Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-04742 on 13 December 2021. 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

Transport Scotland officials maintain awareness of developments in railways in other countries, including those which are in public ownership – for example in England. This appreciation is used to inform analysis of options for the development of Scotland’s Railways in line with the priorities of the Scottish Government.

Opportunities for international travel between December 2019 and March 2022 were very much restricted by the pandemic. Accordingly there were no official visits made to countries outside the UK by Scottish Ministers and/or officials in this period.

The package of enhancements identified by the project team for taking forward is currently being reviewed by Network Rail’s operations team for Scotland. It comprises signal enhancements, improvements to station approaches and specific capacity alterations to facilitate the mixed operation of faster and slower trains on the same route.

The deliverables of the rail improvement project expected to be completed by the end of 2026 will be a capability which will facilitate, subject to changing travel behaviours, timetable and stopping pattern choices, the following options:

? an average journey time of 1 hour 10 minutes or less for inter-city services between Aberdeen and Dundee;

? an average journey time of 2 hours 30 minutes or less for inter-city services between Aberdeen and Glasgow;

? half-hourly services from local stations into Aberdeen and Dundee during peak times;

? an hourly stopping service between Aberdeen and Dundee; and

? new freight paths.

A number of City Region Deals include elements of housing infrastructure that is required to unlock wider housing delivery and regional growth ambitions including a notional £20m joint allocation for Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Councils. It is the responsibility of Councils to bring forward eligible Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) projects to the Scottish Government for consideration. Progress has been slower than anticipated and to date no eligible HIF projects have been submitted by the Councils as part of the £20m indicative allocation referred to in the 2016 agreement. Given the long-term plans for City Deal delivery in the region, and that HIF is open for new applications, Scottish Government officials will remain engaged with both Councils to support them to apply for HIF support where suitable projects through the City Deal delivery plans are identified.

Circularity Scotland has identified preferred bidders to deliver IT, operations and logistics work and is in intensive discussions with them to finalise the contracts. We expect this to conclude shortly.

Up until and including the 31 March 2022 Abellio ScotRail had 2,019 outstanding rail passenger compensation claims, representing a claim value of £9,550. Abellio ScotRail will settle all of these claims.

From 1 April 2022, ScotRail Trains Limited is responsible for considering and settling all new compensation claims.

Over the next few years each project will go through project development and consenting processes, respond to geographical and technological requirements, and find a route to market. There are several variables to be considered across these processes, including aspects such as grid connection and the impact of offshore wind developments on various environmental receptors.

To add to my response of 31 March 2022, it is not possible at this stage to predict how long each of the 17 ScotWind projects awarded lease options will take to pass through the project development and consenting process, achieve connections to the onshore grid network and subsequently to undergo construction. For each project this is a complex and multi-faceted process involving a number of variables, including the iterative review of offshore wind planning assumptions, impacts arising from environmental assessments, consultative processes, investment decisions with regard to supporting supply chain activity, success in securing power supply agreements though the Contracts for Difference regime, and potential challenges to be addressed in design and construction with regard to physical conditions and the application of innovative floating wind technologies being pioneered at GW scale in a number of projects. These variables are dynamic and are capable of affecting the size and nature of projects as well as the speed at which they will progress. Their impact cannot be predicted with accuracy at this stage.

Forward planning with regard to potential generating capacity, which may be expected from ScotWind and other offshore renewables developments, informs our thinking and is continually reviewed. This type of forward planning will next be reflected in the Government’s Draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan due to be published for consultation this autumn.

There will be no delay to year one of the Just Transition Fund as a result of the revised timetable for publication of the Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan.