Parliamentary questions

Richard Leonard

963 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

8 Dec 2021 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the Scottish National Investment Bank's investment portfolio.

8 Dec 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the locations of the high-rise buildings that have been found to have cladding that requires (a) remediation or (b) replacement.

Answer · Shona Robison: One of the benefits of the Single Building Assessment approach is that the outputs will be made available for multiple purposes. We will work out the best way to do this, in partnership with others, while taking necessary steps to protect private information …

8 Dec 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government by what date it expects remediation work on high-rise buildings with cladding that does not meet safety standards to be completed, to bring the buildings in line with safety standards.

Answer · Shona Robison: We do not expect the vast majority of buildings in Scotland to require remediation and the Single Building Assessment programme will give us the information to establish timescales for those that do.

8 Dec 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) tenants and (b) owner-occupiers who live in high-rise blocks with (i) high pressure laminate and (ii) aluminium composite panel cladding are members of the ministerial working group on building and fire safety.

Answer · Shona Robison: No tenants or owner occupiers of high rise flats with high pressure laminate or aluminium composite materials are on the ministerial working group on building and fire safety. The Cladding Program stakeholder group does include an owner-occupier representativ…

8 Dec 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £97.1 million received in Barnett consequentials from the UK Government to fund cladding remediation work has been spent.

Answer · Shona Robison: We are working with owners and representatives to fund the Single Building Assessments in the pilot phase. All £97.1m received in consequentials will be spent on assessments and cladding remediation over the lifetime of the programme.

8 Dec 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many of the high-rise buildings that have been identified as having cladding that does not meet current building safety standards have had the cladding replaced, and, where the cladding has not been replaced, how many of the identified buildings have (a) a timescale and (b) funding a…

Answer · Shona Robison: Our Single Building Assessment initial phase is ongoing with 25 buildings across Scotland. We do not expect any remediation will be required for the vast majority of high-rise or other buildings in Scotland.

6 Dec 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of whether returning the operation of the Caledonian Sleeper franchise to the terms of the original franchise agreement after 31 March 2022, once the current Emergency Measures Agreement expires, could lead to a default on payment or termination of the contrac…

Answer · Graeme Dey: The current Emergency Measures Agreement has been extended until the 28 February 2022. A prior information notice (a technical measure that stems from the relevant procurement regulation) was issued in February 2021 to preserve the Scottish Government’s abili…

6 Dec 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has undertaken of the costs of combining the Caledonian Sleeper franchise with the ScotRail franchise so that they are managed together by the Operator of Last Resort.

Answer · Graeme Dey: As there are no current plans to deploy Operator of Last Resort arrangements for the Caledonian Sleeper Franchise, spending public money on analysing the costs of doing so would not represent good value.

6 Dec 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it anticipates serving a Termination Notice to Serco Caledonian Sleepers Ltd should the company choose to exercise the rebasing option in the franchise agreement.

Answer · Graeme Dey: Whether rebasing proposals are submitted after 1 April 2022 is a matter for Serco Caledonian Sleepers Ltd to consider and decide upon. Any proposals received in due course would be carefully considered. We can express no view on the possible outcome of any re…

6 Dec 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what provision it has made for the Operator of Last Resort to run the Caledonian Sleeper franchise should the current operator no longer be able to continue to do so.

Answer · Graeme Dey: Transport Scotland has well developed contingency plans in place, which could be mobilised in the event we are required to ensure continuity of rail services as an Operator of Last Resort. We do not anticipate having to activate those contingency plans.

6 Dec 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government under what circumstances would it be necessary to transfer operation of the Caledonian Sleeper franchise to the Operator of Last Resort.

Answer · Graeme Dey: Transport Scotland on behalf of Scottish Ministers has contingency arrangements in place for Operator of Last Resort which could be mobilised in the event a Franchise agreement is terminated or otherwise comes to an end and no further franchise agreement has …

6 Dec 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has undertaken of the increase in public subsidy that would be required if Serco Caledonian Sleepers Ltd exercised the rebasing option in the franchise agreement from April 2022 onwards.

Answer · Graeme Dey: Any such analysis would depend on the written proposals submitted by Serco Caledonian Sleepers Ltd, in the event it elected to exercise the contractual rebasing option after 1 April 2022.

6 Dec 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it anticipates extending the Caledonian Sleeper franchise Emergency Measures Agreement beyond 31 March 2022 and, if so, what does it anticipate would be the duration of any extension.

Answer · Graeme Dey: The Emergency Measures Agreement, which temporarily varied the terms of the franchise agreement with Serco Caledonian Sleepers Ltd, will expire on 28 February 2022. A prior information notice (a technical measure that stems from the relevant procurement regu…

6 Dec 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, with reference to the Prior Information Notice (PIN) issued by Transport Scotland on 26 February 2021 in relation to the Caledonian Sleeper franchise, whether it anticipates issuing a direct award of a Temporary Measures Agreement to Serco Caledonian Sleepers Ltd as is provided for in t…

Answer · Graeme Dey: The PIN was issued in February 2021 to preserve the Scottish Government’s ability to award a temporary measures agreement from March 2022 should it be necessary at that stage to continue emergency measures type support. As the scale and pace of recovery from …

23 Nov 2021 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to encourage a modal shift to increase train passenger numbers and journeys.