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: S6W-10862

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 22 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether alcohol should be banned on (a) LNER, (b) Avanti, (c) Cross Country and (d) TransPennine express services when in Scotland.

LNER, Avanti, Cross Country and TransPennine Express are cross-border railway passenger operators whose contracts are specified and managed by the Department for Transport, under UK Government railway legislation which the Scottish Government does not have devolved authority to amend. Therefore the sale and consumption of alcohol on these services is currently a matter for the individual operators in accordance with applicable legislation and the policy of their franchising authority, the Department for Transport.

Question reference: S6O-01406

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 September 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care last met with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, and what issues were discussed.

Question reference: S6W-10472

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 21 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much in total has been allocated to bus operators to support them through the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Scottish Government has provided funding to bus operators through various funds since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic at the end of March 2020. The funding streams within this period that relate to Covid-19 support include the Covid Support Grant, Covid Support Grant – Restart and Network Support Grant Plus.

Detailed information on the funding amounts under each of these grants can be found in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre under Bib number 63569.

Question reference: S6W-10471

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 20 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether there will be a further round of support grants for bus operators as they continue to recover passenger numbers to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels.

The Scottish Government continues to provide financial support for bus services to keep services more extensive, and fares more affordable than would otherwise be the case. On 1 April 2022, the Network Support Grant was introduced, with up to £93.5 million allocated for 2022-23 and an additional £25.7 million is being provided to extend the Network Support Grant Plus until October of this year. The Scottish Government continues to engage with bus operators and local government to keep support under review.

Question reference: S6W-10470

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 20 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is offering to bus operators that may be impacted by COVID-19 support subsidies ending in October 2022.

The Scottish Government is supporting bus operators through the Network Support Grant and Network Support Grant Plus which started on 1 April 2022 and which replace the Bus Service Operators’ Grant and emergency Covid funding.

I met with operators over the course of Summer recess to identify actions for Government and the sector to work in partnership on. As a result I will be convening a Taskforce with operators to further explore what practical solutions can be delivered to help maintain bus services across the country.

Question reference: S6W-10281

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 20 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is aware of any reports of bus operators that are in receipt of public subsidy being unable to deliver services in Scotland due to resources being diverted to the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, and, if this is the case, what plans it has to recoup any funding.

I am aware of reports about a bus operator deploying drivers to the Commonwealth Games, and my officials have raised this directly with the relevant operator, reminding them of the expectations in our Network Support Grant Plus funding about the service levels they will provide. The operator confirmed that a small number of drivers from Scotland were involved in delivering the services needed for the Commonwealth Games, and mitigations were put in place to ensure the impact on local services was minimised. I can confirm that no buses funded through the Scottish Ultra Low Emission Bus grant were deployed to support the Commonwealth Games. In addition Network Support Grant Plus funding is only provided for services actually run, and payment recovery will take place when the scheme ends for any service kilometres that did not operate.

Question reference: S6W-10422

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 20 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when its emergency budget review will be completed.

The cost crisis represents an unprecedented challenge to which the UK Government must respond.

The Scottish Government is taking action to prioritise support for Scotland, within the constraints of its limited budget and powers. On 7 September I wrote to the Finance and Public Administration Committee and I set out our progress to Parliament, including the savings taken to date. Here is a link to the Committee letter - Cost crisis: letter to Scottish Parliament committee .

The Scottish Government’s Emergency Budget Review is an ongoing budget process and I have committed to publishing its outcome within two weeks of the UK fiscal event planned for later this month.

Question reference: S6O-01357

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 September 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has allocated in the financial year 2022-23 for it and its agencies to spend on social media advertising.

Question reference: S6W-10278

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 7 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has attempted to recoup money from any bus operators that were in receipt of COVID-19 recovery funding but have since been unable to deliver services and, if this is the case, whether it will provide details, broken down by bus operator.

COVID-19 recovery funding is provided via the Network Support Grant Plus and paid as a pence per kilometre rate for each kilometre actually run. Funding is provided by advance payment on forecasts and then payment is adjusted after the scheme ends in October to ensure the final payment reflects actual services operated. This will include recovery of any funding paid to operators for services that did not operate. The scheme has not yet ended so no reconciliation or payment recovery from operators has yet taken place.

Question reference: S6W-10280

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 7 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much government funding bus operators have received in each of the last five years, broken down by (a) operator and (b) fund.

The Scottish Government has provided funding to bus operators through a number of grants during the last five years. Information on the amount of funding provided to bus operators per year is provided for the following funds: Bus Service Operators’ Grant, Scottish Bus Emissions Abatement Retrofit Fund, Scottish Green Bus Fund, Smart Pay Grant Fund, Covid Support Grant, Covid Support Grant - Restart, Scottish Ultra-Low Emission Bus Scheme, Scottish Zero Emission Bus fund, Network Support Grant and Network Support Grant Plus.

Due to the number of entries, a spreadsheet containing the requested information has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. Number: 63569).

Transport Scotland actively publishes monthly details of all items of expenditure of a value of £25,000 or over. This information is available at Expenditure | Transport Scotland . Further information on the purpose of these funds is available on the Transport Scotland website: Bus Travel in Scotland (transport.gov.scot) .

Partial information is provided for 2022 but may be subject to change by the end of the financial year, for example where funding is provided subject to a financial reconciliation taking place later in the year to adjust final funding levels.