Parliamentary questions
Neil Bibby
1,029 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
10 Feb 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the Bus Decarbonisation Taskforce is considered a public or a private body, and what the reasons are for its position on the matter.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Bus Decarbonisation Taskforce is a short life group comprised of leaders from the bus operating, bus manufacturing, finance, energy and public sectors. Its remit is to explore the hurdles and opportunities in transitioning to a zero emission bus fleet. It…
10 Feb 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it can do to ensure that any economic benefits resulting from electric buses being built in Scotland remain in the local community.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Scottish Government is investing £62 million, through the Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund (ScotZEB), to support 276 new battery-electric buses and charging infrastructure. 137 of the buses will be built in Falkirk, bringing the total number of b…
10 Feb 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when the Bus Decarbonisation Taskforce will report its findings on how to fulfil the Scottish National Party manifesto commitment to “remove a majority of fossil fuel buses from public transport in Scotland by 2023”.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Bus Decarbonisation Taskforce agreed its remit and Guiding Vision at its first meeting on 11 November 2020, and discussed a first draft of its co-designed pathway to a fully zero-emission bus fleet in July 2021. The ongoing COVID pandemic has made progres…
10 Feb 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether a skills assessment has been made by the Bus Decarbonisation Taskforce on whether there is capacity in Scotland to build enough electric buses to fulfil the Scottish National Party manifesto commitment to “remove a majority of fossil fuel buses from public transport in Scotland b…
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: At the most recent meeting of the Bus Decarbonisation Taskforce, senior representatives from the manufacturing and supply chain sector confirmed that supply of zero-emission buses in the coming months and years would not be a constraining factor and confirmed…
10 Feb 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason there is reportedly no employee representation on the Bus Decarbonisation Taskforce, and whether such representation was (a) considered and (b) invited to join.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The purpose of the Bus Decarbonisation Taskforce is to bring together leaders from those sectors which most urgently need to work together on the challenges inherent in decarbonisation of the bus sector. These were identified as the bus operating, bus manufac…
31 Jan 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-05586 by Graeme Dey on 24 January 2022, whether it will provide a breakdown by workstream of Transport Scotland FTE staffing levels between 2016 and 2021.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Attached are the figures for FTE requested since 2016 and broken down by workstreams. Transport Scotland FTE (2016 - 2021) Directorate 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Avaition, Maritime, Freight and Canals 27.7 29.1 30.5 33.3 38.4 42.7 Bus…
31 Jan 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-05586 by Graeme Dey on 24 January 2022, for what reason the FTE staffing levels at Transport Scotland have risen from 375.7 in 2016 to 482 in 2021.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The reason for the increase in FTE staffing level’s from 2016 and 2021 are due Transport Scotland’s increasing pieces of work through changing ministerial responsibilities. These responsibilities include our work on EU Exit, COP26, Free Bus Travel for U22’s a…
31 Jan 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many young people have applied to the Young Persons’ (Under 22s) Free Bus Travel scheme, broken down by local authority.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Improvement Service (IS), who manage the application process, have informed us at close of business on 1 March 2022 there had been a total of 201,306 online applications submitted. The breakdown by local authority has not been provided by IS at this stage…
31 Jan 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many young people have received a free bus pass through the Young Persons’ (Under 22s) Free Bus Travel scheme, broken down by local authority.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Improvement Service (IS), who manage the application process, have informed us that at close of business on 1 March 2022 a total of 144,377 cards had been produced and despatched. The latest figures that IS have provided broken down to a local council le…
31 Jan 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many young people it estimates are eligible for the Young Persons’ (Under 22s) Free Bus Travel scheme, broken down by local authority.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Up to 930,000 young people aged between 5 and 21 will be eligible for the Young Persons' Free Bus Travel Scheme. This is in addition to almost 60,000 young people in this age group who already hold National Entitlement Cards providing access to the existing F…
28 Jan 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will confirm the budget allocated to the Energy Investment Fund in (a) 2021-22 and (b) 2022-23.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The budget allocated to the Energy Investment Fund in 2021-22 was up to £13 million, no budget has been allocated for any future financial years. There are new investment mechanisms in place through the Scottish National Investment Bank which supports the Sco…
28 Jan 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the Energy Investment Fund is being closed to new entrants, and, if so, for what reasons.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Energy Investment Fund will close at the end of this financial year 2021-22. The Fund was established in 2013, (succeeding the Renewable Energy Investment Fund) with funding from the Fossil Fuel Levy, to address market failure in capital funding in specif…
28 Jan 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what (a) funds are available and (b) action it is taking to support community energy and local energy development.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government’s Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) provides free advice, and loan and grant funding, with up to £8.25M made available this financial year (2021-22) to assist community groups in developing renewable energy projects, suppor…
28 Jan 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-04643 by Maree Todd on 8 December 2021, what steps it is taking to (a) develop a data collection solution to replace the Certificate for Visual Impairment (CVI) web platform, and what the implementation timetable is for that solution, and (b) achiev…
Answer · Maree Todd: Scottish Government officials have worked closely with Public Health Scotland (PHS) to develop an alternative solution to the collection of data on sight loss registration and certification to replace the previously underutilised web platform. As part of the …
26 Jan 2022 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to improve bus services in the west of Scotland.
20 Jan 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what ScotRail contracts with Abellio will continue once its franchise has concluded.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: A small number of contracts between ScotRail Trains Ltd. and Abellio is expected to be in place from 1 April to ensure the continuity of rail services in Scotland from 1 April 2022. In particular, a contract for the continued use of the Abellio Shared Servic…
20 Jan 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what costs will be, or are expected to be, incurred by the contract with Abellio once its ScotRail franchise has concluded.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Costs of any contracts between ScotRail Trains Ltd. and Abellio will not be fully known until contract negotiations are concluded, and thereafter will depend upon the extent of use of the support services covered by those contracts.
20 Jan 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what processes are in place to ensure Best Value and financial transparency in relation to any costs that will be, or are expected to be, incurred by the contract with Abellio during the transition from its franchise to a new rail operator.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Payments to Abellio ScotRail Ltd. during the current transitional period are currently covered by the Emergency Measures Agreement, which includes provisions concerning financial transparency and to ensure value for money.
20 Jan 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the YoungScot card cannot be used by young people to demonstrate eligibility for the Young Persons’ (Under-22s) Free Bus Travel Scheme.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05885 on 7 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-committ…
20 Jan 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what level of uptake it is aiming to achieve for the Young Persons’ (Under-22s) Free Bus Travel Scheme, and by what date.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Up to 930,000 young people will be eligible to travel for free under the scheme and we are absolutely determined to ensure that everyone who is eligible for and wants a free bus pass gets one. I appreciate that we still have a long way to go to reach all 930,…
20 Jan 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how (a) young people and (b) parents should judge what is essential travel for the purposes of using the Young Persons’ (Under-22s) Free Bus Travel Scheme.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: When the application process for travel cards was launched we asked that only those with an essential need to travel by bus apply. It was for individuals to decide whether their journeys were essential in the light of Scottish Government and Transport Scotlan…
20 Jan 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will actively promote the Young Persons’ (Under-22s) Free Bus Travel Scheme, further to the initial limited launch in January 2022.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: As we move into a different phase of the pandemic, we are looking to actively encourage everyone who is eligible to apply and will be launching a national marketing campaign in the coming weeks.
20 Jan 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it has asked under-22s who are eligible for the Young Persons’ (Under-22s) Free Bus Travel Scheme not to apply to the scheme at this time, except for those for whom bus travel is essential.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: We initially asked that only those with an essential need to travel by bus should apply due to the high rates of COVID-19 cases. This was intended to help minimise pressure on local councils, also impacted by the current situation with the pandemic, which are…
20 Jan 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will support schools to co-ordinate applications for the Young Persons’ (Unde-22s) Free Bus Travel Scheme on behalf of pupils.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The application process, card renewals, card replacements and all other cardholder management are the responsibility of the Improvement Service for online applications and of individual local councils for all other applications. All local councils have been g…
20 Jan 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reasons all young people who are eligible for the Young Persons’ (Under-22s) Free Bus Travel Scheme are required to apply for a new bus pass.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: New cards are required to access the scheme as previously issued cards will not have the necessary digital travel product encoded on them. This is needed so that bus journeys under the scheme can be recorded so that the Scottish Government can accurately reim…
18 Jan 2022 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it will address the reported repair backlog in Scottish Fire and Rescue Service properties.
17 Jan 2022 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to ScotRail’s plans to cut ticket office opening hours at 120 stations and to close three ticket offices entirely.
11 Jan 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what criteria and factors were taken into consideration when appointing the Chief Executive Officer of Scottish Rail Holdings.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The main consideration was the suitability of a candidate for the role of Chief Executive Officer of Scottish Rail Holdings, including relevant previous senior level experience of the UK rail industry and the mobilisation of Government controlled rail operati…
11 Jan 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what criteria and factors were taken into consideration during the recruitment process for the new Chief Operating Officer of ScotRail.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Abellio ScotRail Ltd. made the Chief Operating Officer appointment, using an open and fair recruitment process. Questions concerning this process should be addressed to Abellio ScotRail Ltd.
11 Jan 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the annual salary is for the role of Managing Director of Scotland’s Railway.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Managing Director of Scotland’s Railway is an employee of Network Rail, which is owned by the UK Government. His salary may be found in line 175 of the ‘Senior Officials high earners salaries as at 30 September 2020’ spreadsheet contained in the HM Govern…