General Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament at on 9 January 2025.
Pam Duncan-Glancy
Labour
To ask the Scottish Government what support is available to taxi drivers in Glasgow to help them comply with the low-emission zone. (S6O-04177)
Fiona Hyslop
Scottish National Party
Comprehensive support has been provided to help the taxi trade to adapt to low-emission zones. In the Glasgow region, £3.4 million has been provided through the LEZ retrofit fund for taxi operators to upgrade their existing vehicles. More than 400 taxis have been retrofitted to the LEZ emission standard as a result.
The LEZ support fund also provides a cash scrappage grant for microbusinesses. More than 700 vehicles in the Glasgow region, many of which are taxis, have been disposed of through the scheme. The switched-on taxis loan has provided more than £5.5 million in interest-free loans since 2016 to support Glasgow based hackney and private-hire operators to purchase new and used electric taxis.
Pam Duncan-Glancy
Labour
Taxi drivers in Glasgow are keen to play their part in the transition to net zero, but at present they struggle to access some support to comply with the low-emission zone in the city, particularly with the liquidation of Vehicle Repowering Solutions, one of only two companies that offered retrofits under the clean vehicle retrofit accreditation scheme.
I previously wrote to the Cabinet secretary to raise taxi drivers’ concerns, but the issue remains. Will she meet me and representatives of the taxi industry to address their concerns?
Fiona Hyslop
Scottish National Party
As the member knows from previous correspondence, we proactively dealt with those taxi drivers. When the problem with the supplier occurred, taxi operators who had a retrofit grant offer for liquid petroleum gas conversion were given the option to change to an alternative taxi retrofit supplier. Some operators have already taken up that offer.
The Energy Saving Trust wrote to all affected operators and invited any taxi operators who faced losing a deposit to contact the trust if they were unable to reclaim their deposit. However, none did so. Glasgow City Council also offered affected taxi operators further time-limited exemptions to LEZ enforcement.
If there are continuing issues, notwithstanding what is already happening, I am concerned. If Pam Duncan-Glancy writes to me with illustrations of those continuing issues, we will be able to identify the best resolution and set up a meeting if necessary. However, as I said, the Energy Saving Trust and Glasgow City Council have done proactive work on the issue.
Sue Webber
Conservative
Last month, Glasgow City Council announced a consultation that could, ultimately, lead to the current cap on cab numbers being scrapped, retained or reviewed. Considering the fact that the LEZ has already undermined Glasgow’s late-night economy, does the Cabinet secretary accept that a reduction in cab numbers might further damage that sector?
Fiona Hyslop
Scottish National Party
Clearly, the licensing of taxi drivers is an issue for local authorities. I assume that the Conservatives do not want to centralise that.
There is an issue on footfall. Earlier in 2024, it was recognised that there had been no reduction in footfall in Glasgow. Any subsequent reduction in footfall might have happened as a result of cost of living pressures or other issues. However, unlike the local authorities for other major cities in Scotland, Glasgow City Council does not have an age limit on taxis and, as a result, there is a higher proportion of older, non-compliant taxis in the Glasgow fleet for a variety of different reasons.
There are different experiences in different cities. Those issues are best addressed by Glasgow City Council, but I recognise Sue Webber’s concern in raising them.
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.
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The cabinet normally meets once a week in the cabinet room at Downing Street.
The Conservatives are a centre-right political party in the UK, founded in the 1830s. They are also known as the Tory party.
With a lower-case ‘c’, ‘conservative’ is an adjective which implies a dislike of change, and a preference for traditional values.
