- Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 14 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many undergraduate and postgraduate students have presented as homeless since May 2016, broken down by higher education institution.
Answer
Statistics on homelessness, based on administrative data, are collected by local authorities in the course of processing homelessness applications and for households in temporary accommodation. A limitation of this approach is that data is not collected for any households, including students, that are homeless but do not engage with their local authority. Data is available for a number of characteristics including age, gender and ethnicity but not in relation to those in full or part time in further and higher education. The Scottish government does not collect economic activity in the collection, some LAs may however collect the information for their own purposes but the extent of this is unknown. The latest statistics publication is available here: Homelessness in Scotland: 2020 to 2021 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
The Scottish Government has already started work on a Review of Purpose Built Student Accommodation which is running in parallel with the development of a Rented Sector Strategy both of which will inform a comprehensive Student Accommodation Strategy.
- Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 14 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 14 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when the Project Neptune review of ferry governance will be published.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-06031 on 28 February 2022 which provides an update on publication of the Project Neptune report.
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: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 14 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 14 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to publish guidance on electric vehicle charging point tariffs.
Answer
I refer the Member to the answer to question S6W-06576 on 14 March 2022. 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: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Ben Macpherson on 11 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what the process is, including any legislative requirements, for it to top up reserved benefits, and how this can be accelerated if required urgently.
Answer
Any new benefit intended to top-up reserved benefits would have to be developed with research and testing among potential users, and close collaboration with DWP and other stakeholders. For delivery of new benefits, we need to develop and test all application and case management systems to ensure households are able to apply, in addition to obtaining data from DWP and HMRC in order to process and administer the benefit. Any work of such nature is extremely complex and takes a considerable period of time to develop, build and deliver. It would require other priorities to be set aside.
New benefits also require legislation to be made by the Scottish Parliament. The procedures for scrutinising proposed legislation are set out in the Standing Orders of the Parliament. There may also be a requirement for amending regulations to be laid by the UK Government, to ensure that any new income provided by the top-up of reserved benefits does not affect entitlement to other reserved benefits.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 11 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many of the 22 zero-emission electric buses that were used to shuttle COP26 delegates are now in service on routes in Glasgow.
Answer
The 22 zero-emission electric buses owned by First Bus, which were partly funded through Transport Scotland's Scottish Ultra Low Emission Bus Scheme (SULEBS), are all now in service on routes in Glasgow following COP26 in October.
- Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Ben Macpherson on 11 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what the process is, including any legislative requirements, for it to top up (a) the Child Payment, (b) bridging payments for families with children over five, (c) child/adult disability assistance, (d) Best Start payments and (e) Winter Fuel payments, and how this can be accelerated if required urgently.
Answer
The Government’s spending plans are set out in the budget. We are already investing £361 million in Scottish benefits above the level of funding to be received from the UK Government through Block Grant Adjustments.
Increases to Scottish Child Payment, Adult Disability Payment, Child Disability Payment and Best Start Grant are made by Scottish Statutory Instrument under powers in the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018. Increases to Best Start Foods are made under section 13 of the Social Security Act 1988. The procedures for scrutinising proposed legislation are set out in the Standing Orders of the Parliament. Bridging Payments are made by local authorities on behalf of Scottish Ministers, the value of payments is set out in guidance to local authorities, published in April 2021.
In due course we will deliver the Scottish replacement for Winter Fuel Payment. It remains a reserved benefit until then.
- Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 11 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether any decision regarding rail booking office closures will be made before the consultation on women’s safety has concluded.
Answer
Transport Focus has recently published their ticket office opening hours consultation report along with ScotRail’s response. I will now consider these findings and discuss with the rail trade unions in the coming weeks before making any final decision on this matter.
- Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Ben Macpherson on 11 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has carried out any assessment of the reasons for the majority of Job Start Payment applications reportedly being declined.
Answer
Analysis of management information shows that the most common reason for Job Start Payment applications being denied is that the applicant did not meet one or both of the key eligibility criteria i.e. that the applicant was not out of work and in receipt of a qualifying benefit for at least 6 months prior to being offered a job.
An initial evaluation of the benefit is currently being carried out which may shed further light on why applicants who do not meet the eligibility criteria apply for Job Start Payment.
- Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 11 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of the public transport workforce is disabled, also broken down by (a) ferry, (b) rail and (c) bus operators.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not collect demographic data specifically on the public transport workforce nor does it do so for each mode of public transportation. If collected, this data will be held by public transport operating organisations.
Data from the Annual Population Survey over the period Jan-Dec 2020 provides breakdowns on employment by industry sector which includes the category “Transport and Storage”. It shows that 4% of all those aged over 16 in employment were working in Transport and Storage.
Of those employed in transport and storage industries, 13% are disabled. This compares to a figure of 13% also for those employed in all industries who are disabled.
- Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 11 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what specific issues regarding public transport services have been raised by black and minority ethnic (BAME) people.
Answer
The National Transport Strategy, developed through a collaborative process with stakeholders, including BEMIS the National Ethnic Minorities umbrella body, recognises that feelings of safety and fear of violence can shape BAME people’s travel behaviour and the racism can be associated with the use of public transport is often intersected with other forms of abuse e.g. sexual harassment. Work undertaken by the Transport Equality Network (of which BEMIS was a member) on the Scottish Government’s response to COVID19 found that there were no new transport challenges for BEMIS, rather the pandemic has exacerbating existing challenges.
Transport Scotland has also commissioned research from the Poverty Alliance on transport and poverty. As part of this, BAME research participants related their anxiety around reaching support services, particularly those from asylum seeker families, and voiced concerns over health risks faced by ethnic minority people using public transport during a pandemic and the stigma associated with that. In response, the Scottish Government has facilitated a meeting between the participants and the Confederation for Passenger Transport, to allow the research participants to have their concerns heard directly by industry representatives.