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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: S6W-28378

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 June 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 24 July 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the purpose of discussions held on 12 June 2024 between the Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture and the Chinese Consul General in Scotland, reportedly requested by the latter and granted by the former, in light of an announcement by the City of Edinburgh Council that it is suspending plans for a friendship agreement with a major Taiwanese city.

I met the Chinese Consul General Zhang Biao on 12 June at the Consul General’s request. The Consul General raised the prospect of a friendship arrangement between the City of Edinburgh Council and Kaohsiung. I made clear that the Scottish Government could not instruct, nor influence local authority decision making, regardless of the topic or issue. He re-iterated that the Scottish Government policy regarding Taiwan had not changed.

Question reference: S6T-02059

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 June 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the delivery of the MV Glen Sannox and MV Glen Rosa, in light of reports that a senior programme director has been removed from the project.

Question reference: S6W-28076

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 20 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what the current daily passenger capacity is on the Ardrossan to Brodick ferry route, broken down by (a) foot passengers and (b) vehicles, and what the comparative figures have been in each of the last five years.

Arran is currently served by the MV Isle of Arran from Ardrossan with a passenger capacity of 446 and vehicle deck for 55 cars, and MV Alfred from Troon with passenger capacity of 428 and vehicle deck for 98 cars.

A comparison of weekly passenger and car capacity on the main Arran route over the past five years has been provided by CalMac Ferries Ltd and is shown in the following table.

PASSENGER CAPACITY W/C 10TH JUNE	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Monday	14,470	4,000	3,550	11,510	14,470	6,172
Tuesday	14,470	4,000	3,550	11,510	14,470	6,172
Wednesday	14,470	4,000	3,550	11,510	14,470	6,172
Thursday	13,129	4,000	3,760	10,169	13,129	6,172
Friday	13,788	4,000	4,522	10,236	13,788	7,028
Saturday	13,576	4,000	3,760	10,616	13,576	6,582
Sunday	9,788	4,000	2,524	7,420	9,788	6,582
OVERALL	93,691	28,000	25,216	72,971	93,691	44,880

DECK SPACE METRES CAPACITY W/C 10th JUNE	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Monday	6,723	1,536	6,723	6,723	6,723	4,450
Tuesday	6,723	1,536	6,723	6,723	6,723	4,450
Wednesday	6,723	1,536	6,723	6,723	6,723	4,450
Thursday	5,937	1,536	6,199	5,937	5,937	4,450
Friday	6,007	1,536	6,531	6,007	6,007	5,300
Saturday	6,374	1,711	6,374	6,374	6,374	5,025
Sunday	4,470	1,711	4,470	4,470	4,470	5,025
OVERALL	42,958	11,104	43,744	42,958	42,958	33,150

Notes:
1. Data for 2024 is based on published timetables for week commencing 10th June 2024 2. Data for 2019-2023 is based on published timetables for closest comparative full week Monday-Sunday in each of the previous 5 years 3. A reduced timetable operated in 2020 and 2021 as a result of the Covid pandemic 4. Data included all legs operated from the mainland ports of Ardrossan and Troon to Brodick (and includes legs operating from Ardrossan and ultimately terminating in Campbeltown)

It is important to note that the full passenger capacity is rarely reached on the majority of sailings under normal services.

Question reference: S6W-28080

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 20 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what projections it holds of the total cost of repairs to Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Service (CHFS) vessels by the end of the current extended CHFS contract.

The cost incurred by CalMac Ferries for maintenance and repair for vessels in the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Service (CHFS) fleet to the end of the current contract, 30 September 2024 are detailed in the following table. These figures include all maintenance and repair costs including costs of annual overhaul.

	CHFS2
	CY01	CY02	CY03	CY04	CY05	CY06	CY07	CY08 (to date)
	Oct’16 – Sep’17	Oct’17 – Sep’18	Oct’18 – Sep’19	Oct’19 – Sep’20	Oct’20 – Sep’21	Oct’21 – Sep’22	Oct’22 - Sep’23	Oct’23 - Feb’24
	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
Total	14,063	18,254	15,723	18,359	17,262	28,525	30,036	24,852

Forecast for remaining period of CY08 (Mar’24 – Sep’24) is £15.9m

As dialogue regarding the extension of up to 12 months is ongoing, information for this period is not yet known.

In addition, there is a Ferries Resilience Fund administered by Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL). This is preventative fund, over and above regular maintenance, and is aimed at lowering the risk of vessel breakdown and loss of service. This totals £28.8m to date.

Question reference: S6W-28077

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 20 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assurances it can provide that there will be no reduction in number of sailings or passenger capacity on the Ardrossan to Brodick ferry route as a result of MV Alfred now departing and arriving from Troon.

The overall passenger and vehicle capacity on the main Arran route is reduced during the current period of disruption when compared to the normal service. The Scottish Government continues to task CalMac with making best use of available vessel and port resources to serve our island communities. The services currently operated by the MV Isle of Arran from Ardrossan and MV Alfred from Troon is expected to remain in place until the return of the MV Caledonian Isles. CalMac have recently added a further return sailing by the MV Alfred on Friday afternoon’s following a successful trial in May 2024.

Question reference: S6W-28078

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 20 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how much compensation was paid by CalMac to passengers across all ferry routes in the latest reporting period.

Question reference: S6O-03632

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 June 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to its decision to grant early release to prisoners currently in custody, whether all victims and their families will be duly notified of the early release of any prisoner.

Question reference: S6W-28120

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 18 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many complaints regarding unlicensed short-term let operators have been investigated by Police Scotland since the introduction of the short-term let licensing scheme.

Question reference: S6O-03612

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 June 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of Audit Scotland’s analysis showing that Social Security Scotland’s benefit expenditure budget was £5.1 billion in 2023-24, which was an increase of 22% on its 2022-23 budget, what action it is taking to reduce expenditure on Scottish social security benefits, including through assisting people into meaningful paid employment.

Question reference: S6W-27903

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 12 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what measures it will put in place to increase the rate of housebuilding in Scotland.

We are conscious of the ongoing global issues affecting construction which are impacting the pace of housing delivery and remain focused on our target of delivering 110,000 high quality, energy efficient affordable homes by 2032. The £80m over two years announced on 26 April takes our investment in affordable housing in 2024-25 to nearly £600m, which will deliver social and affordable homes across Scotland, including acquisitions.

The recently established Housing Investment Taskforce will, over the course of financial year 2024/25, work to identify actions that will unlock both existing and new commitments to investment in housing across all tenures, bringing together key interests of investors and investees.

Following recent legal proceedings, we will shortly provide a message to stakeholders relating to policy 16 of National Planning Framework. In addition, we are working with stakeholders on a series of cross-sector actions to ensure those involved collectively play a positive part in housing delivery.