- Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 May 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 3 June 2021
To ask the Scottish Government when provisions in the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 to allow local transport authorities to propose bus services will be implemented.
Answer
Following a necessary pause to the implementation of Part 3 (Bus Services) of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 last year owing to the reallocation of national and local government resources to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, work resumed with a virtual stakeholder event held in March this year.
The outputs of that and ongoing engagement will feed into a consultation paper for launch later this year. That will inform the development of secondary legislation and supporting guidance. The timetable for the introduction of secondary legislation will be dependent, to an extent, on parliamentary process.
- Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 May 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 3 June 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on a solution to prevent the build-up of ice on the Queensferry Crossing.
Answer
Ice accretion and precipitation sensors were installed on the towers and deck in 2020. Weather forecasting, bridge monitoring and traffic management procedures have been continuously improved, and the mechanism of ice accumulation specific to the Queensferry Crossing is now better understood. A working group comprising Transport Scotland, the bridge Operating Company BEAR Scotland and a number of expert consultants has been established. A number of possible solutions are under consideration in terms of their feasibility.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 24 May 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 3 June 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether any feasibility studies have been carried out regarding plans to move ScotRail to public ownership and, if so, whether it will publish these.
Answer
Following detailed analysis and consideration of all available options against the current UK rail legislation, the Scottish Ministers took the decision that it was not appropriate to award a franchise agreement to any party at the expiry of the current ScotRail franchise. In such circumstances, the Scottish Ministers have a statutory duty to provide, or secure the provision of, rail services. This will be done through a wholly owned company of the Scottish Government in a similar manner to the UK Government’s current direct control of the Northern and LNER train operating companies.
The analysis of options that was undertaken included consideration of a range of commercially sensitive matters. Therefore it is not Transport Scotland’s intention to publish the analysis.
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 24 May 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 3 June 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what support it will put in place to support the aviation industry in its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, given that it supports thousands of jobs, is a key economic driver and provides global connectivity.
Answer
We recognise that globally, as well as here in Scotland, the aviation industry faces one of the longest recovery periods given the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on route networks, which is why we have extended the 100% non-domestic rates relief for the aviation sector for another year (2021-22). We are also funding a skeleton service to the Islands until at least the end of June to ensure that essential connectivity is maintained and have provided training development support to help provide training for staff in the aviation sector to support job retention.
The Scottish Government is working with airports on route recovery, to help rebuild connectivity for business and inbound tourism once we are able to safely lift travel restrictions. Transport Scotland, working in partnership with VisitScotland and Scottish Development International, has a well-established process in place to help Scotland’s airports recover routes lost as well as help secure new ones. In addition to our work with the airports, the Scottish Government also has regular engagement with airlines. Most recently this included productive discussions held in April with 19 airlines, all of which are important to Scotland’s international connectivity. Given the commercial nature of these discussions I am unable to share specific details.
Now more than ever it is essential that we are well connected to the rest of Europe and the rest of the World and our ambition is to help airports restore 2019 levels of connectivity as quickly as possible.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 24 May 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 3 June 2021
To ask the Scottish Government how much transport emissions have been reduced by in each year since 2017-18.
Answer
Transport Scotland publishes information on changes in transport emissions in the Carbon Account for Transport. The most recent version of the Carbon Account for Transport, which covers emissions up until 2018 is available at the following link: Carbon Account for Transport - No. 12: 2020 Edition
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 24 May 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 3 June 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that COVID-19 helplines are frequently out of service or unmanned, with callers being placed in queues with hundreds of other patients and whether it will outline plans to introduce more efficient methods to allow people to access information, reschedule their vaccine appointment, check their vaccine status, and enquire about missed appointment letters.
Answer
The Scottish Government greatly values the work of those working on the national helpline. The national helpline is available 7 days a week between 8am and 8pm as an alternative channel for those patients who are not able to access content or services digitally. On average the helpline answers 23,000 calls on a weekday and around 14,000 calls are answered on each day over the weekend. There are between 200 to 400 people who staff the national helpline, dependent on demand patterns.
The average time taken to answer a call to the helpline, was less than a minute. There has been an increase in calls since 17 May 2021 which has meant people have been place in a queue on weekdays.
Having identified the increase in demand over the last two weeks, additional resources are being mobilised from the week, starting 31 May 2021 to reduce call wait times.
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 May 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 3 June 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has carried out of the impact that (a) social-distancing and (b) COVID-19 lockdowns have had on jobs in the (i) night-time economy and (ii) (A) pub and (B) restaurant sectors.
Answer
The Scottish Government published all its data online. The most recent impact assessment was published at the end of April and can be found here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2021/193/resources .
We also work closely with business organisations to gather feedback on the impact of restrictions which includes weekly meetings with the tourism and hospitality sector.
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 May 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 3 June 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what recent engagement it has had with business leaders operating in the (a) night-time economy and (b) (i) pub and (ii) restaurant sectors regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answer
Over the past year the Scottish Government has worked closely with businesses and sectoral organisations such as the Scottish Tourism Alliance, UK Hospitality, Scottish Licensed Trade Association, Scottish Beer & Pub Association, Night Time Industries Association and Scottish Hospitality Group on the impact of restrictions and support for the tourism and hospitality sectors. Most recently, the First Minister has met with Scottish Tourism Alliance and UKHospitality on 21 May.
I most recently met with UKHospitality and Scottish Licensed Trade Association on 25 May and Scottish Tourism Alliance on 26 May.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 May 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 3 June 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will introduce drop-in vaccination clinics in the Glasgow City Council area.
Answer
While there has been significant success in our progress tackling the virus, and the vaccination programme continues to roll out well across the country The Scottish Government and Health Boards are following the latest advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.
Throughout the pandemic, the decisions we have taken have been driven by evidence and clinical advice, we have been introducing drop in vaccination sites in the Glasgow area, the following table shows the planned drop-in schedule and locations.
Day | Venue | Venue | Venue | Venue | Venue |
Sunday 30 May | SSE Hydro 9am to 18 | | | | |
Monday 31 May | | | Glasgow Club Easterhouse 9am to 18 | Glasgow Club Donald Dewar 9am to 18 | Hub Community Centre, Clydebank 9am to 15.00 |
Tuesday 1 June | | | Lagoon Leisure Centre 9am to 18 | | |
Wednesday 2 June | SSE Hydro 9am to 18 | Glasgow Central Mosque 9am to 18 | Lagoon Leisure Centre 9am to 18 | Allander Leisure Centre 9am to 18 | |
Thursday 3 June | SSE Hydro 9am to 18 | Glasgow Central Mosque 9am to 18 | Alexandria Community Centre 9am to 15.00 | Barmulloch Community Centre 9am to 18 | |
Friday 4 June | SSE Hydro 9am to 18 | Glasgow Central Mosque 9am to 18 | Barrhead Foundry 9am to 15.00 | Carmichael Hall Eastwood 9am to 18 | Glasgow Club Castlemilk 9am to 15.00 |
Saturday 5 June | SSE Hydro 9am to 18 | Glasgow Central Mosque 9am to 18 | Renfrew Leisure Centre 9am to 15.00 | Carmichael Hall Eastwood 9am to 18 | Johnstone Town Hall 9am to 15.00 |
Sunday 6 June | SSE Hydro 9am to 18 | Glasgow Central Mosque 9am to 18 | Kirkintilloch Leisure Centre 9am to 15.00 | Greenock Town hall 9am to 18 | Concorde Centre, Dumbarton 9am to 15.00 |
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 May 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 3 June 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has carried out of the ventilation in night-clubs in response to the risk of the spread of the COVID-19 virus, and to what extent the findings of this assessment supports the reported comment by the National Clinical Director that these venues are "dingy, poorly-ventilated spaces".
Answer
We have considered the transmission risk associated with close contact and the mixing of individuals in such environments, including engagement between clinicians and nightclub owners and a visit to see the sector in operation.
We do not underestimate the severe impact this pandemic has had on nightclubs across Scotland, but we must move very carefully to ensure continued suppression of Covid-19. Ventilation is just one of the factors that needs to be considered in relation to nightclubs alongside dancing, loud music and alcohol which each add a compound factor to the risk involved. We will keep plans under review and accelerate the lifting of restrictions if possible, and we will continue engaging with the sector on this.