Chamber and committees

With considered timetable adjustments longer freight trains could currently operate on the Highland Main Line. Going forward there is a requirement to balance timetabling and infrastructure interventions to support both increased freight and passenger services.

Recent trials of 28 container length freight trains on the Highland Main Line have been successful, and were in response to freight customer needs with work continuing on this project. Modal shift to rail freight is a key focus to help transport meet its overall Climate Change targets.

Discussions took place with the Trade Unions during the development of the Invitation to Tender. Once the Invitation to Tender had issued, and there was a live procurement exercise underway, Scottish Ministers were able to discuss the tender, although not details of the specific bids, due to procurement rules.

Scottish Ministers hold regular three monthly meetings with representatives from the STUC, the RMT, Nautilus International and Unite to discuss other transport and ferry matters.

The Scottish Government policy is that prisons should be managed by the public sector.

Each of the two private prisons in Scotland operates under a 25 year PFI contract with the contract for HMP Kilmarnock expiring in March 2024 and the contract from HMP Addiewell expiring in December 2033.

Noting the number of years of contractual service yet to be delivered, SPS will take appropriate preparatory actions well in advance of the contracts reaching their end point.

Information is not held centrally on the number of times vehicles exceed the speed limit in Scotland.

As such, the Scottish Government has not made any estimate of the percentage of these incidents which result in a detection and legal action being taken.

Although not a formal request, a number of organisations highlighted the value of the IHRA definition in helping to tackle anti-Semitism. We therefore adopted the IHRA definition as part of a larger piece of work to tackle prejudice and build connected communities in order to make clear that there should be no place in Scotland for any form of anti-Semitism or religious hatred that makes our communities feel insecure or threatened in their daily lives.

The adoption of the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism is intended for the use of guidance only and has no legislative impact. It will help to ensure victims and witnesses recognise and understand anti-Semitism.

We believe that the definition helps to bring some much needed clarity to what is often a complex issue, where legitimate criticism of Israel can be inaccurately called anti-Semitic and where anti-Jewish sentiment expressed against Israel can be incorrectly defined as legitimate criticism of that state.

The Tacking Prejudice and Building Connected Communities Action Plan will be reviewed in consultation with the Tacking Prejudice and Building Connected Communities Action Group and other relevant, key stakeholders. The scope of the review will be determined by summer 2020.

We have given a commitment to dualling the A9 and A96 and as with all our projects they are subject to detailed review and assessment work to ensure we deliver the right schemes and keep impacts on the environment to the absolute minimum. This includes consideration of potential mode shift from road to rail.

In undertaking this assessment work we are fully aware that reducing emissions from all parts of the transport system is essential for meeting our climate change ambitions. That is why the draft National Transport Strategy, which sets the direction for transport over the next 20 years, identifies taking climate action as a priority. The Strategy makes clear that our transport system will help deliver our ambitious climate change agenda and net-zero 2045 emissions target. Future transport investment decisions will be made in context of the Strategy’s priorities and in line with the Sustainable Travel Hierarchy.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) can provide the total number of speeding charges reported to COPFS in each of the last 3 years only. It is not possible to provide data on how many of these charges relate to drivers of heavy goods vehicles nor to break down the charges by road type. COPFS does not hold data in relation to the numbers of persons separately offered a Fixed Penalty by Police Scotland in relation to speeding charges.

The information available is provided in the following table.

The Scottish Government adhered to procurement rules to ensure a fair and transparent tender, and all bidders were required to provide a Human Resources, Training and Key Personnel Delivery Plan in their proposals for the provision of the Northern Isles Ferry Services only.

Bidders were also required to demonstrate their approach to Fair Work Practices, for staffing, remuneration and employee relations, training, development and Key Personnel.

The wider industrial relations record of bidders is not part of the procurement process, as the tender for the Northern Isles Ferry Service is solely about the ability to operate that ferry service.