulate how local authorities should utilise their individual allocations. It is therefore the responsibility of each local authority to manage their own budget and to allocate the financial resources available to them on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities.

The overall funding package for local authorities of almost £12.7bn this year represents a rise of £1.06bn or 9.2% in cash terms, or 6.3% in real terms compared with 2021-22.

Falkirk Council are leading the delivery of the A801 Avon Gorge scheme, which will replace the Torphichen Bridge and are responsible, along with West Lothian Council, for ensuring that the business case remains robust and for setting the final timetable for delivery. The Scottish Government remains committed to funding its proposed 50% contribution towards the construction of the upgrade.

The Scottish Ferries Plan, 2013-2022, which can be found at the following link, https://www.transport.gov.scot/publication/scottish-ferry-services-ferries-plan-2013-2022/ provides, in Appendix 3, maps showing Scottish Government routes, Local Authority routes, private routes and other subsidy routes. In addition, Appendix 4 provides a complete table of all these routes and responsibilities.

Scottish Ministers have written to UK Ministers on 3 occasions regarding the impact of P&O Ferries actions, including asking UK Ministers to coordinate a 4 nations ministerial meeting to consider the wider implications in supply chain resilience and seafarer employment protection across the UK. UK Ministers have refused to do so.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

The following table shows the number of valid card holders in the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme as of close of business 11 July 2022, analysed by local authority. This information is based on live data as of 11 July 2022 and will exclude those who have turned 22 since the launch of the scheme.

This information was supplied by the National Entitlement Card Programme Office (NECPO). NECPO support the 32 local authorities by assisting with the integration of various national and local public services on the National Entitlement Card (NEC) and are the joint controller with local authorities of this data.

The number of passenger complaints received by ScotRail, through their official complaints process, is set out in the following table for the period 1 and 31 May 2022. The complaints may involve incidents that occurred before 1 May 2022.

The average recorded number of complaints per period for previous years is as follows:-

2019-2020 - 1,664 complaints

2018-2019 - 2,064 complaints

The figure for 1 April to 30 April 2022 is 1,144. The figure of 2,006 complaints for May 2022 is higher than April 2022 as this May period was when several services were impacted due to driver shortages and the subsequent temporary timetable that was introduced on 23 May 2022. The temporary timetable that was in place until 20 July 2022 aimed to provide the best possible service to as many passengers as possible with the available resources.

ScotRail do not record staff complaints and therefore the information is not available.