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On the first part of Mr Doris’s question, I will provide the committee with anything that I can in writing, but my comments about expectations are just that, at this point. Until we have done the really important work of local authorities going out to the market, I cannot know for sure or have the clarity that I would want to bring to the committee.

On the second part of the question, in relation to support for private individuals to buy EVs, I cannot find the exact note in my book, but I understand that those funds are closed only for this year and that Transport Scotland is considering the extent to which they will be available in future years. If I have got that wrong, I ask my officials to please correct me.

I do not like to think that we will go backwards, but I appreciate that we will not get the additionality that we might have got from the development of the bus partnership fund. Again, I look to the extent that I have been able to increase the funding for concessionary fares, the fact that we have been able to fund the operators’ predicted requirements in respect of the network support grant and the fact that I have marginally increased the community bus fund. There is real additionality in that because of the opportunity for local authorities to create even more ways to get people to make the modal shift that you talked about. I regret that the bus partnership fund cannot be funded this year. That is principally because of the capital issue that we are facing at the hands of the UK Government.

I take the point—and I apologise for my answer being more about performance in general. I will hand over to my colleague Alison Irvine to say anything that she can about your local situation or the pursuit of a return to pre-pandemic levels in general. I point again, however, to the assessment that has had to be made and the objective of retaining a high-performing, safe and efficient rail network, and the importance—unfortunately—of the rail fare increases in that regard.

I will bring in Alison.

I cannot confirm that, no. I can confirm that an allowance is made in the ferries budget for potential vessel contracts in 2024-25, but, as always, that will be subject to procurement, relevant statutory approvals and business cases, which are still being considered.

No, I understand. First, I would say that it is one harbour. We are talking in the singular when we talk about Ardrossan. Alison Irvine’s clarification about the Glen Sannox operating from Troon is helpful.

The only thing that I can do is never allow us to minimise the complexity of the issues. The fact that we needed to re-examine the business case for Ardrossan and, when we did that, found that that piece of work needed to be expanded speaks to that complexity and the number of actors that are involved, as Alison Irvine described. From my perspective—from a political, cabinet secretary point of view—I am very keen, as ever, that progress is made on all that as quickly as possible.

It is perfectly understandable that you should ask that, and we keep a close eye on it. The local authorities that were unable to have their strategy published by December cited delays in recruiting staff, the need to undertake meaningful engagement with the local community—as we would expect in a project like this—and the capacity of specialist consultants whom they relied on to produce the strategies. Among local authorities, there has been a disparity in access and ability to manage those things.

However, as Kersti Berge said, 11 have been done, and the rest are expected in the coming months.

Absolutely. I am smiling slightly, Mr Macpherson , because I am considering how you and I are drawing on our commercial legal practice and training in all this.

On the one hand, I recognise how important—vital, in fact—the heat in buildings programme is to decarbonising and how vital that mission alone is. On the other hand, it must be realistic, affordable, pragmatic and capable of reflecting the varieties of our housing stock. Tenemental properties are an important aspect of that, although our rural properties will require a huge amount more to be made energy efficient than relatively newer properties.

I want to give you a guarantee that, despite the importance of the work and despite the fact that it has to happen across the board, I am determined that there will be a recognition of the different challenges that we will face across different types of housing.

It is a 7 per cent increase on 2023-24, and I am pleased to note that it is an increase for the second consecutive year.

I should also put on the record that, as I am stressing the increase in funding to the environment bodies in my portfolio, I have expectations of public sector reform in respect of them both. I think that SEPA’s digital transformation is a response to the need for that and a recovery from the cyberattack.

I expect the increase to be used principally on the two core functions of SEPA—environmental regulation and flood risk management.

As with all public bodies, I do not give my view on enforcement decisions, but I set out my expectations for delivery. As I said, the first and foremost role of environmental regulation and the fullest application of that, along with flood risk management, are the two priorities that I stress.

That is a perfectly reasonable question. You are right that the Minister for Transport intends to publish that review shortly. It is a broad document, and there are some recommendations within it that will take a number of years to complete. To the extent that budget is required this year to take them forward, I will look to provide that, and there will be budget required in future years for some interventions, should they be agreed.