Chamber and committees

Under the Emergency Measures Agreements (EMAs) in place, (a) Abellio ScotRail and (b) Serco Caledonian Sleepers Limited are not entitled to indemnification in the event of industrial action although the net difference between revenue and costs in any EMA period pass through to Scottish Ministers.

To the extent that industrial action increases the net cost to the Scottish Government it increases the need for further efficiencies and cost reductions given that funding, in the context of Covid, is severely constrained.

The Scottish Child Payment team are working closely with the DWP Scottish Devolution Programme to refine the scope of the delivery, including the data sharing requirements, to ensure the safe and secure roll out of the Scottish Child Payment to eligible families with children under 16 years of age by the end of 2022.

The covered walkway between Exhibition Centre station and Scottish Event Campus (SEC) is owned by Glasgow City Council (GCC). As GCC is an independently elected body, the Scottish Government cannot intervene on matters relating to local responsibilities or decisions.

Notwithstanding this, as part of preparations for the upcoming COP26 Conference, my officials are engaged with SEC, Scotrail, GCC and UK Government, as the event organiser, in regards to transport, including the use of the covered walkway. This decision on such use will ultimately rest with United Nations Security Lead, who will be carrying out an inspection of the premises in the coming weeks.

The resources referred to in the previous answer related to staffing resources within Transport Scotland.

Those officials who had been asked to respond to the challenges presented by the pandemic to our transport network and the impacts on Islands communities are now returning to normal duties, and has been made clear, a priority has been restarting the work taking forward identifying potential options for reducing fares on ferry services across the Pentland Firth.

The Scottish Government supports piloting supervised safe consumption facilities in Scotland given the evidence from other countries over the past 30 years.

The Misuse of Drugs Act (1971) is reserved to the UK Government, but we will continue to seek constructive engagement to move matters forward. The Minister for Drugs Policy, Angela Constance, has written to the UK Government on a number of occasions this year to engage with them on the evidence.

We are working with services to leave no stone unturned to overcome the existing legal barriers to implement safe consumption rooms in Scotland.

In Scotland we are continuing to work under the interim Subsidy Control regime and provisions held within the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement. Draft legislation was laid in the UK Parliament on 30 June 2021. We will now take time to consider the draft legislation and reflect any new options that may be available for procurement of ferry services and/or impact on ferry fares policy.

The Prior Information Notice (PIN) referred to confirmed Ministers’ intention for Scotrail services to be delivered through a wholly owned company of the Scottish Ministers in terms of the Operator of Last Resort following expiry of the current ScotRail Franchise Agreement.

It is intended that Operator of Last Resort arrangements will provide a period of stability for passengers and staff while we assess the scale and pace of recovery from Covid 19 and future rail reform.

As the PIN was published on 31 March 2021, almost 2 months ahead of the UK Government’s delayed White Paper on Rail, there was considerable uncertainty around reform at the time. Accordingly, through the PIN, Ministers reserved the right to put OLR arrangements in place as appropriate, up to the maximum period of 10 years. It also indicated the envisaged direct award at that point was for a period of 3-5 years with any optional additional period(s) exercisable at the sole discretion of Ministers.

Although the White Paper has now been published, we are pressing the UK Government for further clarity on how their proposals, and timescales for implementation of future rail reform, will impact our aspirations for Scotland’s railways. This will help inform future decisions about the duration of the OLR arrangements, subject to the 10 year maximum referred to in the PIN.

Housing to 2040 is Scotland’s first ever long-term national housing strategy and makes clear our ambition to deliver 100,000 affordable homes by 2031-32, 70% of which will be for Social Rent.

Local authorities as the statutory housing authority are responsible for assessing housing requirements in their area and setting out their plans to meet these requirements as part of their Local Housing Strategy and Strategic Housing Investment Plan.

Provision of services by a Scottish Government owned company, called ScotRail Trains Ltd, in line with our Operator of Last Resort duty will ensure the continuity of rail services in Scotland and also provide stability to staff, suppliers and passengers over this period.

Abellio ScotRail staff with their terms and conditions will transfer to the new entity.

The responsibility for the delivery of prisoner healthcare, including services to women living in the new community custody units in Dundee and Glasgow, rests with local NHS Boards.

The Scottish Government is working collaboratively with the SPS, NHS Tayside and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to determine what the healthcare provision will be in the community custody units. We are aiming to deliver a healthcare model that better meets the healthcare needs of women in custody and aligns with the transformative vision for the new female prison estate.