Neil Bibby

28 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-01092 by Humza Yousaf on 21 July 2016, whether it will consult the public regarding the preparatory work on the public sector bid that it is conducting.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: A decision has not yet been made regarding the extent and scope of any public consultation on the work.

28 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which Abellio representatives are on the Rail Delivery Group.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Details of the Rail Delivery Group’s Board and Members are available on the Rail Delivery Group’s website: http://www.raildeliverygroup.com

28 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-01092 by Humza Yousaf on 21 July 2016, whether it has established a subsidiary company to make a public sector bid.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-04176 on 14 November 2016. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusines…

28 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-01092 by Humza Yousaf on 21 July 2016, what stage it has breached with the preparatory work and whether it will publish regular updates on the progress of this.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Officials are currently determining the steps required to ensure a public sector body can bid for future Scottish rail franchises. The Scottish Government will not be providing a running commentary on the progress of this work but will provide updates where a…

28 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-01092 by Humza Yousaf on 21 July 2016, in what year of the franchise agreement the break clause cn be activated and what period of notice must be given to the (a) franchisee and (b) potential bidders before activating it.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: No later than 6 months prior to the fifth anniversary of the contract (by 30 September 2019), either party (i.e. ScotRail or Scottish Ministers) can serve a formal notice stating their intention to not continue the contract beyond the 7th anniversary of the c…

28 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met representatives of the Rail Delivery Group, and what aspects of passenger rail operations were discussed.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Regular meetings take place between Scottish Government officials and the Rail Delivery Group. These include four-weekly meetings to discuss regulatory issues relating to the Office of Rail and Road’s 2018 Periodic Review progress - the last of these meetings…

28 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether Transport Scotland remained the operator of last resort for passenger rail services when the current ScotRail franchise agreement started.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Yes. Scottish Ministers are the relevant franchising authority for the rail passenger services provided under the ScotRail Franchise Agreement. If that agreement ended without a further franchise agreement having been entered into, Scottish Ministers would be…

28 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken since October 2014 to establish a public sector operator of last resort for ScotRail passenger services.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: As part of our routine contingency planning, Scottish Ministers have shelf companies ready to fulfil the role of operator in the event of an Operator of Last Resort.

26 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the Ardrossan Harbour Taskforce will next meet, and whether it will publish the terms of reference for the taskforce’s work.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: No date has yet been set for the next meeting of the Ardrossan Harbour Taskforce pending the outcome of the STAG-style study currently being commissioned by Transport Scotland on the options for the mainland port for the Arran service. This study will look …

26 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide updated estimates for the cost of each new ferry to be provided on Clyde and Hebrides ferry services up to 2025, which are set out in the Vessel Replacement Programme in Appendix 1 of the Scottish Ferry Services - Ferries Plan (2013 - 2022).

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The estimated cost of a new small ferry is approximately £10m - £12m per vessel and for a new major ferry the estimated cost is approximately £45m - £50m per vessel. These reflect the prices of recently procured vessels. The Scottish Ferry Services: Ferries …

26 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its latest estimate is of the cost of improvement works to Ardrossan Harbour to accommodate new ferries on the Ardrossan-Brodick route operated by CalMac Ferries.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: As the scope of any works to be carried out at Ardrossan has not yet been determined no estimate has been made by Scottish Government. I have asked Transport Scotland to commission a STAG-style study to assess the options for the mainland port for the Arran …

21 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a list of the so-called golden train services that will be in operation following the implementation of the ScotRail improvement plan.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: ScotRail require flexibility to review and amend the services they stipulate internally as “Golden Trains”. Performance patterns are altered as operational circumstances change and improvement plans take effect. The purpose of classifying these services at an…

21 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many services will be subject to timetable changes following the implementation of the ScotRail improvement plan, and how many of these changes will result in increased journey times.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: As part of the Performance Improvement Plan (PIP), ScotRail are undertaking a comprehensive review of timetables on the Borders, Far North, Argyle, and North Clyde routes. ScotRail have not advised of any planned increases to journey times as part of PIP. …

17 Oct 2016 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making towards the full implementation of the Town Centre Action Plan.

14 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the road equivalent tariff would have on fares if the Arran ferry service was moved from Ardrossan to Troon.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: We are committed to supporting our lifeline ferry services and providing the best possible service for the communities, who rely on these. We understand concerns about the affordability of ferry fares, which is why we have rolled out Road Equivalent Tariff fa…

14 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the total additional cost to employers will be of implementing its commitment to pay all care workers in adult social care at least the living wage.

Answer · Shona Robison: We have made national estimates on the cost of increasing wages to the Living Wage level. This analysis has been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib number 57809).

14 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will use any budget underspend to help third sector organisations meet their living wage commitments.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The fiscal departmental expenditure limit (DEL) cash underspend for 2015-16, which is provisional at this stage, is being carried into the current financial year in full. In the context of continued post-Brexit economic challenge and uncertainty this is helpi…

14 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people will benefit from its commitment to pay all care workers in adult social care at least the living wage.

Answer · Shona Robison: Up to 40,000 care workers, mainly women, in 2016-17 will benefit from our commitment to pay the Living Wage to care workers in adult social care.

7 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the average wifi connection speed is on ScotRail trains.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The bandwidth available to the train will vary from 0 to 50 Mbps+ depending on route, location, train speed, network contention and cellular network performance. In areas of good connectivity passengers have access to 1.5 Mbps.

7 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many complaints ScotRail has received in the last 12 months regarding wifi services, broken down by month.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Month Number of wifi complaints September 2015 12 October 2015 19 November 2015 11 December 2015 11 January 2016 9 February 2016 6 March 2016 11 April 2016 1 May 2016 9 June 2016 6 July 2016 1 August 2016 5 September 2016 1 This re…

7 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to roll out wifi to more train (a) routes and (b) stations.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Wifi is currently being rolled out on the Class 334 electric fleet with installation taking place shortly on the Class 320 and Class 318 fleet. By the end of 2017, around 90% of trains and 8 further stations will benefit from wifi. The remaining 10% of trains…

7 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many and (b) what percentage of train (i) routes run by ScotRail and (ii) stations have wifi available.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Currently just under 50% of the ScotRail train fleet has wifi fitted on train. The train fleet serve inter-city routes, Ayrshire, Inverclyde, Renfrewshire, North Berwick/ Dunbar, Central Scotland, Fife and Far North routes. There are 59 stations with wifi av…

4 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5O-00175 by Humza Yousaf on 22 September 2016 (Official Report, c. 100), on what date the minister wrote to the ScotRail Alliance to request the improvement plan; whether it will publish a copy of the letter; when the plan was agreed; whether it will p…

Answer · Humza Yousaf: In line with the franchise’s agreed provisions, Transport Scotland wrote to ScotRail on 26 August 2016 to request the improvement plan. ScotRail’s response was received by Transport Scotland on 16 September. The plan has now been published by ScotRail: http…

15 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what requirements are placed on bus operators to ensure that services are accessible to disabled people.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Disability legislation is reserved to the UK Parliament. The timetable by which buses must be fully accessible is set out in the Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations (PSVAR) 2000. All new buses have had to be fully accessible since 31 December 20…

15 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it defines as "wholesale re-regulation" in relation to bus services.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: "Wholesale re-regulation” refers to nationwide re-regulation of bus services done either through a national franchise or by compelling all local authorities to franchise or directly operate bus services.

15 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government on what dates the Bus Stakeholder Group has met since May 2011; who was present, and what was discussed.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The first Bus Stakeholder Group meeting was held on 3 April, 2012. Eight further meetings were held on the following dates:- 26 June 2012; 26 October 2012; 26 February 2013; 30 October 2013; 26 March 2014; 11 November 2014; 26 January 2016 and 31 August 2016.…

15 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason there has been a reported decline in the number of journeys across (a) commercial and (b) subsidised bus routes.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Bus passenger journeys have generally been falling over the long term, almost halving between 1960 and 1975 and roughly halving again since then. More recently the rate of decline in journey numbers has decreased but we have still seen bus passenger journeys …

15 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made toward implementing each of the action points in the 2006 report, An Action Plan for Buses in Scotland.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Following the publication of the Bus Action Plan (BAP) in 2006 a steering group was set up to consider how the 17 action points from the BAP should be delivered and was composed of regulators, public sector representatives and bus operators. In June 2010 it …

15 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will carry out a review of the Bus Investment Fund and how the findings will be published.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: A review of the Bus Investment Fund process is currently underway. The report will be published and made available on the Transport Scotland website on completion.

15 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it promotes statutory quality (a) partnerships and (b) contracts to local authorities and their partners.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government continue to promote and highlight the importance of partnership working in relation to the transport sector. Guidance was published to encourage the use of both statutory quality partnerships (SQP) and quality contracts. Dialogue to im…