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Abellio ScotRail has advised that following consultation process, Transport Focus will analyse the results and compile a report. The report outputs will then be considered before any final decisions are reached.

Abellio ScotRail has carried out an assessment of all ticket sales, passenger assistance, ticket buying facilities, waiting areas, toilets, passenger footfall, links to local schools, colleges and businesses for every station with a ticket office. In addition, Abellio ScotRail also reviewed any instances of anti-social behaviour to ensure the proposed changes would reduce anti-social behaviour, offer passengers more staff visible in the frontline, both in stations and on train whilst improving revenue collection.

Abellio ScotRail has also confirmed that no job loses would occur and any change to opening times would see every minute reused in the local area.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05865 on 4 February 2022. 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

The ticket office review is being conducted under existing rail industry processes – Schedule 17 of the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement – and as such permission was not required from Transport Scotland before Abellio ScotRail, the train operating company, consulted on ticket office opening hours.

Abellio ScotRail as the train operating company providing passenger rail services, is responsible for the ticket office consultation.

Transport Focus, the independent watchdog for transport users, will collate and provide a report on the consultation responses.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05834 on 4 February 2022. 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

The Scottish Government is developing an Energy Strategy & Just Transition Plan which will be published in 2022. This document will serve as a plan to transition from today’s energy sector to an new, net-zero sector which meets the 2030 and 2045 climate targets in a fair and just way for all of Scotland.

The Scottish Government had expected to receive £120 million of additional Health consequential funding in respect of additional allocations to the UK Department of Health and Social Care for testing and vaccination costs.

Whilst we have yet to see the final consequential breakdown for UK Supplementary Estimates, indications were in December that this figure was revised down to £75m.

Rather than a reallocation of £45 million within Scottish Budgets to support business, this figure actually represents the shortfall in Health funding against previous expectations – a reduction of £45 million.

However the financial position has moved considerably since then and full details of all budget transfers supporting the recently announced measures will be set out in the forthcoming Spring Budget Revision.

We do not have modelling explicitly calculating the potential impact of the closures of Hunterston and Torness however we believe that nuclear power represents poor value for consumers. There remains considerable uncertainty around the economics of new nuclear generation, and the long-term storage of nuclear waste remains a difficult issue. The latest Contracts for Difference (CfD) auction delivered offshore wind at £39.65 per megawatt hour – substantially below the £92.50 awarded to Hinkley. Internal analysis tells us that in 2030 alone Hinkley could add almost £40/year to a consumer bill, whilst the equivalent offshore wind farm would reduce consumer bills by £8/year.

None of the health resource Barnett consequentials received for 2021-22 remain unallocated.