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Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S5W-17382

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 19 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government when the two dual-fuel ferries ordered by Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd from Ferguson Marine will enter service on Clyde and Hebrides routes operated by Caledonian MacBrayne.

Ferguson Marine Engineering Ltd (FMEL) have notified Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) of delays to the construction of these new vessels. A revised delivery programme is currently being discussed by FMEL and CMAL. We will inform Parliament when revised timescales have been agreed in the next few weeks.

Following delivery, CalMac Ferries Ltd require around two months for trials and crew familiarisation before each vessel is fully deployed on the Clyde and Hebrides ferry network.

Question reference: S5W-17384

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 19 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on the HySeas III Hydrogen Ferry Consortium.

Question reference: S5W-17365

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 18 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government in which years since July 2012 Serco NorthLink’s annual profit has (a) reached and (b) exceeded the cap in its contract with Transport Scotland for Northern Isles Ferry Services.

Question reference: S5W-17364

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 18 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the (a) procurement approach and (b) financing mechanism used by Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd for the MV Loch Seaforth, and which of these processes will be considered in its future ferry procurement exercises.

Every two years Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) are subject to a Procurement and Commercial Improvement Programme (PCIP) review by the Scottish Procurement and Commercial Directorate of the Scottish Government. Whilst these reviews do not provide specific information on individual projects, they do give Ministers assurance on the company's overall procurement approach.

In addition, CMAL are required to follow the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, which provides a national legislative framework for sustainable public procurement that supports Scotland’s economic growth through improved procurement practice.

As stated in the Scottish Ferries Services Plan (2013-2022), “our preference for the planned vessel replacement programme is therefore to fund these replacements through capital loans from the Scottish Government to CMAL.”

Question reference: S5W-17380

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 12 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with Orkney Islands Council regarding the future procurement of car and passenger carrying ferries on inter-island routes.

The Working Group for Orkney Islands Council and Shetland Islands Council internal ferry services meets monthly, most recently on 21 June 2018. The Working Group consists of key stakeholders including both Councils, Transport Scotland, Regional Transport Partnerships and Highlands & Islands Enterprise.

Discussions include the future of inter-island ferry services. Strategic Business Cases were jointly commissioned and published on the Council websites in late 2016. Discussions are taking place around future support for Orkney’s inter-island ferry routes.

Question reference: S5W-17360

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 12 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-15888 by Humza Yousaf on 10 May 2018, when it was first informed of the membership of the advisory group appointed by Audit Scotland to advise on the national audit of Transport Scotland’s ferry services.

Question reference: S5W-17378

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 12 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what the Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance states regarding the procurement of ferries fuelled by (a) liquefied natural gas and (b) a hydrogen/gas hybrid system for service on the publicly subsidised ferry network.

Question reference: S5W-17381

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 12 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the introduction of mandatory international limits on sulphur dioxide emissions from shipping from 1 January 2020.

The Scottish Government wrote to the UK Government in February 2012 regarding the European Commission's then proposal to introduce a directive on the sulphur content of marine fuels, noting the potential impact on the lifeline ferry network. Scottish Ministers and officials have also discussed the issue with the industry directly on an on-going basis, including at meetings of the Scottish Maritime Forum and Scottish Cruise Summits.

Question reference: S5W-17383

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 12 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will work with Orkney Islands Council to produce a vessel replacement programme for the inter-island ferry routes that the council operates.

Transport Scotland, in partnership with a Working Group of key stakeholders, jointly commissioned an Inter-Island Transport Study for services within Orkney Islands. The study undertook a Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) appraisal across Orkney’s internal air and ferry network. A report in the form of a Strategic Business Case was published in late 2016.

Additional revenue funding of £5.5 million has been provided by the Scottish Government to Orkney Islands Council in 2018-19 to support their inter-island ferries. Discussions are continuing through the Working Group around future support for Orkney’s inter-island ferry routes.

Question reference: S5W-17362

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 11 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what steps (a) Transport Scotland, (b) Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd and (c) operators of subsidised ferry services in Scotland have taken since 1 November 2017 in response to the recommendations in the Audit Scotland report, Transport Scotland’s ferry services.

Transport Scotland sent its initial response to the Public Audit and Post-Legislative Scrutiny (PAPLS) committee on 20 November 2017. A further letter was sent to the PAPLS committee on 29 January 2018. Transport Scotland officials gave evidence to the PAPLS committee on 1 February 2018. The Minister for Transport and the Islands, Humza Yousaf MSP, wrote to the PAPLS committee on 20 April 2018. These documents should all be available on the Scottish Parliament's website.

As set out in these letters and in the oral evidence given to the PAPLS committee, Transport Scotland is developing an action plan to implement the recommendations set out in Audit Scotland's report. Further detail was provided in the letter of ‎29 January 2018. An internal steering group has been established to oversee this work. An early output of this work was the outline long-term strategy attached to the letter of 29 January 2018. The action plan will include a response to any conclusions reached by the PAPLS committee. In addition, Transport Scotland continue to engage with Audit Scotland on their report.