(S3O-10519) Access for All Small Schemes Fund

6. Shirley-Anne Somerville (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Government what representations it has made to the United Kingdom Government regarding proposed cuts to the access for all small schemes fund. (S3O-10519)

The Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change (Stewart Stevenson):

I wrote to Chris Mole, then Under Secretary of State for Transport, on 13 April 2010 expressing my disappointment at the budget reduction, and urged him to reconsider the decision.

Shirley-Anne Somerville: I thank the minister for that answer. He will already know that the access for all small schemes fund has made a small but very significant contribution to increasing access to our rail network for some of the most vulnerable in our society. From hand rails and variable height ticket counters to access ramps and sign language information, a lot of good progress has been made using that fund. However, much still needs to be done. May I therefore ask the minister to make further representations to the new UK Government to ensure that this decision, made in the death throes of the Labour Government is reversed as soon as possible?

Stewart Stevenson: The access for all small schemes fund for 2010-11, which is provided by the Department for Transport at UK level, was originally set in October 2009 at £7.9 million. We received the information that it was being reduced to £3.9 million and the consequence was that our share fell from £796,000 to £390,000. As the member said, some of the most vulnerable people in our society are supported by this modest amount of money. It seems passing strange that a party whose rhetoric was committed to social justice should choose to make this small financial cut that will have a big impact. I will most certainly approach the new minister to see whether there can be a change of heart.