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That is absolutely correct—this is a pause. I will work as hard as I can to return sums to the fund in future years. I mentioned that we will continue to fund appraisal work, which could lead to those investments in future. I think that that is partly what you are talking about. To the extent that local authorities are able to continue to do that work, I would of course welcome that, but I understand that the fund was important to them in that respect.

I am not in a position to confirm that today.

I think that the point is that it has not been signed off but it is very much in train, and, as has been said, funding has been earmarked.

There is a technical arrangement that the interim chief executive of Transport Scotland can explain to the committee.

Again, convener, I will make a contribution and then I might hand over to Alison Irvine on account of the moving parts. The matter is principally led by the Minister for Transport on a daily basis, albeit that I have overall responsibility for it.

The investment in vessels and piers line within the draft budget document reflects the staging—or, to use your favourite term, the profiling—of the capital that is required in any project in any financial year. The committee will know that work on the Little Minch ports is nearing completion and the budget that I am proposing provides for that. Likewise, there is provision for the progression of the four vessels that are under construction at Cemre and some additional estimates for emerging projects, such as phase 1 of the small vessel replacement programme that we were just talking about.

In respect of Ardrossan, two tracks of work are happening there concurrently. The first is the overall development project and I know that the committee will be aware that the Minister for Transport had to take the decision to pause that project in 2023 to look again at the business case. The work on that has been expanded and is being undertaken. I appreciate the sensitivity and the importance of that project, which is why it is important to point out that it is being overseen by a ministerial task force that is co-chaired by the Minister for Transport. I understand the need to progress and the frustration of the communities, but it is absolutely essential that works of this size and importance are properly scoped and understood.

There have been some additional operational issues with the Irish berth at Ardrossan harbour in the past couple of weeks. I am being kept up to date on that and I will make sure that the Minister for Transport keeps the committee up to date. Peel Ports is using divers to explore the extent of the damage. Work is being done to facilitate a freight-only operation from Troon to try to build up some capacity there. That is an overview of what is happening in Ardrossan just now—there is quite a lot of activity. If I have missed anything, my colleagues can pick it up.

Let me check that. I expect that it is a mix, and there are certainly some front runners. I will come back with the clarity and precision that the committee needs on that.

I certainly encourage agility, but whether to take enforcement action is a matter for the experts at SEPA.

I thank Ben Macpherson for the open question.

Alison Irvine and I laid out that the number of actors that are involved and the complexity are factors—yes.

I do not recognise that characterisation.