Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 09 February 2022
Mr Simpson covered a number of points in his questions, which I will address in turn.
I welcome his reception of my offer to other parties, particularly his party. On the specific question about regular meetings, I am more than happy to commit to that. I see the vision for us moving forward into public ownership as being part of the whole Parliament’s responsibility. It is my responsibility as transport minister, but I want other parties to play a part in the process and to feel that they have had an opportunity to contribute and, at times, to critique, because that is their role.
On the specific question about the East Kilbride line, I appreciate that my predecessor gave Mr Simpson an assurance on that point. I am more than happy to meet Mr Simpson and others on the specifics regarding dualling of the line. He will appreciate that I am not sighted on the detail of that decision, but I am more than happy to sit down with him to discuss it.
With regard to fares and the recent fare increases, Graham Simpson raised a challenging point for the Government about the sustainability of public transport. Despite the fares increase, our fares in Scotland are still 20 per cent lower than fares across the rest of the UK. I do not think that that is an answer for us going forward, but it is a statement of fact. We need to facilitate people getting back on to our trains. Part of that conversation is happening through, for example, our fair fares review, to which the previous transport minister committed. It also gives us an opportunity to look at how we might join up, across the public transport network, journeys that are not currently joined up.
Mr Simpson asked a question about no compulsory redundancies. I will meet the unions tomorrow on that very matter. I do not want to prejudge the outcome of that meeting, but I cannot imagine that that is something that the Government would ever seek to take forward as we bring a company into public ownership. I gave a steer on that in last week’s debate; I hope that that gives him some reassurance, but I want to speak to the unions about the matter. There are a number of other issues that we will need to unpack in the course of that meeting, and I will be happy to discuss that in further detail with Mr Simpson when we meet to discuss the specific matter of the East Kilbride line.
Graham Simpson also asked about a return to pre-pandemic service levels. Of course, I would love to wave a wand and get rid of the pandemic, but I got the train from Markinch to Edinburgh this morning at 8 o’clock and it was not even half full. When I was getting that train two years ago, there was standing room only. Something has changed in how people use public transport: they are scared to return to using public transport because of the pandemic. I hope that we are now getting to a better place and that the First Minister’s update to Parliament yesterday gives people more confidence, as we move forward.
However, as a Government, we need to work on our messaging, in order to encourage people back to public transport, so that they can use it safely and support public ownership of Scotland’s trains—their being back in Scotland’s hands.