Portfolio Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament at 2:30 pm on 12 December 2024.
Jeremy Balfour
Conservative
2:30,
12 December 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to enhance regional transport partnerships over the coming year. (S6O-04118)
Fiona Hyslop
Scottish National Party
Transport Scotland supports regional transport partnerships and local authorities in their role to strengthen the planning and delivery of regional developments. This year, we are providing funding to regional transport partnerships to help them to develop locally targeted interventions that help to encourage and enable people to walk, wheel and cycle more in their neighbourhoods. They also play a central role in delivering the programme as funding recipients, allowing them to allocate funds to local projects.
Transport Scotland continues to engage with regional transport partnerships, which are all quite different in their requirements, on opportunities to increase accessibility, availability and affordability of public transport.
Jeremy Balfour
Conservative
As Stephen Kerr just pointed out, figures that were revealed to us show that Sustrans received £97.9 million from the Scottish Government. That is at a time when the City of Edinburgh Council cannot deal with the potholes in our city. Does the Cabinet secretary believe that it would be more effective to give the money to the City of Edinburgh Council to fix the potholes, rather than wasting money on an unelected body?
Fiona Hyslop
Scottish National Party
The original question was about regional transport partnerships, not the City of Edinburgh Council specifically. Councils have responsibility, with funding coming from the Scottish Government, and councils make their decisions about what they fund locally.
Our funding for transport has gone up. For the first time ever, it will be more than £4 billion, and more than £1 billion of that will be in our trunk road developments. As for our funding and support, we will ensure that the regional transport partnerships—which, as the member will be aware, consist of a board comprising a number of different councils tasked with taking regional approaches—will continue to be supported.
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.
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