Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S5W-22925

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 15 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reported previous underestimates, how it has adapted its modelling of the levels of anticipated rail passenger demand for new lines and stations, and whether this will be taken account of in the case of Levenmouth rail link.

The SRM12 is maintained and enhanced periodically in line with industry guidance, standards and best practice so that it remains fit for purpose in supporting robust modelling and appraisal of transport interventions across Scotland. As part of the Levenmouth Sustainable Transport Study, the SRM has been enhanced so that it appropriately reflects current conditions in and around the sphere of influence of the Levenmouth area, helping to produce realistic and plausible forecasts of travel demand by road and public transport. A number of sensitivity tests will be conducted to consider other ‘what if’ scenarios to determine the robustness of the appraisal impacts of the multi-modal transport options being considered, including a rail link to Leven.

Question reference: S5W-22923

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 14 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its assessment is of the maximum time that people will commute for (a) jobs and (b) education, and how this was accounted for in the scope of the Sestran Regional Model (SRM12).

Question reference: S5W-22924

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 14 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how the Sestran Regional Model (SRM12) takes account of step changes in (a) transport patterns and (b) land use that could result from new infrastructure.

(a) SRM12 considers responses to traveller choices such as which route to take, which mode to use and where to travel to. SRM12 can be run for a number of forecast years to help better understand forecast ‘step changes’ over time. These will include “Do-Something” runs in forecast years with a new transport infrastructure option added to the model.

(b) SRM12 is a typical transport model and does not by itself deal with land-use changes. These land-use changes are considered in the Transport and Economic Land Model of Scotland (TELMoS) which provides forecasts of employment, housing and population based on forecast planning data and economic data. SRM12 takes into consideration the outputs from TELMoS to determine the impact of new transport infrastructure options.

Question reference: S5W-22921

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 14 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the Sestran Regional Model (SRM12) indicates that Fife housing and employment growth contributes to increased traffic into Edinburgh but the mitigation measures do not refer to any measures beyond the Edinburgh area, including the Levenmouth rail link.

The desirability to travel to Edinburgh from those residing in Fife, is a reflection of the number and type of employment, education and shopping opportunities offered by a city the size of Edinburgh. The SRM12 reflects this attractiveness when the calculating the number of trips being made between Fife and Edinburgh in its base and future forecast year models taking account of the cost, availability and mode of travel to make these trips.

The SRM12 includes a number of future “Do Minimum” forecasts years, for example 2017, 2022 and 2027, which include all known committed transport infrastructure projects and planned service updates across the modelled area. For the purpose of appraisal, a transport option or measure (new transport service or infrastructure project) will then be added to the model to form the “Do Something” situation. The resultant changes between the Do Minimum and Do Something are then compared to assess the impact of the transport option. An example of a committed scheme in the 2017 forecast year is the Queensferry Crossing and associated road network changes which was not open in 2012. The Levenmouth rail link is not a committed scheme or transport measure and is therefore not included in any Do Minimum scenario.

Question reference: S5W-22922

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 14 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Sestran Regional Model (SRM12) includes the East Neuk and takes account of the value of the railhead that Levenmouth could provide.

The geographical scope of the SRM12 model covers the South East of Scotland, including the whole of Fife and the East Neuk. The Sestran Regional Model is a tool which may be used to provide quantitative evidence as part of Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) which should be used for transport appraisal in Scotland. A transport appraisal determines the overall value of the multi-modal options. This involves the appraisal of each option against the transport planning objectives and the five STAG criteria, including the Environment, Safety, Economy, Integration, and Accessibility and Social Inclusion. The Levenmouth Sustainable Transport Study is being undertaken in line with STAG and includes a railhead at Levenmouth as one of the multi-modal options under consideration.

Question reference: S5F-03322

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 13 May 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 May 2019

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S5F-03304

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 May 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 May 2019

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S5O-03162

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 April 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what impact reductions to the Fife Health and Social Care Partnership budget will have on its ability to meet rising demand for social care.

Question reference: S5F-03258

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 April 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 April 2019

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S5W-22470

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 April 2019
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 18 April 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the article in The Press and Journal on 2 April 2019, “Public foots bill for pair of lifeline freight ferries”, for what reason it considers that the purchase price that it paid for the MV Helliar and MV Hildasay should be withheld on the grounds of commercial confidentiality.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-22383 on 4 April 2019. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

In addition, I can confirm that the Sale Agreement for both of the vessels contains a confidentiality clause which Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) advise is ordinary market practice in transactions of this nature. CMAL are therefore bound by this agreement and are unable to disclose information relating to the purchase price of the MV Helliar and MV Hildasay.