Born in 1946 and brought up in Cupar, Fife, I was educated at the local school -
5. George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what recent discussions ministers have had with the management of Caledonian MacBrayne and what subjects were discussed. (S3O-10071)
The Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change (Stewart Stevenson):
The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth and I last met with the chairmen of David MacBrayne Ltd and Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd in November 2009, to discuss ferry matters.
George Foulkes: Do the minister and the cabinet secretary share my concern that a publicly owned company has a tax avoidance scheme that uses a Guernsey-based subsidiary? Will the minister raise that matter with Caledonian MacBrayne and insist that it accepts full responsibility for paying employer contributions to national insurance for all its employees in the United Kingdom?
Stewart Stevenson: Mr Foulkes is sometimes not entirely wise in choosing subjects. The change that was made to create Caledonian MacBrayne Crewing (Guernsey) Ltd was, of course, entirely an initiative conducted under the previous Administration for the purposes that Mr Foulkes has just described. If he has not already done so, he will receive a written answer from me very shortly that shows that the subject has not been one on which concern has been expressed until now. However, I am interested that the Labour Party has resiled from its previous decisions.
15 April 2010
(S3O-10081) Public Transport (Fife)
4. Marilyn Livingstone (Kirkcaldy) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of its reduction in support for concessionary travel from 73.6p to 67p in the pound, which equates to a £1.3 million reduction in funding for public transport in Fife, how it will support the transport industry there. (S3O-10081)
The Presiding Officer (Alex Fergusson): I should have said that question 3 was not lodged.
The Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change (Stewart Stevenson):
That has taken me slightly by surprise, Presiding Officer.
The Scottish Government remains committed to supporting the bus industry, as was demonstrated by the recent agreement that was reached with the Confederation of Passenger Transport, which will deliver another three years of substantial investment. The change in the reimbursement rate for the national concessionary scheme is intended to deliver the agreed principle that bus operators should be no better and no worse off as a result of the scheme. The agreement with the CPT includes an increase in the separate bus service operators grant, which is intended to help the industry to drive down fares and encourage more routes—all to the benefit of the travelling public.
Marilyn Livingstone: The minister will be aware that, for the network to be maintained, local government will have to make up the shortfall with no extra funding. That equates to £25 million in cuts throughout Scotland. Without that additional funding, Fife could see a shortfall of 25 to 30 buses. Given that other parts of the United Kingdom are continuing with the reimbursement rate of 73.6p in the pound, how can the Scottish Government justify these massive cuts to a scheme for the most vulnerable people in our communities?
Stewart Stevenson: I was not aware that the rate in England was anything remotely like 73.6p in the pound—in many cases, it is substantially less than 50p in the pound. The Labour transport spokesperson pointed to the long-term sustainability issues associated with a rate of 73.6p in the pound, and we agreed to a rate of 67p in the pound. The Confederation of Passenger Transport understands that.
When the reimbursement rate was set at its original level, a significant proportion of the money was for start-up costs. The start-up period will end with the completion of the installation of electronic ticketing, which will happen in the next few weeks. It has, therefore, been appropriate to revise the figure to meet the real costs to the bus companies. The increase of 10 per cent in the bus operators grant—which is guaranteed over the next three years—will play a key role in ensuring that we sustain the important network of bus routes across Scotland.
The Presiding Officer (Alex Fergusson): I should have said that question 3 was not lodged.
The Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change (Stewart Stevenson):
That has taken me slightly by surprise, Presiding Officer.
The Scottish Government remains committed to supporting the bus industry, as was demonstrated by the recent agreement that was reached with the Confederation of Passenger Transport, which will deliver another three years of substantial investment. The change in the reimbursement rate for the national concessionary scheme is intended to deliver the agreed principle that bus operators should be no better and no worse off as a result of the scheme. The agreement with the CPT includes an increase in the separate bus service operators grant, which is intended to help the industry to drive down fares and encourage more routes—all to the benefit of the travelling public.
Marilyn Livingstone: The minister will be aware that, for the network to be maintained, local government will have to make up the shortfall with no extra funding. That equates to £25 million in cuts throughout Scotland. Without that additional funding, Fife could see a shortfall of 25 to 30 buses. Given that other parts of the United Kingdom are continuing with the reimbursement rate of 73.6p in the pound, how can the Scottish Government justify these massive cuts to a scheme for the most vulnerable people in our communities?
Stewart Stevenson: I was not aware that the rate in England was anything remotely like 73.6p in the pound—in many cases, it is substantially less than 50p in the pound. The Labour transport spokesperson pointed to the long-term sustainability issues associated with a rate of 73.6p in the pound, and we agreed to a rate of 67p in the pound. The Confederation of Passenger Transport understands that.
When the reimbursement rate was set at its original level, a significant proportion of the money was for start-up costs. The start-up period will end with the completion of the installation of electronic ticketing, which will happen in the next few weeks. It has, therefore, been appropriate to revise the figure to meet the real costs to the bus companies. The increase of 10 per cent in the bus operators grant—which is guaranteed over the next three years—will play a key role in ensuring that we sustain the important network of bus routes across Scotland.
(S3O-10083) Derelict Land (Glasgow)
2. Mr Frank McAveety (Glasgow Shettleston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth has been approached regarding the provision of additional funding to deal with derelict land sites in Glasgow. (S3O-10083)
The Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change (Stewart Stevenson):
We currently allocate Glasgow £4.5 million per annum from the vacant and derelict land fund. I can confirm that the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth has not been approached for additional funding to deal with derelict land sites in Glasgow.
Mr McAveety: I hope that, if the cabinet secretary were to be approached by Glasgow City Council, he would welcome the opportunity, because the vacant and derelict land fund relates to an agenda that the council and the Government share, which is to do with bringing in areas that have been derelict for a long time. Does the minister accept that utilising those resources would help, given that many of the transformational regeneration areas—including the M74 extension and the Commonwealth games venue development, which are in my constituency—benefit from the vacant and derelict land fund? I hope that he is willing to listen to pleas for further funding.
Stewart Stevenson: We are always willing to discuss matters of mutual interest with local authorities and others. The vacant and derelict land fund is already contributing £13.5 million to Glasgow over the period 2008 to 2011. We are also working on urban regeneration and have, so far, contributed more than £40 million to the Clyde Gateway urban regeneration company, the town centre regeneration fund and the Clyde waterfront regeneration partnership, for which 75 per cent of the £1.46 billion in funding has come from the private sector. That is a substantial public investment, but we will, of course, continue to work with interests.
Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): One of the other mechanisms that are being considered to bring in additional funding for developments in Glasgow is tax increment financing, which would stake large amounts of public money on a gamble that retail units will be filled despite the fact that we see retail units lying empty as a result of the economic circumstances of the past few years. Would it not be wildly irresponsible to approve any such tax increment finance requests at this time?
Stewart Stevenson: That is among a range of ways forward that will be considered when a business case is to hand.
The Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change (Stewart Stevenson):
We currently allocate Glasgow £4.5 million per annum from the vacant and derelict land fund. I can confirm that the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth has not been approached for additional funding to deal with derelict land sites in Glasgow.
Mr McAveety: I hope that, if the cabinet secretary were to be approached by Glasgow City Council, he would welcome the opportunity, because the vacant and derelict land fund relates to an agenda that the council and the Government share, which is to do with bringing in areas that have been derelict for a long time. Does the minister accept that utilising those resources would help, given that many of the transformational regeneration areas—including the M74 extension and the Commonwealth games venue development, which are in my constituency—benefit from the vacant and derelict land fund? I hope that he is willing to listen to pleas for further funding.
Stewart Stevenson: We are always willing to discuss matters of mutual interest with local authorities and others. The vacant and derelict land fund is already contributing £13.5 million to Glasgow over the period 2008 to 2011. We are also working on urban regeneration and have, so far, contributed more than £40 million to the Clyde Gateway urban regeneration company, the town centre regeneration fund and the Clyde waterfront regeneration partnership, for which 75 per cent of the £1.46 billion in funding has come from the private sector. That is a substantial public investment, but we will, of course, continue to work with interests.
Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): One of the other mechanisms that are being considered to bring in additional funding for developments in Glasgow is tax increment financing, which would stake large amounts of public money on a gamble that retail units will be filled despite the fact that we see retail units lying empty as a result of the economic circumstances of the past few years. Would it not be wildly irresponsible to approve any such tax increment finance requests at this time?
Stewart Stevenson: That is among a range of ways forward that will be considered when a business case is to hand.
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