- Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 17 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether any impact assessment was conducted before the decision was made to end the Network Support Grant Plus on 31 March 2023, and, if so, whether it will provide further information on the key findings of any such assessment.
Answer
The Scottish Government provided £223 million of support to bus services throughout the Covid pandemic. The Network Support Grant Plus was always a temporary fund put in place to support bus services as patronage recovered following the Covid 19 Pandemic. Travel has changed following the pandemic with amended service levels and new passenger travel patterns, therefore it is important that the support we give transport operators continues to evolve as the network adapts and make sure it remains fit for purpose and is sustainable long term.
The Scottish Government is aware of the importance of bus services and is committed, in conjunction with operators and local authorities, to looking at ways of improving services. The Scottish Government continues to invest in the bus network to support long term growth The Network Support Grant, which keeps fares more affordable and networks more extensive than would otherwise be the case, continues to be available in 2023 - 2024 and the Scottish Government is providing extra funding to support a marketing campaign to encourage people back to bus.
- Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 31 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 17 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-15852 by Jenny Gilruth on 27 March 2023, whether it is the case that Transport Scotland has not reviewed or increased the Network Support Grant base rate since 2012, and, if it is the case, what the reason is for this.
Answer
The Network Support Grant was introduced in April 2022 and is intended to keep bus services more extensive, and fares more affordable than would otherwise be the case. The return to pre-Covid levels of bus subsidy was agreed with the bus sector as part of the Network Support Grant Plus extension until 31 March 2023.
Transport Scotland will review this grant in 2023 – 2024 to ensure it continues to provide value for money whilst we also progress other opportunities in collaboration with the bus sector to improve bus services.
- Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 31 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 17 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason a proposal to fully dual the A1 between Edinburgh and the border with England was not included in the second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2).
Answer
A range of potential improvements to the trunk road and motorway network, including the A1, were considered and appraised in STPR2. Full dualling was not included in the final 45 recommendations because the transport appraisal concluded that, in line with the sustainable travel and investment hierarchies, the priorities for investment in Scotland’s trunk road network lie elsewhere. These are on improving road safety, reliability and resilience, and adapting the network to deal with challenge of climate change, rather than any large scale interventions on the A1 between Edinburgh and the border.
- Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 31 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 17 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported concerns that the publication of its Car Demand Management framework, scheduled for 2025, will come too late to achieve a 20% reduction in car km by 2030.
Answer
The Scottish Government welcomes the recognition of the need for urgent action in order to deliver our climate policies and deliver a net zero Scotland by 2045. As outlined in our route map to achieving a 20% reduction in car kilometres by 2030, jointly developed with COSLA, the scale of the climate challenge means that we need to take forward a broad combination of interventions including infrastructure, incentives and regulatory actions, taking into account the needs of people on low incomes to help ensure a just transition to net-zero.
A key interdependency of the Scottish Government’s approach to demand management and car use dis-incentivisation is the position of the UK Government on the future of motoring taxes. The most direct levers on the cost of buying or running a petrol or diesel car – fuel duty and vehicle excise duty – are reserved to the UK Government, who acknowledged in their Net Zero Review that revenues from existing motoring taxes will decline sharply this decade as we transition away from fossil fuels and the taxes based on them. However the UK Government has so far consistently failed to set out how they will address this.
The development and publication of the demand management framework by 2025 does not, however, preclude earlier action. Existing legislation provides a suite of options for local authorities to implement according to their local needs and circumstances and Transport Scotland will continue to work with local and regional partners as part of its collaborative approach.
- Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 31 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 17 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what preliminary work has been completed on its Car Demand Management framework.
Answer
Transport Scotland is taking an evidence-based approach to what might work to discourage unnecessary car travel including learning from what others are doing across the UK and in other countries. We have commissioned research on equitable options for car demand management, referred to in S6W-15653 on 21 March 2023. Using the findings of this and other research, we will work with local and regional partners to develop options and proposals to support the 20% car km reduction target for inclusion within the Demand Management framework. We are now looking at the most appropriate way to review the existing powers conferred on local authorities which can support this objective, to ensure they are fit for purpose for use in the future.
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
- Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 31 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 17 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it supports the introduction of congestion charges in Scotland’s cities to reduce car use.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-15126 on 15 March 2023. 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
- Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 31 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 17 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-15852 by Jenny Gilruth on 27 March 2023, whether it will publish the minutes of the Bus Taskforce meetings, and, if so, when it will do so.
Answer
The Bus Taskforce is due to conclude in June 2023, and whilst there are currently no plans to publish minutes from these meetings, a report of the Taskforce’s work and recommendations will be published in Autumn 2023.
- Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 31 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 14 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many applications it has received for freight grants under the (a) Mode Shift Revenue Support and (b) Freight Facilities Grant scheme, in each year since 2018.
Answer
(a) Transport Scotland received the following number of applications for the Mode Shift Revenue Support scheme since 2018:
2018-19 2 applications for support in Scotland and contributed to 6 cross border flows.
2019-20 2 applications for support in Scotland and contributed to 5 cross border flows.
2020-21 2 applications for support in Scotland and contributed to 5 cross border flows.
2021-22 2 applications for support in Scotland and contributed to 6 cross border flows.
2022-23 2 applications for support in Scotland and contributed to 7 cross border flows.
(b) Transport Scotland received the following number of applications for the Freight Facilities Grant scheme since 2018:
2018-19 - 0
2019-20 - 1
2020-21 - 1
2021-22 - 0
2022-23 - 2
- Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 31 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 14 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-15856 by Jenny Gilruth on 22 March 2023, when it expects dedicated express logistics services to run between Scotland’s cities.
Answer
Freight works on a commercial basis so the decision to move products by rail is a decision for the customer and its logistics provider.
However, I can confirm that a dedicated express rail logistics service is currently running into Scotland. This service which runs between Birmingham and Mossend, started with a trial period on 17 October 2022 followed by a full operational service running five nights a week from 9 January 2023, is operated by Varamis Rail.
- Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 31 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 13 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions ChargePlace Scotland has had with the commercial sector regarding the setting of a maximum fee for overstay charges.
Answer
The shift to electric vehicles is an important part of responding to the climate emergency. To help incentivise this shift, Scottish Government and Transport Scotland have since 2011 invested over £65 million to support a range of organisations – including local authorities, other public bodies, businesses and third sector organisations – to install public charge points across Scotland. These organisations own the charge point infrastructure, and many of them use back-office services provided by ChargePlace Scotland, which is funded by Scottish Ministers.
A shift towards a public charging network largely financed and operated by the commercial sector is necessary to grow the network at pace and improve the consumer experience overall. To support that, the Scottish Government recognises that it’s vital that the public charging network has tariffs which are fair, sustainable and which enable the growth and maintenance of the network.
Responsibility for setting tariffs and overstay charges on ChargePlace Scotland lies with charge point owners. In considering whether to set a tariff, owners may consider a range of factors including local circumstances, utilisation levels and running costs. ChargePlace Scotland routinely provides charge point owners with data relating to the utilisation of their assets. ChargePlace Scotland do not advise charge point owners on tariff levels or overstay fees, however, they may signpost owners to the EV Association of Scotland (an independent group who represent the interests of EV users) website where tariff guidance can be found.