Seòmar agus comataidhean

Jenny Gilruth: The Scottish Government ambitions for future investment in rural transport infrastructure are included in the 45 draft recommendations within the second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2 ), published on the 20 January 2022. The recommendations form the future transport infrastructure investment priorities for Scotland over the next twenty years and cover the whole country with a focus on active travel; bus priority; getting more freight onto rail; improving the safety and resilience of the transport network and the decarbonisation of the transport system. STPR2 provides the necessary evidence base required to help secure the future funding of these projects, including those that have potential to transform the way we travel in rural areas.

More specifically, STPR2 recommends investment in Demand Responsive Transport and Mobility as a Service (MaaS) to support improved public transport connectivity, including in rural areas where conventional fixed route services may not be suitable or viable. In addition, much of Scotland’s rural population resides in towns and villages and there are a number of draft active travel recommendations for these settlements. This includes connecting towns and villages, improving active travel on trunk roads through communities and long distance active travel networks.

Investing in our Trunk Road and Motorway network is important in order to improve safety and resilience of the network for the communities and businesses of Scotland. STPR2 recommendations for strategic roads focus on safety, climate change adaptation and resilience. For safety improvements these will be a primary, but not exclusive, focused on rural sections. Specifically for South West Scotland, STPR2 recommends that safety, resilience and reliability improvements are made on the A75 and A77 strategic road corridors, in turn supporting placemaking opportunities. While to encourage greater use of public transport and support wider town regeneration proposals, STPR2 recommends that consideration should also be given to upgrading or relocating Stranraer rail station.

Ukrainians who arrive in Scotland and wish to undertake a course of study in Further or Higher Education will be entitled to home tuition fee status and living cost support for the duration of their studies.

The Scottish Government has also established a new £1 million International Students’ Emergency Fund, which will be open to all international students facing financial hardship as a result of a significant change of circumstances. Ukrainian students who are presently undertaking their course of study in Scotland will be eligible to apply.

The Scottish Government through Transport Scotland provide annual funding to Energy Saving Trust (EST) to deliver the Switched-on Taxi Loan scheme on behalf of Scottish Ministers.

a) To date the Switched-on Taxi Loan scheme has received 920 applications with a value of £37,822,348.

b) To date the Switched-on Taxi Loan scheme has offered 662 loans worth £22,859,952 to taxi owners and operators who have passed the credit, affordability and eligibility checks. Owners/operators who are unsuccessful are given the opportunity to appeal the decision directly with EST.

c) To date Switched-on Taxi Loan scheme has paid 574 applications to the value of £22,859,952. The remaining 88 applicants are finalising documentation or awaiting confirmed delivery dates for their new vehicles.

The Scottish Government welcomes the research of the Dog’s Trust National Survey, and we will continue to engage with our stakeholders to improve animal welfare.

I would also like to refer the member to the answer to question S6W-07415 on 29 March 2022 regarding their query on engagement between Scottish Government and UK Government in relation to the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill.

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-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

The Scottish Government, through Transport Scotland and its delivery partner Energy Saving Trust (EST), undertake a full review and evaluation of the Switched-on Taxi Loan Scheme at the end of each financial year. A decision on the future of this scheme will be made shortly.

To promote the loan scheme, EST undertakes comprehensive sector outreach each year, which includes sector events, business referrals, and the publication and dissemination of information and advice, including Vehicle Comparison reports to highlight the benefits of switching to an electric taxi.

On the day the report was published on 8 March, the First Minister welcomed the recommendations and thanked Baroness Helena Kennedy and the working group for their efforts over the past year. The First Minister made clear the issues raised in the report are pivotal in challenging society’s tolerance of misogyny and sending a clear message that male attitudes that emanate from prejudice and misogyny have no place in a modern, equal Scotland.

The Scottish Government is considering the detailed recommendations with a view to ensuring that any provisions proposed for legislation in due course are workable and can meet the expectations of, and intentions behind, the working group’s report.

We will provide our initial response to the report in the coming weeks and will outline the next steps then.

I can confirm that the legal position has been considered and I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-06967 which sets out that the provisions in the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 were subject to policy and legal scrutiny and that there is no legal issue arising from this matter.

The content of any legal advice is confidential. By long-standing convention, successive Scottish and Westminster Governments have not disclosed the content of legal advice other than in the most exceptional circumstances.

At present, in Scotland a new constable will start on a salary of £26,737, and we understand that in England and Wales the lowest starting salary for a graduate is £21,654, and £19,164 for a PCDA (Police Constable Degree Apprentice).

More information on Police Officer salaries in Scotland can be found on the Police Scotland website using the following link: Pay and Grading Structure - Police Scotland

Zero Waste Scotland has advised that it intends to publish the Operational Assessment of Alternative Residual Waste Treatment Technologies Report in July this year.

The Report will be peer reviewed. Zero Waste Scotland is currently finalising arrangements for this.

No notifications have been received by the Building Standards Division since the April 2021 update to the Building Standards Technical Handbooks.