Meeting of the Parliament 19 March 2026 [Draft]
I echo the First Minister’s comments regarding the work over the past week.
The tragic events that we all watched unfold serve as a stark reminder not only of the need to protect Scotland’s historic buildings but of how fragile our public transport network can be in some areas. For my constituents and those in the west of Scotland, getting to Glasgow and beyond has been extremely challenging of late. At an event that I attended yesterday, an individual from Johnstone indicated that it had taken them more than two hours to get into Glasgow in the past week.
I genuinely welcome all the efforts that have been made, especially with regard to the running of services as far as Paisley and the provision of bus services, but there has been a huge amount of congestion on the M8 as a consequence of the fire. Therefore, notwithstanding what the First Minister said, I believe that we should consider allowing transport agencies to have a greater say over activities that are undertaken near their key assets. Does the First Minister agree that that might be one way of helping to build greater resilience in Scotland’s public transport?