Chamber and committees

As required by the Water Industry (Scotland) Act 2002, Ministers establish the policy context within which charges are determined by the Water Industry Commission for Scotland (WICS). The charging policies for the 2021-27 period were published on 7 December 2020 https://www.gov.scot/publications/principles-of-charging-2021-2027/ .

WICS is required to determine the price caps for households through its Final Determination. For the 2021-27 period, WICS confirmed that overall charge increases for households are capped at CPI+2%. In line with the Water Industry (Scotland) Act 2002, Scottish Water must submit a charges scheme to WICS for approval, ensuring it is consistent with Ministers’ Principles of Charging and the Final Determination.

Whilst there is no formal requirement to consult the Scottish Government, Ministers were made aware of the outcome of the independent process, including the rationale underpinning the decision by Scottish Water's Board on the scheme of charges for 2022-23.

The Scottish Government owning the Steelworks for a short period of time enabled all parties to achieve what they required from the sale and purchase of the business. The Scottish Government in doing so, supported the recommencement of Steel Production in Scotland and protected the livelihood of families across the Lanarkshire Steel communities.

Both prior to and throughout the pandemic, the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service have prioritised domestic abuse trials. During the pandemic this has included supporting the running of a Specialist virtual Domestic Abuse trial pilot Courts in Inverness and Aberdeen which allowed the re-commencement of trials taking advantage of technological advances. As part of the recovery programming generally to manage the backlog of cases created by the pandemic, 10 additional Summary trials courts have been running since 6 September 2021. Pre-covid the optimal waiting period for domestic abuse trials was eight to ten weeks, but due to the impact of the pandemic this has increased to around thirteen weeks nationally at this time.

The latest statistics published by the Sottish Courts and Tribunals Service on 2 December 2021 indicate that in Q2 (between July to September 2021), domestic abuse cases accounted for 34% of Sheriff Summary trials called and 43% of those Sheriff Summary trials in which evidence was led. Three in every ten, of the 14,286 complaints concluded in court were domestic abuse cases, an increase of 24% compared with Q1 2021-22.

This is a matter for Stirling Council. However, for the 2018-19 academic year, Stirling Council reported they had purchased 22,752 period products in total. The number of period products purchased and distributed since Sept 2019 is not held centrally.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05572 on 10 February 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 .

By focusing investment on sustainable transport options for individuals, families, communities and businesses, the STPR2 draft recommendations will make it easier for those in the Stirling area and beyond to access the transport networks and systems that Scotland will need to meet the challenges and changes over the next 20 years.

Strategic active travel recommendations are a focus, not only connecting urban communities but rural towns and villages as well. We are already providing funding through the Sustrans Places For Everyone Programme and have also committed £7m for Regional Active Travel improvements through the Stirling and Clackmannanshire City Region Deal.

In line with the STPR2 recommendation on bus priority, £500,000 has been awarded to the Forth Valley Bus Alliance for improvements on key bus corridors, £230,000 of which will look at those in Stirling.

The focus for Rail in STPR is on strategic connections and decarbonisation. Given its central location in Scotland’s rail network, the Stirling area will benefit from these.

Taken together the Review’s recommendations represent a repositioning of our transport investment priorities which firmly focus on how transport can help us protect our climate and improve lives, including for residents of Stirling and surrounds.

Scottish Government have increased the annual native woodland creation target from a minimum of 3000 to at least 4000 hectares and have committed to setting evidence-based targets for both native woodlands and natural regeneration as part of the 2022 Biodiversity Strategy.

Scottish Government have committed to a Natural Environment Bill aiming to introduce it in year three of this parliamentary session, which will follow on from the new biodiversity strategy. This will put in place key legislative changes to restore and protect nature, including an effective, statutory, target-setting monitoring, enforcing and reporting framework.

The Nature Restoration Fund, established this year following an agreement between the Scottish Government and the Scottish Green Party, will be expanded over the duration of this parliamentary session and encompass multi-year funding. It will make an important contribution to meeting our targets and restoring Scotland’s terrestrial and marine environments through, for example, restoring and expanding our Atlantic rainforests, and the establishment of nature networks across Scotland.

All woodland management will continue to be underpinned by the internationally recognised principles of Sustainable Forest Management (SFM), as defined in The UK Forestry Standard (UKFS) the technical standard for sustainable forest management in the UK. The Scottish Government supports tree planting and woodland management through the Forestry Grant Scheme. This support is only provided where UKFS requirements are met, and where we are confident this helps to ensure our natural environment is both protected and enhanced.

Discussions with the Rail Trade Union representatives are underway and I look forward to personally having the opportunity to discuss this topic at my meeting with all Rail Trade Unions on Thursday 10 February.

ScotRail's review, the first of its kind in over 30 years, proposes changes to contribute to the modernisation of Scotland’s stations and offer passengers a more efficient and cost effective service for the future.

The consultation has enabled rail users including (a) (i) disabled, (ii) women, (iii) visually impaired and (iv) digitally excluded passengers and (b) passengers with mobility concerns to get involved in the process where all contributions will be considered before a final decision is made.

ScotRail has commenced a Diversity Impact Assessment (DIA) regarding the ticket office opening hours consultation, the DIA process will reflect all feedback received and takes account a range of potentially impacted groups.

The purpose of the public consultation is to enable passengers and stakeholders to provide specific feedback on how the proposals impact their journey compared to ScotRail’s current ticket office opening hours. It is worth highlighting Abellio ScotRail do not plan to reduce current staffing levels and have committed to improve staff visibility and customer assistance.

Following the completion of the ticket office consultation and analysis, I will consider its recommendations, including those from the Diversity Impact Assessment.

The Dalzell Steelworks were owned for a short period of time by the Scottish Government to assist in the facilitation of the transfer of ownership of the Steelworks between TATA Steel UK and Liberty House.