- Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Submitting member has a registered interest.
-
Date lodged: Monday, 12 July 2021
-
Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 23 July 2021
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-00829 by Graeme Dey on 28 June 2021, what recent advice it has received from the (a) Maritime and Coastguard Agency and (b) other regulatory authorities on the safety of the MV Pentalina to operate on routes in the current contract for Clyde and Hebrides ferry services.
Answer
Further to question S6W-00829, the Scottish Government has not taken any advice from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) or other regulatory authorities on the safety of the MV Pentalina to operate on routes on the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services (CHFS) network.
- Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Submitting member has a registered interest.
-
Date lodged: Monday, 12 July 2021
-
Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 23 July 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) passenger and (b) vehicle carrying capacity is on the MV (a) Pentalina and (b) Alfred after the requirement for one-metre physical distancing is taken into account.
Answer
The Scottish Government is not aware of the capacity of vessels owned by Pentland Ferries, the MV Pentalina or MV Alfred as a result of physical distancing requirements and mitigations.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 July 2021
-
Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 23 July 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what the most recent estimate is of the cost of the A92/A96 Haudagain roundabout improvements scheme; when this estimate was made and whether it will publish all the previous estimates that have been made for this project, broken down by the (a) date of the estimate and (b) reasons for any increase in the cost.
Answer
I can confirm that construction cost for this project is currently estimated to be £18m, which is well within the 2014 construction cost estimate of £26m.
Construction cost updates for the project are published on the Scottish Government website every 6 months via the Major Capital Projects update.
- Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Submitting member has a registered interest.
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 July 2021
-
Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 23 July 2021
To ask the Scottish Government for what reasons the Cycle to Work scheme has not been made available to ScotRail employees for 2021-22.
Answer
ScotRail’s Cycle to Work scheme has been made available to employees up until end of June 2021, at which point the previous Abellio ScotRail contract with its supplier came to an end.
The Scottish Government has agreed that a replacement scheme should be put in place from April 2022 when ScotRail staff will transfer to the Scottish Government’s new company, ScotRail Trains Ltd.
- Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Submitting member has a registered interest.
-
Date lodged: Monday, 12 July 2021
-
Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 23 July 2021
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-00824 by Graeme Dey on 28 June 2021, what the (a) passenger and (b) vehicle capacity is of each vessel listed after the one-metre physical distancing requirement is taken into account.
Answer
Further to question S6W-00824, the constrained passenger and vehicle carrying capacity with 1 metre mitigations in place for the vessels listed, are detailed in the following table.
Vessel | Passenger Capacity (1m) | Vehicle Capacity ** | Deck Space (metres) |
MV Caledonian Isles | 276 | 92 PCU | 150 m |
MV Coruisk * | 150 # | 35 PCU | 70 m |
MV Isle of Arran * | 79 | 55 PCU | 103 m |
MV Isle of Mull | 218 | 66 PCU | 150 m |
MV Loch Seaforth | 304 | 130 PCU | 372 m |
MV Finlaggan | 206 | 79 PCU | 180 m |
MV Herbridean Isles | 118 | 60 PCU | 125 m |
* Summer timetable only
# This includes MCA dispensation allowing 100 passengers to remain in their vehicles on the car deck
** Maximum capacity for cars, this can vary dependant on operational requirements and if mezzanine deck is deployed (where applicable)
Physical distancing does not restrain the deck capacity, either in metre or PCU (passenger car unit). The limitations is on passenger capacity. Vehicle capacity will vary dependant on the combination of type of vehicles and number of occupants per individual vehicle.
- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 July 2021
-
Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 23 July 2021
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-00672 by Graeme Dey on 7 July 2021, what its position is on conducting analysis on the potential increase in microplastic waste from electric vehicles, and whether it will commit to carrying out such analysis ahead of the phasing out of the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles.
Answer
Regulations relating to the construction of road vehicles and tyres remain matters reserved to the UK Government.
The Scottish Government continues to monitor applied research into issues relating to zero emission vehicles, we have not yet conducted specific analysis in the potential increase in microplastic waste from electric vehicles.
The Scottish Government is aware there are still significant knowledge gaps to fill before it is possible to have a robust understanding of the risks posed by microplastics to the Scottish environment and we will play our part in filling these knowledge gaps.
- Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Submitting member has a registered interest.
-
Date lodged: Monday, 12 July 2021
-
Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 23 July 2021
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-00829 by Graeme Dey on 28 June 2021, whether it has discussed with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency the (a) existence and (b) functioning of the onboard safety committee on the MV Pentalina.
Answer
The Scottish Government has not entered into any dialogue with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) regarding the existence or functioning of an on-board safety committee on the MV Pentalina. Any such discussion would be between the vessel’s owner, Pentland Ferries and the MCA.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 July 2021
-
Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 23 July 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the timescale for the completion of the A92/A96 Haudagain roundabout improvements.
Answer
The construction of the A92/A96 Haudagain Improvement project is progressing well and is anticipated to be complete in winter 2021 as confirmed in the Infrastructure Investment Plan update published in December 2020.
This date is subject to any unforeseen circumstances such as the effects of exceptional weather.
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 July 2021
-
Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 23 July 2021
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Scottish National Party manifesto commitment to provide free bikes for all children of school age who cannot afford them, what the eligibility criteria are for children to access the scheme.
Answer
We are currently considering options for pilots. These pilots will test out how to successfully rollout a programme of free bikes to school age children who cannot afford them, including what the eligibility criteria should be for children to access the scheme.
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 July 2021
-
Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 23 July 2021
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Scottish National Party manifesto commitment to provide free bikes for all children of school age who cannot afford them, whether such children will be able to access this scheme during 2021.
Answer
Access to the scheme in 2021 will initially be through pilot projects as set out in our ‘First Steps’ document.