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The next item of business is a statement by Fiona Hyslop on Clyde and Hebrides ferries: provision, service and harbours update. The cabinet secretary will take questions on the issues following her statement, so there should be no interruptions or interventions.
16:25
Thank you, Presiding Officer, for the opportunity to make this statement. Unfortunately, the pre-election restrictions for the United Kingdom Government election meant that this was the earliest opportunity for me to address members in the chamber on these important issues, and there have been significant developments over the summer period.
The update covers a wide range of issues relating to the support for, and provision of, ferry services across the Clyde and Hebrides ferry network. I thank the crews, port staff and wider teams at CalMac Ferries and NorthLink Ferries for their work in providing ferry services across the busy summer period. That required dedication and flexibility in order to deliver services to communities that are served by our lifeline networks.
That was not without its challenges on the Clyde and Hebrides ferry network, with two extended periods with key vessels out of service on the Cumbrae and Arran services. I further extend my thanks to the communities on those islands for their patience, understanding and flexibility throughout the period of disruption. I can advise that the MV Caledonian Isles, serving Arran, is expected to return this month, which will provide significant additional capacity in terms of passenger and car carryings. That will release the MV Alfred to provide resilience and overhaul cover; we have extended her charter until at least February next year, when new tonnage should be delivered. We are also expecting an update from CalMac later today on the repairs to the MV Isle of Arran. I was also pleased to see the MV Loch Shira, serving Cumbrae, returning to service at the start of August, following repairs to her damaged ramp.
The Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee received updates on the delivery schedule for the MV Glen Sannox on 2 August and for the MV Isle of Islay on 8 August. With regard to the Glen Sannox, while it is regrettable that there has been further delay to the delivery of the vessel, I am pleased to confirm that the arrangements to ensure a smooth handover and entry into service are well under way. Reports from the sea trials and work to date have indicated that the vessel is performing well, and we look forward to her entering service and serving the Arran community. Discussions are already under way with communities around the timetables for when she initially enters service from Troon.
The update on the MV Isle of Islay highlighted the impact of global supply chain issues, with the vessel now anticipated to be delivered towards the end of this year and to enter service early in 2025. Although that is disappointing, there are issues beyond our control that are impacting on the wider shipping industry. Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd indicates that the build quality is very high, and its team, along with the CalMac staff on site, are working with the shipyard to ensure that there is a smooth handover of the vessel.
We announced the launch of the procurement process for the seven fully electric small vessels. That will enable older vessels to be replaced and the cascading of some vessels to improve resilience and capacity on other routes. The initial phase of the procurement concludes in early October, and shortlisted shipyards will submit bids towards the end of the year. Work is also under way around port improvements and the power upgrades to support those vessels when they come into service from 2027.
It is equally important to ensure that our port and harbour network is fit for purpose while providing a high standard of passenger experience. Work to allow the new Islay class vessels to berth at Kennacraig and Port Askaig is now substantially complete. The Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity recently visited those works en route to engagements on Islay.
Work at Colonsay should finish in the autumn. Work on the Little Minch ports is now substantially complete. Lochmaddy and Tarbert are finished, and work is well under way on the terminal building at Uig. That major programme of works has delivered a combination of replacing life-expired infrastructure and increasing flexibility and resilience by allowing a larger range of major vessels to use those ports. That represents investment of more than £100 million, supported by the Scottish Government.
Work to develop the final design and business case for Port Ellen is also under way. The preferred option that is being developed should tackle existing restrictions with the marshalling at the port and enable those to be addressed, allowing full benefit from the 40 per cent uplift in capacity of the new vessels, but it also represents an opportunity to incorporate drop-trailer facilities for freight.
On Ardrossan, I understand that all outstanding elements are being completed and that I will receive the new business plan shortly. That will include consideration of the funding requirements and recurring lease costs, including progressing the respective legal agreements to protect the interests of Government in terms of cost and ensuring that a robust and resilient port can be maintained well into the future. Once I have had an opportunity to consider the new business plan, I will undertake to communicate the next steps directly with interested members and the wider task force, which would be reconvened as soon as possible. I assure the chamber that this issue remains a key priority for ministers.
As I confirmed in May, although good progress is being made in relation to the direct award of the next Clyde and Hebrides ferry services—CHFS—contract, it was necessary to extend the current contract by up to 12 months.
We have now published the public consultation response report on the CHFS 3 contract, building on the earlier work by Angus Campbell. Transport Scotland officials visited 11 islands and held 22 public events, in addition to focused discussion with key ferry stakeholders. The formal consultation saw 434 responses received. I thank all those who contributed, as well as the groups and organisations across the islands that helped to set up the engagements and helped officials to reach communities. I assure those who contributed that the responses will help to inform and shape the next CHFS contract in a way that focuses on community needs and putting the customer’s voice and experience at the heart of decision making.
The direct award due diligence work continues at pace. A submission to the Competition and Markets Authority is due imminently as the next key milestone towards a go/no-go decision on direct award early next year. I will further update the Parliament on progress at the appropriate time.
I said that there would need to be improvement and change. One of the key mechanisms that will help to drive that change is the CalMac “Enhancement and Change Plan”, which was published in July. It reflects feedback from communities about how they can better influence service delivery.
A key element of the plan is to enhance the number of local area managers across the network to enable decisions on services to be driven by the often distinct circumstances across different routes. There will now be six regions rather than three: Clyde, Islay, Arran, Argyll Islands, Hebrides North and Hebrides South. That change will enable greater engagement with customers and business users. Those core roles should be empowered to influence decisions that impact their communities.
Transport Scotland officials have also been engaging with the ferries community board, along with CalMac, to design and define the key performance indicators that will be used to monitor the success of service delivery. Lived experience of users will be at the heart of those. I expect to see the new measures and elements of the enhancement and change plan brought in and refined across the extension period.
I have also outlined that we will have the requirement for a ferries community board set out as part of the new CHFS contract. Workshops have been held with the board to consider how its role can be further defined and strengthened to help it to drive forward service improvements and to further consider strategic issues across the CalMac network. I thank the board members for their dedicated work in supporting the development of key issues to date.
I am also aware that there have been calls for greater island representation on the boards of ferries bodies. I agree with those calls, and that is also my aim. I am pleased that both CalMac and CMAL now have islanders on their boards and are working hard to make sure that island residents have opportunities to be involved. I will continue to stress to both bodies the necessity of ensuring that the communities that they serve are represented at the highest levels of the organisation.
Today, we have published the consultation report on the islands connectivity plan, following a similarly expansive engagement with communities across both the CHFS and northern isles ferry services networks. That important work will help to form policy for ferries and the investment in ports and vessels into the future. We are considering the feedback that has been received and will look to make any changes to the two documents before formal publication as soon as possible.
Our focus on those issues demonstrates the Government’s commitment to ferry services that are fit for the future. As well as our on-going and planned investments, in recent years we have been able to freeze fares or minimise increases.
However, it would be remiss of me not to highlight the stark financial backdrop against which the plans that I have outlined are set. We will continue to take forward our ambitious programme, but difficult decisions will be needed around all aspects of ferry services as the business cases come to fruition.
Thank you, Presiding Officer, for the opportunity to update Parliament on those important matters. I know that they have been extensive and varied, but a lot has happened over recent months.
The cabinet secretary will now take questions on the issues that were raised in her statement. I invite members who wish to ask a question to press their request-to-speak buttons, if they have not already done so.
I thank the cabinet secretary for advance sight of the statement. I have to say that I was full of excitement and expectation but, once again, the cabinet secretary has dashed my hopes that we would get some good news. We warned that there could be a summer of ferries chaos, and there has been a summer of ferries chaos. Not a day goes by when we do not hear about more delays, cancellations and repairs. Islanders are long past being at their wits’ end.
There is little in the statement that we did not know already, but the cabinet secretary managed to save the worst until last in a doom-laden ending that would give Keir Starmer a run for his money. She warns of
“difficult decisions ... as ... business cases come to fruition”.
She mentioned Ardrossan, so is one of those difficult decisions about Ardrossan? Is the work on that port likely to be put on hold? If not, when are we likely to see progress?
Finally, will the cabinet secretary agree to a full debate on ferries in Government time, so that we can properly address all the issues?
I understand that there has been disruption on certain services, but I reiterate that the vast majority of ferry services have been completed, and it is a disservice to the staff of CalMac to say otherwise. I know that there have been particular problems. I have addressed them first hand in relation to Cumbrae and the Isle of Arran, and I have given updates on that. We know that there can be technical problems and that there can be weather issues in respect of berthing. Those things happen, but it is wrong to say that the situation has been as Graham Simpson has relayed.
I remind him that it was not me or Keir Starmer who introduced the 9 per cent capital budget cuts that the Scottish Government faces: it was actually the Conservative Party. I would like to see a change in the fiscal regime to replace that capital reduction, but I am afraid that that is where it came from. Not just in my budget, but in others, there will be challenges.
Having said that, I reiterate that, in my statement, there was good news. Obviously, the member does not have an interest in ports and harbours, given that I have just announced that we have invested £100 million successfully in that work. I also talked about the announcement of £175 million for procurement of the small vessels replacement, which is also very welcome.
On Ardrossan, I also gave the welcome news that I am expecting the new business plan any time now. I will convene the task force on that, which is rightly in a position to take forward that piece of work, as the individual stakeholders on it have already been involved. [Interruption.] I know that Graham Simpson is all doom and gloom, but even he should see that there were elements of success, progress and commitment in the statement that I have just given.
As with the previous statement, there is a lot of interest in asking questions. That will require responses to be a little bit briefer and it will require those who have asked a question to stop talking while the answers are being given.
I note the cabinet secretary’s remarks at the end of her statement that it would be remiss of her
“not to highlight the stark financial backdrop against which these plans are set”
and that
“difficult decisions will be needed around all aspects of ferry services”.
Is that not just a get-out clause for everything that came before? It would be remiss of me not to remind the cabinet secretary of the Government’s monumental overspend and failure in procuring MV Glen Sannox and MV Glen Rosa. Why should the passengers and staff across the public ferry network be made to pay for the Scottish Government’s financial incompetence?
I also note the comments regarding a direct award of the CHFS contract. It was my understanding that that decision would be announced in the summer. Can the cabinet secretary explain what has caused the major delay in announcing the Scottish Government’s approach, which is leading to yet more uncertainty for islanders about vital ferry services?
On the first point, there is a situation that we have known about: the capital pressures that are facing the Scottish Government are just a reality, and it would be wrong not to address that point. As for how we will take things forward, the point about value for money being demonstrated is re-emphasised, particularly in relation to the work on the Ardrossan business case, which I have been keen to see being progressed.
On the point about the direct award on CHFS, I gently remind Alex Rowley that I gave an indication to Parliament—clearly, openly and transparently—that we would extend the current CHFS 2 award for up to another year. I hope that it does not take that long, but we need to do that, given the elements of what we were doing—particularly in relation to going to the Competition and Markets Authority. I also refer to the harbours agreement, which I mentioned in my statement, and was known publicly even before the recess.
The issue now is to ensure that we get everything in order so that—as would be my preference and, I think, Alex Rowley’s preference, too—we can move to the direct award decision. The CHFS 2 extension was announced prior to the recess. I hope that we can get into a position from which to go ahead with CHFS 3 to give everybody the certainty that they need—not least the staff. I gently remind the member that I set that out before recess.
I welcome the confirmation that the MV Caledonian Isles will soon return to service. My Arran constituents will benefit from the much-needed additional capacity and resilience, given that the Ardrossan to Brodick service has now been disrupted for the fifth day in a row.
Meanwhile, the redevelopment of Ardrossan harbour drags on without a decision. Today the cabinet secretary has said that it is a “key priority”, and the Government is committed to retaining Ardrossan as the mainland port for Arran. It did so in 2017. Seven years later, however, not a single shovel has hit the ground. I appreciate that a business plan is on its way, but when will all the seemingly endless uncertainty finally be lifted and a decision to proceed taken?
I share Kenneth Gibson’s frustrations and those of the communities of Arran and Ardrossan. A decision can be made only when the vital business-case work is completed. As has been stated, the work continues, with significant changes to the estimated project cost and outstanding legal and lease matters—issues that have been addressed more recently. Those will impact, in turn, on the partners’ financial packages, so we must give partners time to develop them.
I expect the business plan to be presented to me very shortly, and that is why work is being put in to demonstrate the business case from the social, economic and value-for-money perspectives. That work is being completed. I expect to see the new business plan soon and I will convene the task force as soon as possible after that so that we can move forward.
Before the recess, my questions about delivery of the Glen Sannox were met with nothing less than evasion. Hours after the recess started, bad news was snuck out to the media. The disruption to the Isle of Arran this summer has been endless, and it is very costly to island businesses. The main Arran ferry has been out of action for most of this year, the temporary replacement vessel has now been out of action for five days, as other members have mentioned, and still in today’s statement we have no delivery date yet for the new Arran ferry. What faith can islanders have that the coming winter will be any better than the disastrous summer that they have already had?
The delivery date for the Glen Sannox was communicated, as appropriate, to the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee. The date was set as 30 September in that communication in the summer. What I have been talking about is delivery of that and the plans for delivery. The on-going sea trials are therefore very important, so it is pleasing to hear that they are going well.
The issues that are facing the MV Caledonian Isles are obviously frustrating. There are other ways and means by which access can be provided, including the MV Alfred and the other route. Latterly, the Isle of Arran problems have caused issues: they have been technical issues. People want to ensure that their vessels are safe, so it is therefore appropriate that technical problems be addressed. I understand that a communication is expected at 8 o’clock this evening about the potential for tomorrow’s sailings from the Isle of Arran. I know that that is not satisfactory for those who have been disrupted over the past week, but I am relaying the most recent information that I have been given.
The MV Glen Sannox and MV Glen Rosa are clearly the immediate priorities for Ferguson Marine, but it is vital that the company is supported fully to bid for future work. What funding and support is the Scottish Government providing to help to get the current ferries delivered and to set up the yard for future success?
I am not providing funding for the Ferguson yard—that is the responsibility of the Deputy First Minister. She has set out the provision of £14 million to ensure that the yard can become as competitive and productive as possible in order to win future bids, which is what we want to happen.
I understand that Ferguson has indicated that it wants to bid for phase 1 of the small vessels replacement programme. Procuring that is my responsibility. Information about that was also set out during the summer.
The statement did not mention freight capacity at all. The building of the Western Isles interconnector will require almost all the current freight capacity on the MV Loch Seaforth, while the building of new distilleries on Islay will increase freight traffic there. How does the cabinet secretary intend to increase freight capacity? Will ferries that are due to be replaced be kept in the fleet to provide additional capacity where and when it is required in the future?
I referred to freight, particularly in reference to Port Ellen. Rhoda Grant will know that Port Ellen on Islay is one of the key ports that the whisky industry uses and would want to continue to use. I specifically talked about drop-trailer freight capacity being considered as part of the plans for Port Ellen, so it is incorrect to say that I “did not mention freight”.
The new capacity that will be available for increased heavy goods vehicles on the MV Glen Sannox and on the MV Isle of Islay—I think that the Islay class of vessels will increase capacity by 55 per cent—will help to support services to Islay.
Rhoda Grant raised a very good and important point about the Western Isles and renewable energy companies. Transport Scotland and my officials took part in a meeting with the wider economic interests in the council and others on economic development and the requirement for freight there.
Rhoda Grant will be perfectly aware that the Scottish Government heavily subsidises CalMac. A number of private energy companies will be making significant profits from renewable energy. I think that we can work together to identify how we can maximise the use of everybody’s resources to increase freight capacity.
The member has raised a serious point, so I can reassure her that I am taking that forward as one of the areas on which I need to work with my colleagues in both the energy and the economy portfolios to ensure that we have plans that will meet the future capacity needs of the renewable energy interests.
Will the cabinet secretary ensure that the Scottish Government continues to reiterate to Caledonian MacBrayne that it is crucial for island communities to feel that they are kept up to date with and involved in relevant discussions regarding the lifeline services on which the islands rely?
I do that. I stress the importance of establishing the ferries community board as part of the CHFS 3 contract and its role in identifying the key performance indicators for that contract.
On the enhancement and change plan that CalMac has announced, I said that it is not business as usual and that there has to be change. Having six regions with six area managers would enable greater ability to respond to needs and services and, importantly, to communicate. In my discussion with islanders, the communication of what can be recognised as genuinely needed changes in services is also an important aspect of what that improvement can look like.
It is good to hear that progress is being made across the CalMac network. As a Highlands and Islands MSP, I know that the performance and future of our ferries and ports are a source of deep concern and frustration. Beyond the unavoidable tidal and weather-related issues, 10 ferry routes in my region are today on restricted timetables or cancelled altogether.
Although I welcome the proposals for six local area manager posts in the CalMac enhancement and change plan, as well as the news that some local people are already in place, will the minister outline what has been put in place to ensure that island communities will always be embedded in the decision making on their ferry services?
There will be different routes for that. The KPIs will embed islanders’ lived experience in relation to satisfaction. The whole point of having a direct award is that CalMac will be focused on delivering a public service rather than on simply working to contract in delivering a pre-existing contract. As I have mentioned before, the role of the ferries community board is critical. The representation of islanders—not necessarily to represent any particular island but to bring an islander perspective to wider governance issues—will be a requirement for the CalMac and CMAL boards.
There was a lot of detail in the statement, cabinet secretary, and there is clearly a pipeline of new vessels that will be added to the network in the near future. Does the Scottish Government have any figures on the net benefit of all the new vessels in terms of increased vessel capacity and—just as important to island communities—in terms of network resilience?
On capacity issues, I have already said in answer to another member that the two new vessels for the Islay routes—the MV Isle of Islay and MV Loch Indaal—will have an increased capacity. They will each have capacity for 14 HGVs and deck capacity for 100 passengers. Overall, if we combine their capacity, the vessels have space for 28 HGVs. That compares with a maximum capacity of 18 HGVs on the existing vessels and equates to 55 per cent more deck space for HGVs. That applies to the sister vessels, which will have a similar capacity configuration.
On phase 1 of the small vessel replacement programme, members will see that the increase in capacity there equates to 40 per cent.
Another aspect is reliability and resilience. With new vessels coming into the fleet to provide reliable and resilient ferry services, that will automatically increase available capacity on some key routes.
There is little that generates more public anger than the scandal of the ferries. We have had yet more of that today with, again, broken ageing ferries, delayed new ferries and stranded islanders.
The cabinet secretary has been particularly evasive today. She has been asked a number of times about what she is referring to when she says that cuts are coming because of the financial position. I think that she has a duty to spell out to members exactly what she means.
Going forward, we have to ensure that the public purse can deliver on key public services. This Government is focused on delivering on four key missions, and improving public services is one of them. Ferries are clearly part of the transport aspect of public services.
It would be wrong for me to identify that. We have frozen fares in the past and we have minimised cost increases in looking at the future development of ports and harbours and in a number of other areas. We have to drive down costs and be harder and smarter at making sure that the business cases that are presented to us for delivery achieve value for money, because we are doing this in the context of years of austerity. As Shona Robison quite rightly pointed out, it was the Liberal Democrats, as part of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Government, that heralded the start of austerity in this country.
The MV Alfred was first chartered in April 2023 for an initial period of nine months at a cost of £9 million—or £1 million per month. There have been two further extensions, with the latest extension scheduled to end in March 2025. That will mean that the MV Alfred will have been chartered for just short of 24 months. Can the cabinet secretary advise me what the total cost to the taxpayer of that charter will be? If she does not have that figure to hand, can she at least confirm whether the total cost of the nearly two-year charter is more or less than the reported £14.5 million cost to Pentland Ferries Ltd to buy the ferry outright in the first place?
I expect that it will be more, but it is right that I, as the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, and my predecessors, ensured that there was cover and resilience for our island communities in the CHFS network. I do not think that the member is suggesting that we should not have done that.
We have continually looked at the purchasing of vessels to help with resilience, and, as the member knows very well, for freight for the Northern Isles ferry service network in particular. Is it satisfactory? No, it is not. As the minister who represents the customer base for receipt of the incoming ferries, I am as frustrated as others are about the increased cost of providing that additional cover. That is frustrating, but in a purchase, there has to be a willing seller to purchase from at a satisfactory price. I am not necessarily referring to the MV Alfred, but to all the other vessels that we are looking at.
However, we have particular needs. In particular, the Arran route has proved to be very important and helpful in providing that cover. I look forward to the six new vessels by 2026 and the seven new small vessel replacements that I announced in the summer that are being procured starting to provide that necessary resilience in the Scottish fleet.
During the summer, I have received a lot of communication from islanders who have not been able to make the necessary ferry journeys. Has the Scottish Government given any thought to making contractual provision for a Samso-style ticketing system, whereby separate allocations are maintained to ensure that islanders are given an equitable level of priority on sailings in the next CHFS contract?
The CHFS 2 contract includes a commitment for a smart ticketing platform. On the issue of islanders and places for islanders on routes, the member might not be aware, but we are already piloting that in the current deck space reservation pilot for Mull, Coll and Tiree. In CalMac’s enhancement and change plan, which was published in July, if the pilot delivers the intended benefit, the intention is to engage with communities on rolling out that plan to ensure that islanders have reserved places. We know that that is essential for short-notice and pressurised immediate sailings that islanders need. I reassure the member that we are not only thinking about it, we are piloting it, and there is a commitment to roll it out should the pilot prove successful.
Thank you. That concludes the ministerial statement on Clyde and Hebrides ferries. We move on to the next item of business. I will allow a moment for the front benches to organise themselves.
Before we move on to the next item of business, I will take the opportunity to alert members to the fact that business is running approximately 20 minutes late.
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