Chamber and committees

The Biodiversity Intactness Index focuses on nature in the past, reflecting the many pressures in the past over which we now have no control. I am pleased to say that of the four UK nations, Scotland ranks highest in the Index. However, we have already acknowledged that more action is needed at all levels to halt the loss of biodiversity.

Our Statement of Intent, published in December 2020, sets out our ambitions for biodiversity, and our new biodiversity strategy will be published within a year of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Conference of Parties (COP15), to be held in October 2021 in Kunming, China. We have made a new voluntary commitment to protect 30% of our land for nature by 2030. Our Programme for Government also announces that we will introduce new local nature networks, work to restore and expand our Atlantic Rainforests, and restore our ancient woodlands.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-02881 on 23 September 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 will continue to serve the diverse range of communities across Scotland, reflecting their changing travel needs. ScotRail’s proposed timetable for May 2022 would provide more seats than the current timetable and the vast majority of customers will find either no change to their current service or that their service improves with a more regular interval between services and/or some more trains provided each day.

ScotRail currently offers a range of discounted fares and concessions to reduce the cost of travel for a diverse range of passengers. The Scottish Government will require ScotRail to continue to review how it can offer lower fares to meet the needs of people on low incomes and in response to changing travelling patterns emerging from Covid-19. In addition, the Scottish Government has taken action to minimise the impact on passengers by capping fares increases for regulated ScotRail peak fares at the level of the Retail Price Index (RPI).

Regulated off-peak fare increases are capped at one percent lower than inflation. This means, in Scotland, average fares increases are lower than England. The average fares increase in March 2021 in Scotland was 1.2% compared with 2.6% in England. Overall, fares in Scotland are on average 20% lower than in the rest of Britain.

ScotRail continues to help facilitate a seamless transport network which combines rail journeys with bus, ferries, active travel, other transport modes and through smart and integrated ticketing to improve accessibility to those from households without access to a car.

ScotRail’s proposed timetable for May 2022 would provide more seats than the current timetable, responding to changing travel patterns. By also offering more service options this will help encourage passengers to choose train over car.

Safety of passengers on our railway is paramount and the British Transport Police (BTP) is accountable to the Scottish Government through the Scottish Railway Policing Committee.

I recently met with Chief Constable Lucy D’Orsi of the BTP and the topic of women’s safety on the rail network was discussed. The Chief Constable highlighted to me the campaigns currently running across the rail network to promote the reporting of unwanted sexual behaviour and a campaign against sexual harassment on the network.

More information on the campaigns can be accessed via:-

Campaigns | British Transport Police (btp.police.uk)

ScotRail has commenced the Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) and the timetable consultation process will contribute to this assessment. The purpose of the consultation is to enable passengers and stakeholders to provide specific feedback on how the proposals impact their journey compared to ScotRail’s current timetable and will allow completion of the EIA prior to finalising the timetable from May 2022 onwards.

Following the completion of the timetable consultation, a copy of the EIA document would be available directly from ScotRail.

ScotRail engages with key stakeholders, including Mobility and Access Committee Scotland, throughout the timetable development consultation process to seek their views which will help inform the final May 2022 timetable.

Families where the mother is under the age of 25 and lone parents families are two of the six priority family types identified in the Scottish Government’s Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan as those where children are at greater risk of living in poverty.

Our Delivery Plan sets out wide ranging action to support these families, this includes making £23 million available for our Parental Employability Support Fund since 2019 – with £1 million of investment specifically targeted to enhance support for young parents – helping young parents to progress into and within employment. This is further strengthened through our £70 million investment in the Young Person’s Guarantee, offering every 16-24 year old in Scotland the opportunity of a job, apprenticeship, further or higher education, training programme or volunteering.

We are also providing direct support through our Scottish Child Payment and bridging payments, which will put over £130 million in the pockets of families this year. In addition we are continuing to support organisations such as One Parent Families Scotland and Home Start, which offer support and advice to lone parents, and providing an estimated £45.3 million available this year for awards through our Scottish Welfare Fund and £82 million through Discretionary Housing Payments, which includes £71 million to mitigate the bedroom tax in full.

Through these and other measures we are tackling child poverty head on, with investment to support children in low income households reaching nearly £1 billion in 2020-21.

We call on the UK Government to work with us to tackle child poverty, including by maintaining the £20 uplift to Universal Credit and by restoring the adult rate of benefits for young mothers under 25 – helping to protect the financial wellbeing of these priority families.

As per the Scottish Government's response to S5W-35177 on 19 February 2021 and S6W-02708 on 16 September 2021, the Kickstart Scheme is a programme of work reserved to the UK Government and it is for the Department of Work and Pensions to report on it.

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