Colin Smyth

13 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-20822 by Michael Matheson on 24 January 2019, whether any additional steps have been taken to prepare for the use of an operator of last resort for the ScotRail franchise (a) in the last year, (b) since the remedial notice was issued on 24 December …

Answer · Michael Matheson: Transport Scotland continues to keep under review the two Operator of Last Resort (OLR) companies and necessary documentation that is in place to ensure that a state of readiness is maintained in the event that either of the two current Scottish franchise ope…

13 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-20184 by Michael Matheson on 13 December 2018, when it will provide the information that was requested.

Answer · Michael Matheson: In the first year of the ScotRail Franchise no Committed Obligation Payment Adjustments were incurred. The second year Transport Scotland received £875,219.14, reducing to £466,941.84 in the third year. The Committed Obligation Payment Adjustments in the curr…

11 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what routine assessments it has undertaken of the suitability of bidders for the 2019-27 Northern Isles Ferry Services contract.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The pre-qualifying stage of the competition for the on-going Northern Isles Ferry Services involved inviting expressions of interest and asking prospective bidders to complete the European Single Procurement Document (ESPD). The ESPD allows bidders to provide…

11 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its latest estimate is for the annual amount of subsidy that will be paid to Serco NorthLink in each year from 5 July 2012 to 31 October 2019 under the current Northern Isles Ferry Services contract.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-16302 on 26 February 2019 which details the amount of subsidy paid to Serco NorthLink Ferries from contract year one to contract year five (July 2012 – June 2017). The Scottish Government paid Serco NorthLink …

23 Jan 2019 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to maximise the benefits of Robert Burns' legacy in the South Scotland region.

17 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to the fourth supplementary to question S5O-02769 by Mairi Gougeon on 16 January 2019 (Official Report, c. 29), regarding its plans for legislation, whether this is a new consultation, and, if so, when it will be launched, and what its scope will be.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: During a Food and Drink parliamentary debate in September 2018, we undertook to introduce legislation to underpin the excellent work already being done to deliver the Good Food Nation ambition. The Good Food Nation Proposals for Legislation consultation launc…

17 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an annual estimate of the value of the 2019-27 contract for Northern Isles Ferry Services by (a) subsidy and (b) passenger fares revenue.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The total value of the eight-year contract is estimated at some £370 million of public subsidy required to cover the costs of operating the ferry services. This equates to an average contract value per annum of some £46.2 million. A more detailed breakdown of…

17 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which procurement technique it will use for the competitive tender of the 2019-27 contract for Northern Isles Ferry Services, and whether it will publish a procurement timetable for this.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The procurement will use the Restricted Procedure. Bids are currently required to be submitted by 28 March, with a view to awarding a contract in August, ahead of the new ferry service commencing on 31 October 2019.

17 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it will take to facilitate discussions between trade unions and bidders for the Northern Isles Ferry Services contract.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Bidders have been supplied with information and data related to union representation, collective bargaining, staffing and crewing numbers, terms and conditions of employment and pension provision. Bidders are required to make their own arrangements to engage …

17 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the introduction of smart ticketing services for passengers on each route operated as part of the public contracts for (a) Clyde and Hebrides, (b) Gourock-Dunoon and (c) Northern Isles ferry services.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Current proposals for the introduction of smart ticketing, as outlined by CalMac in their tender bid for the Clyde and Hebrides ferry service contract, are currently under discussion with Transport Scotland. With the incorporation of the Gourock-Dunoon ferry …

17 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the specifications in the contract that it has put out to tender for Northern Isles Ferry Services from October 2019, and what the final deadline is for the submission of bids.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Invitation to Tender, which includes the specification for the next contract, will be published on Transport Scotland’s website in due course. Bids are currently required to be submitted by 28 March 2019.

17 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which freight vessels it has recommended to bidders as part of the 2019-27 Northern Isles Ferry Services contract.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The current freight vessels, the MV Helliar and MV Hildasay have been made available to bidders. Bidders can also propose alternative vessels.

15 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to record centrally data regarding the number of people with interstitial lung disease.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Responsibility for central data collection on health lies mainly with the Information Services Division of the NHS (ISD). ISD regularly review the nationally collected data with stakeholders, to justify the benefits of any data collection. Data sets are subje…

15 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that clinicians dealing with interstitial lung disease follow the NICE guidelines, and what its position is on producing its own guidelines.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Clinical practice is a matter for clinicians and service delivery for Health Boards and Integration Authorities. Clinicians will use up to date clinical guidelines in providing care and treatment for interstitial lung disease, including those published by NIC…

15 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people with interstitial lung disease accessed pulmonary rehabilitation in (a) 2017 and (b) 2018.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The information requested is not held centrally. Information on the number of hospital discharges per year for the last 5 years in Scotland for interstitial lung disease was provided in response to S5W-20839 on 23 January 2019. All answers to written parliame…

15 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to introduce quality standards for caring for people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-20842 on 16 January 2019. 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…

15 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the NICE protocols and guidelines for the treatment of interstitial lung that are used by local managed clinical networks and the National Advisory Group for Respiratory Managed Clinical Networks.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The guidelines set by NICE on the treatment of interstitial lung disease are already published and can be found at: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg163 .  

8 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether its respiratory action plan will recommend that GPs receive more training on interstitial lung disease.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Respiratory Care Action Plan for Scotland is in the early stages of development, and work is being taken forward with a wide range of stakeholders across the respiratory community and third sector. The Plan will set out the main priorities to support NHS …

8 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to raise public awareness of interstitial lung disease and its symptoms, diagnosis and treatment.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: NHS Inform is Scotland's national health information service that aims to provide people with accurate and relevant information to help them make informed decisions about their own health. This includes information about symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of i…

8 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people in Scotland are diagnosed with interstitial lung disease.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The information requested is not held centrally. However, the number of hospital discharges per year for the last 5 years in Scotland for interstitial lung disease is available. Note that the same person may be counted more than once in these figures and that…

8 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent in the current parliamentary session on raising public awareness of interstitial lung disease and its symptoms, diagnosis and treatment.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-20840 on 16 January 2019. 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…

7 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5T-01427 by Michael Matheson on 8 January 2019 (Official Report, c.4), whether it will publish the remedial action plan that it has agreed with ScotRail; how it will monitor the implementation of the plan, and by what date it will publish its assessmen…

Answer · Michael Matheson: Transport Scotland officials will consider publication of the remedial plan on receipt and agree a monitoring process with ScotRail to assess its performance and whether it is actually delivering on the plan that has been submitted. Until Transport Scotland h…

7 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5T-01427 by Michael Matheson on 8 January 2019 (Official Report, c.4), whether it has identified a body to act as an operator of last resort if the ScotRail franchise is terminated early and, if so, whether it will confirm which organisation this will …

Answer · Michael Matheson: Scottish Ministers have in place two Operator of Last Resort (OLR) companies with the required licenses, to be utilised in the event that either of the two current Scottish franchise operations requires to be operated by an OLR company to ensure continuity of…

7 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5T-01427 by Michael Matheson on 8 January 2019 (Official Report, c.4), whether the remedial action plan will allow ScotRail to reduce the number of (a) carriages available compared with the current franchise agreement and (b) timetabled services availa…

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Franchise Contract between Scottish Ministers and Abellio specifies the service level that is required to be delivered by the Franchisee and the requirement to operate the entire train fleet in delivering the passenger services. Transport Scotland continu…

7 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the introduction of the road equivalent tariff on the Scrabster-Stromness ferry route.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government is engaging with the European Commission following a complaint made on 8 June 2018 regarding our plans to reduce ferry fares to the Northern Isles. Officials met with Commission officials in Brussels on 12 November 2018. The Scottish …

7 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the publication of its draft Budget, whether it will provide an update on its replacement and investment strategy for vessels on publicly subsidised ferry contracts.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: High level indicative investment programmes for vessels and harbours were set out in the Ferries Plan 2013-2022 – these were and remain subject to affordability and changing priorities. The most recent version of the Vessel Replacement and Deployment Plan wa…

7 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much Serco NorthLink will raise from passenger fares from the extension of the Northern Isles Ferry Services contract from April 2018 to October 2019, and how much would have been raised without the introduction of road equivalent tariff on most routes from 29 June 2018.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Serco NorthLink Ferries is a commercial operator. As such, any financial information in relation to the amount of revenue raised from passenger fares during the extension of the Northern Isles Ferry Services contract and how much would have been raised withou…

7 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what the (a) cost and (b) length of delay will be of the delivery of the contract between Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd and Fergusons Marine Engineering Ltd for two new hybrid-fuel ferries.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The two ferries were procured by Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) through open competition to a design and build specification at a fixed price of £97m. Ferguson Marine Engineering Ltd (FMEL) has recently submitted a contractual claim to CMAL. CMAL is c…

7 Jan 2019 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken in response to recent delays and cancellations on the ScotRail network.

17 Dec 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason Support for Bus Services, as set out at Table 10.06 of its draft Budget, proposes a fall from £64.2 million in 2018-19 to £57.2 million in 2019-20.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The budget of £64.2 million in 2018-19 included £54.2 million, primarily for the Bus Service Operator Grant, as well as a one-off allocation of £10.0 million of financial transaction loan facilities which were not used. In respect of 2019-20, the budget maint…