Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 03 February 2022
The result of the vote on motion S6M-03044, in the name of Neil Bibby, on a people’s ScotRail, as amended, is: For 67, Against 53, Abstentions 0.
Motion, as amended, agreed to,
That the Parliament welcomes the return of ScotRail to the public sector; considers the new public sector operator to be critical in securing modal shift and affordable, accessible and reliable rail services for Scotland’s passengers; notes the vital role that ScotRail staff and workers will play in delivering these new services and thanks them for all that they have done to keep rail services running throughout the COVID-19 pandemic; welcomes that staff will transfer with their current terms and conditions, will benefit from public sector pay policy, and that any pay deals already agreed for 2022-23 will be honoured; further welcomes the investment by the Scottish Government to decarbonise and expand Scotland’s railways, including £1 billion to electrify 441 kilometres of track and improve infrastructure, benefiting more than 35 million passenger journeys across Scotland each year, a record £4.85 billion allocated, including ongoing electrification and decarbonisation, over £9 billion of investment by the Scottish Government since 2007 helping to reconnect 14 communities to the rail network, with five more to be reconnected in the next three years, and over £555 million to sustain services and jobs throughout the pandemic; laments that the Scottish Labour Party joined with the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party to vote against a draft Scottish budget for 2022-23, which increased expenditure and investment in Scotland’s rail services; welcomes that rail fares in Scotland are still on average 20% lower than across the rest of Great Britain, and that, from May, there will be 150 more rail services than have been running since December 2021, with 25 services being reintroduced following the recent consultation on timetable changes; recognises that there has been widespread public and stakeholder interest in the ScotRail consultation on ticket office availability, but notes that the consultation only closed on 2 February 2022 and responses are therefore still to be reviewed; further notes that the fair fares review will explore what more can be done to ensure that fares across all modes of public transport are equitable and sustainable; agrees that the culture of ScotRail Trains Ltd will be founded on fair work; recognises the key role that a publicly owned and controlled rail service will play in the future to help transform Scotland’s economy, to cut emissions from transport, deliver on the climate change targets and create a fairer, greener Scotland, and calls for the full devolution of rail from the UK Parliament, including Network Rail, in order to operate a wholly publicly owned, fully integrated rail network in Scotland.
Meeting closed at 17:23.Motions, questions or amendments mentioned by their reference code.