Chamber and committees

I welcomed the publication of the report in March 2016 and have noted its findings. The conclusions drawn from the report are presently being considered in relation to the next appointment of verifiers.

Independent research undertaken for Scottish Government by Pye Tait Consulting and published in March 2016 concluded that:

“In summary, whilst there has been substantial progress and investment in delivering a high quality and customer-focused building standards service since the last re-appointment of local authorities in 2011, there is still work to do to create the conditions for strong performance across all 32 Councils”.

The responsibility for the maintenance of electric vehicle charge points on the ChargePlace Scotland network rests with the charge point host. We do not hold historic information on charge points that are out of order. However, as part of a new system, we receive snapshots of the status of the network. As of 6 December 2016, 93 per cent of the charge points on the ChargePlace Scotland network were operating, and of the around 150 rapid charge points, 95 per cent were operating.

We are working closely with partners to improve the reliability of the network, in areas such as communications, and we have recently appointed a new Operator for the ChargePlace Scotland network to improve the network further. They will also be undertaking a full audit and branding exercise of the network.

The Scottish Government is committed to the ChargePlace Scotland network which now comprises over 1,200 charging bays (equating to over 600 charge points) across Scotland. Usage has doubled from August 2015 to August 2016.

The total funding was for stock and rabbit fencing under the Rural Priorities Scheme applications required under the Scottish Rural Development Programme, in each year from 2007 to 2013:

The amounts above show the value of the commitments contained on Rural Priorities contracts.

The total funding was for stock and rabbit fencing under the Land Managers Options applications required under the Scottish Rural Development Programme, in each year from 2007 to 2013.

Since September, the overall performance for the Borders Railway (as measured by the moving annual average PPM) has steadily improved, with latest figures showing an increase of 0.4% (now up to 85.8% PPM moving annual average).

Borders Railway specific performance improvement plan initiatives are currently underway with the plan to further bolster performance.

I refer the member to the following table, which sets out the relevant Performance Levels. Schedule 7.1 (Paragraph 3.2 – Consequences for Poor Performance) sets out the consequences of the Franchisee failing to equal or exceed these Levels.

{http://www.transport.gov.scot/rail/scotrail-franchise/public-register}

I refer the member to Appendix 1 to Schedule 7.1, Appendix 2 to Schedule 7.1 and Appendix 3 to Schedule 7.1 of the ScotRail Franchise Agreement.

http://www.transport.gov.scot/rail/scotrail-franchise/public-register

The Profit Threshold at which Abellio ScotRail Limited is required to pay back 50% of its profits is thirty million pounds.

The concept of a profit cap was introduced by the Scottish Government in 2008, a UK first for Rail Franchises, and was tightened considerably - by £9 million when the new Abellio franchise was let.

I refer the member to the recently published Performance Improvement Plan on the ScotRail website. In the rural area the actions include signalling equipment performance, track renewals, fleet improvements and detailed operational planning reviews.

The Scottish Government has put in place a process to monitor the delivery of ScotRail's Performance Improvement Plan. This includes challenge to ScotRail on the progress made towards delivering the initiatives, assurance reviews and an analysis of progress reports provided.

Abellio ScotRail’s financial information is commercially sensitive and can only be publicly released by Abellio ScotRail Ltd.