Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 09 February 2022
09 Feb 2022 · S6 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
ScotRail
It is absolutely important that people are encouraged to use rail and the infrastructure that is on their doorstep. One way in which we can do that is through our conversations with local authorities. In my statement, I spoke about the importance of working with partners such as the British Transport Police, Network Rail and local authorities to ensure that people are encouraged to go back to using public transport.
I very much welcome Stuart McMillan’s question. He is right that there has been a reduction in the number of longer journeys that people are taking. Prior to the pandemic, people tended to take longer journeys, and they tended to use public transport to travel to work. That has now changed. We now see the public using rail, for example, at the weekends and for leisure purposes. They do not tend to travel to work during the week on the train or on buses in the way they did before the pandemic arose. That means that our approach as a Government to encouraging people back on to public transport needs to be nuanced. We also have to make sure that people feel safe to do it. I spoke to some of the challenges around that, which do not relate just to the pandemic.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Liam McArthur)
LD
The next item of business is a statement by Jenny Gilruth on ScotRail: a new beginning. The minister will take questions at the end of her statement, so ther...
The Minister for Transport (Jenny Gilruth)
SNP
Almost a year ago, on 17 March 2021, the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Michael Matheson, advised Parliament that, at the conclusion of the current franchi...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
LD
The minister will now take questions on the issues raised in her statement. I intend to allow 30 minutes or so, after which we will need to move to the next ...
Graham Simpson (Central Scotland) (Con)
Con
I thank the minister for advance sight of her statement and for the generous tone in which she delivered it. The statement described a “new beginning” for...
Jenny Gilruth
SNP
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...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
LD
We have a bit of time in hand, but we will need slightly more succinct questions and answers.
Neil Bibby (West Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
I thank the minister for advance sight of her statement. If this is to be a new beginning for ScotRail, there must be a new direction from Government and a ...
Jenny Gilruth
SNP
I thank Mr Bibby for his questions. As Mr Simpson did, he touched on a number of matters. I appreciate that time is short.
The Deputy Presiding Officer
LD
We have a bit of time in hand.
Jenny Gilruth
SNP
Okay. I will try to address some of Neil Bibby’s points. He talked about cuts to services, but I think that it is pragmatic to reflect on where we are with p...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
LD
About 15 members wish to ask questions and we have about 20 minutes in which to accommodate them. I hope that everybody who is participating will bear that i...
Fiona Hyslop (Linlithgow) (SNP)
SNP
I welcome the update and the decision to take ScotRail into public ownership and control. What difference will passengers and staff notice at the point of tr...
Jenny Gilruth
SNP
ScotRail will come into Scottish Government control on 1 April, which is 51 days away. At the point of transfer, we expect services to continue as normal; it...
Liam Kerr (North East Scotland) (Con)
Con
What are the total projected costs of nationalising ScotRail? When will the minister publish the forecast accounts and final accounts?
Jenny Gilruth
SNP
I thank Liam Kerr for his question on finance. The measure is being funded from the rail services in Scotland allocated RDEL—resource departmental expenditur...
Jackie Dunbar (Aberdeen Donside) (SNP)
SNP
Rail, of course, is not a fully devolved matter. Does the minister anticipate that causing challenges for the new public sector rail service? What more can b...
Jenny Gilruth
SNP
It is hugely important that we consider that the Scottish Rail Holdings approach is in line with where we are constitutionally currently. The member is absol...
Colin Smyth (South Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
It is a shame that the minister was not in listening mode last week, when she endorsed the biggest hike in rail fares in a decade and voted for 250 fewer tra...
Jenny Gilruth
SNP
Colin Smyth raises a number of important points. I think that I was actually in listening mode last week, to reflect. Will I scrap the consultation? I cannot...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
LD
Natalie Don joins us remotely. She will be followed by Beatrice Wishart. Interruption. If you could just pause, Ms Don. There seems to be something wrong wit...
Beatrice Wishart (Shetland Islands) (LD)
LD
Some 50 days before taking on the running of the railways and more than two years since the decision was taken, it is only now that the Government is startin...
Jenny Gilruth
SNP
First of all, I think that it is 31 days, but forgive me if I am wrong, Presiding Officer—I might need to correct the record on that point. Beatrice Wishart...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
LD
I understand that we do not yet have Natalie Don’s audio, so I call Stuart McMillan.
Stuart McMillan (Greenock and Inverclyde) (SNP)
SNP
The minister spoke about the changes to travel patterns. What steps will the new ScotRail Ltd take to encourage people to make both short and long journeys b...
Jenny Gilruth
SNP
It is absolutely important that people are encouraged to use rail and the infrastructure that is on their doorstep. One way in which we can do that is throug...
Tess White (North East Scotland) (Con)
Con
I welcome the minister’s comments that the Scottish Government intends to consult women and women’s groups on public transport. However, with reports of hara...
Jenny Gilruth
SNP
Tess White raises some very important points. She asks a specific question about, I think, the number of convictions. I do not have that detail in front of m...
Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green)
Green
The Greens strongly agree with the minister that a people’s ScotRail must be rooted in the experiences of passengers and of course the dedicated women and me...
Jenny Gilruth
SNP
The May 2022 timetable, which initially proposed to add, I think, 100 extra services compared to December of last year, will now, following consultation and ...
John Mason (Glasgow Shettleston) (SNP)
SNP
The minister mentioned passengers, freight, the unions, decarbonisation and safety for passengers. Does she have one overriding aim for the railways?