General Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament am ar 10 Hydref 2024.
Ross Greer
Green
To ask the Scottish Government what would be required for the frequency of service on the Milngavie rail line to return to quarter-hourly throughout the day, as was the case before the Covid-19 pandemic. (S6O-03838)
Fiona Hyslop
Scottish National Party
As was discussed with Ross Greer during our meeting last year, Milngavie station is well served under the regular timetable, which was reintroduced on Monday this week. There are two trains per hour throughout the day, which increases to four trains per hour in peak times. The current service provision reflects passenger demand in the peak and off-peak periods.
Ross Greer
Green
I am grateful for the time that the Cabinet secretary and her officials took to speak to me last year. My question was about what would be required for the Milngavie line to return to its pre-pandemic timetable of four trains an hour throughout the day. Until the pandemic, there clearly was the patronage to support that, and I am interested to find out what would be required for us to return to that. I recognise that we are not at that stage yet; I am simply asking the Government to explain what would be required for us to return to four trains an hour throughout the day and not just at peak times.
Fiona Hyslop
Scottish National Party
The member might be aware that ScotRail assessed timetables to identify how we could maximise usage and meet customer needs. However, sometimes, after availability and a cost benefit analysis have been taken into account, it is not always possible to give everybody what they want at every opportunity. I know that reliability of services is important to regular users of train services. In terms of additional resources, such as fleet and drivers, ScotRail will continue to keep the matter under review. As for the member’s ambitions, he has to recognise that we are still moving past the Covid period in terms of patronage both on buses, which we just discussed, and on rail.
Pam Gosal
Ceidwadwyr
Although I am glad to hear that the temporary timetable is finally no longer in place, commuters from my local area of Milngavie are now forced to pay £7.10 instead of £4.80 for a service to Glasgow during peak times. The Government has also put forward a plan to reduce car kilometres by 20 per cent by 2030. How does the Scottish Government expect to reduce car travel when it has made public transport more costly?
Alison Johnstone
Green
That question was fairly expansive in relation to the substantive question. You may respond on the substantive point, Cabinet secretary.
Fiona Hyslop
Scottish National Party
Help for passengers to use rail more often includes the introduction of discounts of 20 per cent on weekly season tickets, monthly season tickets and annual season tickets. If people go from Glasgow to Milngavie, or in the other direction, four days per week with a monthly season ticket, the cost per day can be £4.60. If people use a flexipass, which allows six return journeys over a 60-day period and can help people who are hybrid working, that cost is only £4.78. I am sure that, after I sent members a letter that provided sample costs when people use the discounts, Pam Gosal and other MSPs will have promoted those discounts and circulated that information to their constituents.
Alison Johnstone
Green
We move to question 3. Let us keep our questions and responses concise.
Question Time is an opportunity for MPs and Members of the House of Lords to ask Government Ministers questions. These questions are asked in the Chamber itself and are known as Oral Questions. Members may also put down Written Questions. In the House of Commons, Question Time takes place for an hour on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays after Prayers. The different Government Departments answer questions according to a rota and the questions asked must relate to the responsibilities of the Government Department concerned. In the House of Lords up to four questions may be asked of the Government at the beginning of each day's business. They are known as 'starred questions' because they are marked with a star on the Order Paper. Questions may also be asked at the end of each day's business and these may include a short debate. They are known as 'unstarred questions' and are less frequent. Questions in both Houses must be written down in advance and put on the agenda and both Houses have methods for selecting the questions that will be asked. Further information can be obtained from factsheet P1 at the UK Parliament site.
The cabinet is the group of twenty or so (and no more than 22) senior government ministers who are responsible for running the departments of state and deciding government policy.
It is chaired by the prime minister.
The cabinet is bound by collective responsibility, which means that all its members must abide by and defend the decisions it takes, despite any private doubts that they might have.
Cabinet ministers are appointed by the prime minister and chosen from MPs or peers of the governing party.
However, during periods of national emergency, or when no single party gains a large enough majority to govern alone, coalition governments have been formed with cabinets containing members from more than one political party.
War cabinets have sometimes been formed with a much smaller membership than the full cabinet.
From time to time the prime minister will reorganise the cabinet in order to bring in new members, or to move existing members around. This reorganisation is known as a cabinet re-shuffle.
The cabinet normally meets once a week in the cabinet room at Downing Street.
