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Transport Scotland is responsible for the management and Maintenance of the trunk road network; all other roads are the responsibility of the relevant local authority.

The protection of biodiversity and support for native wildlife are major considerations in the agency's work, whether in the planning and development of new infrastructure or the management of the existing network. Transport Scotland actively engages with stakeholders, its supply chain, statutory bodies and other public sector organisations to seek opportunities to reduce wildlife casualties across Scotland's road network, whilst increasing biodiversity and habitat connectivity. This includes the provision of suitable crossing facilities, such as culverts and bridges, to reduce the barrier-effect of roads. The design of these structures follows best practice guidance and is overseen by professional ecologists to ensure they are appropriate for the local environments concerned and the ecosystems they support.

All trunk road schemes are regularly inspected and assessed to ensure they are fit for purpose. Assessments undertaken through the Scottish Trunk Road Infrastructure Projects Evaluation (STRIPE) provide an early indication of performance and, where appropriate, identify any potential issues, including any crossing points which may not be functioning as required.

Operating Companies, who manage and maintain the trunk road network on behalf of Transport Scotland, are also required to report through an annual Landscape Management Report. This report includes collation of wildlife casualty data which may identify locations requiring more detailed analysis and intervention.

Scottish Ministers have to date provided £2.4m of funding to local authorities to allow them to undertake their required road assessments. Additionally, Transport Scotland have consulted with Local Authorities and the public on the proposed Ministerial Directions and secondary legislation, which will detail procedures Local Authorities must follow to exempt any areas of footway from the pavement parking prohibition.

Transport Scotland has also consulted with local authorities on the proposed Parking Standards Guidance, which will formally be issued to all local authorities once the exemption order procedures are in place.

It is currently envisaged that the exemption order procedure regulations will be laid in Parliament in the latter part of September and come into force in early December, if approved. Following this, local authorities will have an additional 12 months to complete their assessments and put any exemption orders in place.

ScotRail advise that between 6 January 2019 [the start of 2018-19: reporting period 11] and 25 June 2022 [the end of 2022-23: reporting period 3], there were 340 full cancellations and 95 part-cancellations on the North Berwick lines as a result of infrastructure issues. As the member will know, Rail Infrastructure is a reserved matter.

While full or part-cancellation as a result of track congestion are not reported separately, ScotRail also advise that there were a further 41 full cancellations and 35 part-cancellations to ScotRail services as a result of the actions of other train operating companies.

Keith Brown: I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

SPS is currently preparing a new Health & Wellbeing Strategy to address health inequality among prisoners. The Strategy is being drafted to align with the development of the SPS 2023-2025 Corporate Plan.

The Scottish Government is committed to a full rewrite of the Parole Board (Scotland) Rules 2001 and this is currently underway. On Friday 22 nd July 2022, the Scottish Government launched a public consultation ( Consultation on changes to the Parole Board (Scotland) Rules 2001 - Scottish Government - Citizen Space ) featuring a number of proposals that seek to modernise existing rules and certain procedures. These include, but are not limited to:

• a new procedure for handling non-disclosure information and appointment of a special advocate
• adding ‘refusal to disclose a victim’s body’ as a matter the Parole Board may consider
• a new procedure to allow the Parole Board to review a decision.

Following analysis of contributions to the consultation, reformed parole rules will be laid in parliament in due course.

Recommendation 36 of the second Strategy Transport Projects Review (STPR2) recommends a detailed national audit and review of support for lorry parks to address barriers hampering their development, consider their financial stability and develop adequate standards.

This would include consultation with the freight industry, representative bodies, local authorities, and other stakeholders to collect views on the provision of lorry parks including where and what type of facilities are required and the potential demand for alternative fuel provision zero emission vehicles.

The STPR2 final reporting is due for completion later this year and will follow the conclusion of the public consultation which closed in April. Work on recommendation 36 will commence thereafter.

The Bella Centre in Dundee opened on 1 August and the Lilias Centre in Glasgow is due to open in October 2022.

HMP Stirling, Scotland’s new Women’s National Facility, is due to open by Summer 2023.

The Zero Emission Truck Taskforce met on 4 May 2022 and 23 June 2022. The next meeting is scheduled for 25 August 2022.

The Scottish Government recognises the current pressure on the Scottish transport sector as fuel prices become an ever increasing proportion of business’ overheads. The taxi sector plays a vitally important role in Scotland’s public transport network and we do not underestimate the contribution that the industry made during the pandemic. We have worked closely with stakeholders and local authorities to address the challenges faced by taxis and private hires, and we have provided over £107 million in grant support since the start of the pandemic. Funding is also being prioritised to focus on used electric vehicles to support a just transition to net zero, which will be available through interest free loans to the taxi sector.

The Scottish Government is using its limited powers and resources to respond to the cost of living crisis where possible, however the UK Government holds the reserved powers that can directly influence fuel costs. It should also be noted that the setting of taxi fares and licensing are entirely matters for each of the 32 independent licensing authorities (i.e. local authorities) in Scotland to determine and the Scottish Government believes that local authorities are best placed to make these decisions.

The pay of Marine Scotland seafarers is determined by the Scottish Government’s Public Sector Pay Policy as these staff are civil servants with civil service terms and conditions. CalMac Ferries Ltd is a private company - their staff are not civil servants, so pay and other terms and conditions are determined outside of Public Sector Pay Policy. We consider the pay and benefits (including the civil service pension) for Marine Scotland seafarers are reasonable and competitive in the external job market which is reflected in the volume of applications received for recent job adverts. We will review the pay structure of Marine Scotland staff as part of the reform option in Pay Policy 2022-23.