Statement: Future of Scotland’s Railways

The Presiding Officer (Tricia Marwick): The next item of business is a statement by Keith Brown on the future of Scotland’s railways. The minister will take questions at the end of his statement.

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Stewart Stevenson (Banffshire and Buchan Coast) (SNP): I welcome the substantial staff improvements and new jobs that will come with the new franchise: the living wage, trade unions on the board, 100 new apprentices and the protection of pensions and travel rights. Is it not the case that we must move ahead urgently to deliver those things for staff now, rather than have staff wait for years—perhaps forever—for new railway powers to come to the Scottish Parliament? It is simply not the time to put Scotland on hold, especially for an indeterminate period.

The Minister for Transport and Veterans (Keith Brown): Stewart Stevenson is exactly right. It strikes me that people like Mark Griffin have to try to get over the fact that they were on the winning side in the referendum. Power over these things rests at Westminster. There is no guarantee of powers—I do not know whether Mark Griffin signed the petition to make sure that we get extra powers. If we were to delay or cancel the contract, that would impact on the new trains that we are ordering, on fares, on the benefits of the new services—reduced fares would not apply—and on the enhanced benefits for staff, including there being no compulsory redundancies in the whole term of the contract and the living wage being paid to every member of staff, whether they are subcontracted or directly employed. Those are real advances for the people who serve the customers. There are also real advances for the customers themselves.

People in Scotland will be interested in the Labour Party’s opposition to this material advance for fare-paying passengers and the staff who provide the services.

(S4O-03434) Commonwealth Games 2018

Stewart Stevenson (Banffshire and Buchan Coast) (SNP): 4. To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the assertion in the International Business Times about an independent Scotland’s participation in the 2018 Commonwealth games. (S4O-03434)

The Cabinet Secretary for Commonwealth Games, Sport, Equalities and Pensioners’ Rights (Shona Robison): Scotland is already a member of the Commonwealth through the United Kingdom and so already meets the essential requirements. Following a vote for independence, the Scottish Government will initiate steps to ensure Scotland’s distinct membership as swiftly as possible.

Scotland is one of only six countries to have competed in every Commonwealth games, and I look forward to seeing Scotland compete at the Gold Coast games in 2018 and at every future games.

Stewart Stevenson: I hope to join the successful team in competing in 2018. More realistically, does the cabinet secretary think that we have laid the foundations for an even bigger success in 2018—using the powers of independence, of course?

Shona Robison: We already have a fantastic world-class sporting system through the sportscotland Institute of Sport, which oversaw £50 million of investment in sporting performance in the previous funding period.

That investment led to a fantastic performance—53 medals, including 19 gold medals—at the Glasgow Commonwealth games. That will be a tough target to exceed at the Gold Coast games in 2018, but through support for our elite athletes, which will of course continue post independence, we will ensure that they continue to excel on the world sporting stage.

Statement: Scottish Climate Change Adaptation Programme

Stewart Stevenson (Banffshire and Buchan Coast) (SNP): I draw members’ attention to my entry in the register of members’ interests in relation to my membership of the Institute of Advanced Motorists.

On objective B3-12, on “Improving driver skills”, is the minister aware that driving 10mph slower delivers 10 per cent cash savings and 10 per cent emissions savings for only a 2 to 3 per cent average speed reduction on journeys? Will the minister commission work to identify how we might develop a response to that in a Scottish context?

The Minister for Environment and Climate Change (Paul Wheelhouse): I know that Stewart Stevenson has a long-standing, close interest in the issue. Yes, reducing speed will have a benefit in reducing emissions through fuel-efficient driving. We are enabling people to become responsible drivers, reducing emissions, not just through speed control but through other measures such as gear selection to drive more efficiently.

We have funded the Energy Saving Trust to provide 2,000 FuelGood sessions this year. We are also continuing to examine demand to ensure that we can support as many drivers as possible.

On the specific issue about whether to commission work, I will have a discussion with Keith Brown on the matter, as it cuts across his portfolio interests. I promise to raise the issue with Mr Brown to see whether there is any possibility of examining what the impact could be on our climate emission targets.