Seòmar agus comataidhean

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-36024 on 15 March 2021. 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 .

ScotRail Trains Ltd has successfully secured significant rolling stock lease savings over the next 4 year period. The estimated lease savings are values deemed commercially sensitive.

Immigration is reserved to the UK Parliament and handled by the Home Office. This includes the operation of immigration removal centres.

Scottish Ministers have repeatedly raised concerns about the UK Government’s asylum and immigration systems with the Home Office and will continue to do so.

Safeguarding our democracy is of upmost importance to the Scottish Government. This includes being an open, accessible and transparent government. Public officials, including Ministers, MSPs and councillors, are subject to Code of Conducts which provide a clear set of principles and standards for their behaviour, including how to avoid undue interference from external actors. We believe the public should have trust in those they elect.

In addition to taking forward a National Conversation on rail, we will be consulting specifically on women’s safety when using public transport.

The specific means by which we carry out this engagement will be informed by initial discussions with women’s groups organisations, Trade Union partners and wider stakeholders. A range of options will be presented for how this engagement takes place. It is envisaged that these will include options for engagement that is open to all, focussed on specific groups or combines elements of both.

Specific timescales will be outlined following initial discussions with the relevant representative groups on the preferred approach for carrying out this engagement.

As part of the British Sign Language (BSL) National Plan 2017 – 2023, the Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) approach is being embedded, with a D/deaf or Deafblind child and their family offered the right information and support at the right time to engage with BSL. The Scottish Government remains committed to providing additional funding to enable local authorities to offer free British Sign Language tuition for deaf children from the age of five, delivery of which will contribute to Action 13 and 14 in the National Plan. Work is underway to scope how best to deliver this commitment.

The Scottish Government published the BSL Progress Report on 27 October 2021, outlining progress made towards implementing the BSL National Plan. All updates relating to the British Sign Language National Plan 2017 – 2023 can be found in this report. For example, the Scottish Book Trust produced and published two BSL stories on their BookBug website and app. This work also generated BSL glossaries, which allows families, carers and children to learn BSL in their own homes.

In February 2021, when the scale and pace of the recovery from the impact of the Covid 19 pandemic remained uncertain, a prior information notice (PIN) was published to preserve the Scottish Ministers’ ability to award a Temporary Measures Agreement (TMA) for the Caledonian Sleeper franchise from March 2022, following expiry of the Emergency Measures Agreement, should it be necessary at that stage to continue such support.

The TMA, signed on 28 February 2022, is an agreement between the Scottish Ministers and Serco Caledonian Sleepers Limited (‘Serco’). The TMA does not represent a unilateral decision taken by the Scottish Government.

The necessity of a TMA with Serco, to continue Emergency Measures type support for the Caledonian Sleeper franchise, was considered by the Scottish Government at various points during 2021 and in the early part of 2022.

Thereafter, on 25 February 2022, the Scottish Government presented a draft version of the TMA to Serco for consideration. The TMA was finalised and agreed between the Scottish Ministers and Serco on 28 February 2022.

It was announced that the Scottish Government had agreed a new Temporary Measures Agreement with Serco Caledonian Sleepers Limited in a letter to the Convener of the Scottish Parliament’s Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee on 17 March 2022. An announcement was also published on the Transport Scotland website on the same day.

https://www.parliament.scot/-/media/files/committees/net-zero-energy-and-transport-committee/correspondence/2022/20220317_jenny_gilruth_msp_to_convener_additional_funding_support.pdf .

https://www.transport.gov.scot/news/ministerial-statement-additional-funding-support-for-rail-services/ .

From 1 April 2022 ScotRail Trains Limited has been subject to the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. On the ScotRail website, the page Information Requests | ScotRail , provides details of how to submit a request for information that is not included within the ScotRail Trains Limited publication scheme.

The Abellio ScotRail Franchise Agreement governs what data is retained and transferred when the Franchise expired and this has been followed by Abellio.

ScotRail Trains Limited has adopted the Model Publication Scheme developed and approved by the Scottish Information Commissioner without amendment and has produced a guide to the information that they publish within the classes in the scheme available through their website and other channels.

Home Energy Scotland exists to provide homeowners with impartial and bespoke information about their home energy and renewables options to encourage action to reduce energy use, fuel bills and carbon emissions and increase comfort. The advice services are designed to address well-known barriers to action including costs, lack of confidence and information about options and installers, and potential disruption.

It is important that homeowners are given impartial information about all of their options, including for example, replacement of existing fossil fuel heating systems, to ensure they are as informed as possible and make the right choice for them. Home Energy Scotland also has a role to encourage the uptake of low and zero emission heating systems to meet climate change targets and this is one of the reasons as to why the specialist renewables support services exist. In this regard, Home Energy Scotland does not have a technology neutral stance with regards to which heating systems it is actively raising awareness of.

Within Home Energy Scotland there are specialist renewables advisors with training on home renewables systems, home energy efficiency and solutions for historic buildings. These specialists provide an in-depth service to Scottish homeowners, including on-site visits to assess their home and talk through recommendations in person. Reports and fact sheets are issued to homeowners explaining how best to improve the energy efficiency of their home and which renewables systems may be suitable, alongside fuel bill and carbon saving estimates.

Homeowners are given bespoke information on the next steps to take and other support services accessed via Home Energy Scotland. This includes, for example, how to find renewables installers, where they can read customer reviews of installers, and the Green Homes Network, where they can find case studies of other homeowners who have already made improvements to their home. Members on this network are also willing to speak directly to other homeowners, or host them for a visit, to further share their experiences. Homeowners are also given information about the various financial support routes which are open to them including the Scottish Government’s Home Energy Scotland loan and cashback that helps homeowners with the costs of home energy improvements and renewables systems.