Published 5th June 2015 SP Paper 749 4th Report, 2015 (Session 4) Web Only

Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee Annual Report 2014-2015 Produced and published in on behalf of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body by APS Group Scotland.

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Contents

Introduction 1 Legislation 1 Housing (Scotland) Bill Harbours (Scotland) Bill UK legislation Inquiries 2 Freight inquiry 2012 homelessness commitment Other evidence sessions 3 Transport Housing Scottish Water Broadband Budget processes 4 European issues 5 Petitions 5 Equalities 6 Innovation 6 Subordinate legislation 6 Meetings 6

Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee Annual Report 2014-2015, 4th Report, 2015 (Session 4)

Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee

To consider and report on infrastructure, capital investment, transport, Scottish Water and other matters falling within the responsibility of the Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Investment and Cities, and matters relating to housing and digital infrastructure.

www.scottish.parliament.uk/infrastructure

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0131 348 5229

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Committee Membership

Convener Deputy Convener Jim Eadie Adam Ingram Scottish National Party

James Dornan Mary Fee Scottish National Party

Alex Johnstone Mike MacKenzie Scottish Conservative Scottish National Party and Unionist Party

David Stewart Scottish Labour

Note: The membership of the Committee changed during the period covered by this report, as follows: James Dornan and Mike MacKenzie joined the Committee on 27 November 2014, replacing Gordon MacDonald and (Scottish National Party) David Stewart joined the Committee on 8 January 2015, replacing Mark Griffin (Scottish Labour)

Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee Annual Report 2014-2015, 4th Report, 2015 (Session 4)

Introduction

1. This report covers the work of the Infrastructure and Capital Investment (ICI) Committee during the parliamentary year between 11 May 2014 and 10 May 2015. Legislation

Housing (Scotland) Bill

2. The Housing (Scotland) Bill was introduced in the Parliament on 21 November 2013. The Bill made a range of provisions related to housing in Scotland, including the abolition of the right to buy social houses, the management of social housing, the operation of the private rented sector, regulation of letting agents, the licensing of sites for mobile homes and private housing conditions. The ICI Committee conducted scrutiny of the Bill at Stage 1 between January and March 2014 and published its Stage 1 report on 3 April 2014. The Committee agreed to the general principles of the Bill.

3. The Committee considered the Bill at Stage 2 at its meetings of 14, 21 and 28 May 2014. Harbours (Scotland) Bill

4. The Harbours (Scotland) Bill was introduced on 18 March 2015 and the ICI Committee was designated as lead committee for scrutiny of the Bill at Stage 1.

5. The Bill has two purposes. First, to remove Scottish Ministers’ powers to require trust ports (over a certain annual turnover threshold) to prepare privatisation proposals. Second, the Bill removes an administrative requirement for six copies of a draft harbour revision or empowerment order to be submitted along with the application for the order. In addition, it reduces the requirement to submit six copies of a harbour reorganisation scheme to Scottish Ministers seeking confirmation of the scheme, to one copy.

6. The Committee’s Stage 1 scrutiny was limited to a single oral evidence session with the Minister for Transport and Islands and the Scottish Government bill team on 29 April 2015 and to consideration of written submissions made in response to its call for evidence. UK legislation

7. The Committee considered one Legislative Consent Memorandum (LCM) in the course of the parliamentary year. This related to the Deregulation Bill (UK Legislation), the purpose of which was to provide for the removal or reduction of

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burdens resulting from legislation on businesses, individuals, public sector bodies or other organisations or individuals.

8. Following consideration, the Committee agreed with the Scottish Government’s view that the Scottish Parliament should consent to the UK Parliament legislating in this areas, and recommended this approach in its report on the LCM. Inquiries

9. The Committee undertook the following key pieces of inquiry and scrutiny work during the parliamentary year. Freight inquiry

10. The Committee agreed in October 2014 to undertake an inquiry which would seek to identify and understand some of the challenges facing the freight transport industry in Scotland. It agreed that this should include domestic and international links as well as the interconnectivity of rail, road, air and sea freight services and to identify key areas for development, improvement and change.

11. The Committee took evidence from a range of stakeholders with an interest in the various aspects of freight transport and from the Minister for Transport and Islands between February and April 2015.

12. To help inform its inquiry, the Committee visited the ports of Aberdeen, Cairnryan and Grangemouth, as well as key freight facilities at Coatbridge, Falkirk and Daventry. The Committee was also keen to identify examples of good practice in freight handling in other European countries and members made visits to the Binnenstadservice, an urban freight consolidation centre in Nijmegen and the Port of Rotterdam, both in the Netherlands; and the Skaraborg Logistic Centre, an intermodal rail terminal in Falköping, and the Port of Gothenburg, both in Sweden. 2012 homelessness commitment

13. The Committee undertook a short, follow-up inquiry into the 2012 homelessness commitment in Scotland, which entitles all unintentionally homeless people to accommodation. The Committee undertook its first inquiry on this issue in 2011/2012, reporting to Parliament on 20 March 2012. In its report, the Committee agreed to monitor the implementation of the commitment for the remainder of the parliamentary session and address any areas of concern which might emerge.

14. The Committee took evidence from key stakeholders and from the Minister for Housing and Welfare between June and October 2014. Following this work, the Committee wrote to the Scottish Government in November 2014, welcoming the positive impact of the implementation of the commitment. However, it outlined its concern that the legislation which abolished ‘priority need’ might be behind a rise in intentionally homeless decisions being made by local authorities. It therefore

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asked the Scottish Government to report on the reasons behind the variation in intentionally homeless decisions being taken by local authorities as a matter of urgency. Other evidence sessions

Transport

15. Following the Scottish Government’s purchase of Prestwick Airport in November 2013, the Committee has sought regular updates from the Cabinet Secretary on the acquisition and the development of plans for its operation under public ownership. It took evidence from the Cabinet Secretary on 12 November 2014 on the Scottish Government’s Strategic Vision for the airport; future revenue generation; operating and maintenance costs; and governance issues. The Committee will continue to monitor developments in relation to these matters.

16. The Committee continued to monitor progress on the construction of the Forth Replacement Crossing and associated infrastructure. It took evidence at its meeting on 18 February 2015 from the project team. Prior to this session, the Committee engaged with local community groups and used information provided on the impact of the construction and related activities on residents to question the project team.

17. The Committee also obtained an update on current transport infrastructure projects jointly from the Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Investment and Cities and the Minister for Transport and Islands on 3 December 2014. These included the next Scotrail franchise; high speed rail; major trunk road projects; the Forth Replacement Crossing; the Borders rail project; trams; and the Scottish Government’s walking and cycling strategies. Housing

18. On 14 January 2015 the Scottish Housing Regulator (SHR) appeared before the Committee to discuss its second annual report and accounts as an independent regulator for 2013-2014. In advance of this session, the Committee took oral and written evidence from organisations representing Registered Social Landlords (RSLs), local authorities and tenant groups and had informal engagement with individual housing associations. This allowed the Committee to gather views from those involved in the social housing sector on their experiences in engaging with the SHR and on its operation of the regulatory framework. This information was used to inform the evidence session with the SHR.

19. The Committee noted that there had been some positive feedback on the work of the SHR. However, given that a range of issues had been raised by stakeholders in relation to the work of the SHR, it exchanged correspondence with the Regulator on how these might be addressed. The Committee agreed that it would

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invite the SHR to give further oral evidence in June 2015 to provide an update on progress in relation to these issues.

20. The Committee also received a general housing update from the Minister for Housing and Welfare on 21 January 2015, covering such issues as housing supply; proposals for private rented sector tenancy reform; the Scottish Government’s strategies for sustainable housing and for older people; homelessness; and the operation of the Scottish Housing Regulator. Scottish Water

21. At the Committee’s meeting on 17 December 2014, Scottish Water representatives provided the Committee with information on its performance over the 12 months covered by its Annual Report and Accounts 2013/14.

22. The Committee also took the opportunity to question Scottish Water on any implications the final determination of charges for water and sewerage services for the regulatory period 2015-21 might have for its business plan for the delivery of services during that period. Broadband

23. The Committee has continued to monitor progress in relation to the Scottish Government’s broadband roll-out project. The Committee took evidence from the Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Investment and Cities at its meeting on 18 June 2014, who updated the Committee on the progress of the project, the challenges in the provision of high speed broadband to remote and rural areas of Scotland, digital participation and the development of digital skills. Budget processes

24. The Scottish Government’s Draft Budget 2015-16 was published in October 2014. The ICI Committee’s role was to consider the Government‘s spending proposals outlined in the budget documents which relate to its remit, in line with other committees.

25. The ICI Committee agreed to appoint a budget adviser in August 2014. The Committee took oral evidence from a variety of stakeholders in October and November 2014, concluding with evidence from the Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Investment and Cities.

26. The Committee recommended that the Scottish Government review infrastructure funding for tackling climate change, to help meet its targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It found that new focus was required on the transport and housing budgets to help meet the targets. It also concluded that opportunity existed to contribute more to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in areas such as home

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energy efficiency, rolling out broadband connectivity, and increasing levels of sustainable transport and active travel. European issues

27. The Committee considered and agreed its priorities within the European Commission Work Programme for the coming year on 25 February 2015. It agreed to continue to monitor the Scottish Government’s work on the development of digital infrastructure, with a particular focus on mobile phone infrastructure and increasing digital participation across Scotland.

28. Following its scrutiny of the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Bill, the Committee agreed to continue to monitor the implementation of the resultant Act and the transposition of the related EU Directives on procurement by the Scottish Government. The Committee intends to take evidence from the Cabinet Secretary in June 2015 following publication of the findings of a consultation on the implementation of the EU Directives and will also scrutinise the resultant secondary legislation in the second half of 2015.

29. The Committee’s inquiry into freight transport in Scotland included a focus on Scotland’s transport links to mainland Europe. This included consideration of access to EU funding and the scrutiny of European models of freight infrastructure. The Committee also visited major freight infrastructure facilities and innovative projects in both the Netherlands and Sweden to help inform its work in this area.

30. The Committee also agreed to appoint a new EU Reporter, David Stewart MSP, for the remainder of the parliamentary session. Petitions

31. Over the course of the parliamentary year, the Committee considered three petitions. Of these, two were closed and one remained open at the end of the parliamentary year.

32. Petition PE1236, on the junction where the A937 crosses the A90 at Laurencekirk, remains open. The Committee has continued to review reports and encourage discussion between campaigners, Transport Scotland and regional transport agencies. The petition remained open at the end of the parliamentary year.

33. Petitions PE1425, on the closure of local DVLA offices in Scotland, and PE1481, on employment blacklisting, were closed during the course of the year.

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Equalities

34. The Committee mainstreamed equalities issues throughout its work in the parliamentary year. Examples included taking equalities issues into account during its consideration of housing and transport matters. Innovation

35. The Committee began a short piece of work to identify any access issues at Scotland’s major urban railway stations (Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh Waverley, Haymarket, Queens Central, Glasgow Queen Street, Inverness, Perth, Stirling). An online survey, promoted via social media ran from 20 April to 8 May 2015 and was used to gather the views of users of these stations, resulting in close to 5000 responses. The use of a survey, rather than a traditional call for evidence, was hugely successful in reaching everyday users of these services and stretching beyond the Committee’s usual stakeholders. Subordinate legislation

36. During this parliamentary year the Committee considered 11 statutory instruments of which 8 were negative and 3 were affirmative. Meetings

37. During the parliamentary year, the Committee met 26 times. Of these meetings none were wholly in private and 13 were partly in private. Most items taken in private were the consideration of draft reports. All meetings were held in Edinburgh.

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