- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 23 February 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 6 March 2018
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its plan to bid for the next ScotRail franchise, what estimate it has made of what the maximum cost would be to (a) participate in the tendering exercise and (b) operate the franchise if it was successful, broken down by how it reached this figure.
Answer
Our consistent view over many years is that there ought to be a level playing field between the private and public sector in bidding for rail franchises. This extends to costs associated with the franchise.
As with the private sector, any public sector bidder’s costs could be significant. Initial estimates based on previous franchises indicate bid costs in the region of £5 million to £10 million.
Again, as with the private sector, the costs of a public sector body operating the franchise would depend on (i) the scope of the franchise specification, (ii) forecast passenger revenues and other miscellaneous income which reduce the level of subsidy required (as happens at present), and (iii) the bidder’s determination of the quality and cost aspects of its bid. As the franchise specification has yet to be decided, no cost estimate has therefore been calculated by the Scottish Government.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 23 February 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 6 March 2018
To ask the Scottish Government by what date the full fleet of class 385 trains will be (a) delivered to ScotRail and (b) operational; what the cost has been of the delay in delivery; what financial penalties have been imposed on Hitachi as a result of the delay, and whether it will provide a breakdown of what impact the delay has had on capacity.
Answer
The ScotRail Franchise Agreement requires the full fleet of
70 Class 385 trains to be available for passenger service by December 2018. Scottish Ministers continue to receive regular updates from ScotRail and their supplier – Hitachi Rail Europe on their progress to gain approval from the independent Office of Road and Rail to enable service introduction and to achieve that contract target.
Two 7-car formations using existing class 380 electric trains have been running on the Edinburgh – Glasgow route since 10 December 2017 providing 100 extra seats per journey. All eight peak time formations were due to be operated by the new fleet from last December and once that is delivered 26% more seats will be available compared with the 6-car diesel class 170 trains.
Our immediate focus is to ensure ScotRail successfully introduce the new fleet while maintaining their continued focus on performance and reliability. Any delays will need to be resolved within the commercially confidential agreement between Hitachi (manufacturers), ScotRail (operators) & Caledonian Rail (owners - who lease fleet to ScotRail). Late delivery is not anticipated to result in additional costs to Scottish Ministers. Penalties are available to Ministers as a consequence of delays, and this is a commercial matter between Scottish Ministers and ScotRail.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 23 February 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 6 March 2018
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it is allocating to investigate the potential options for the Clydeport site at Hunterston; which agency is delivering this funding; who is in receipt of it, and what information it has regarding the scope of the options.
Answer
Scottish Government’s Decommissioning Challenge Fund provided grant funding of £225,000 to Peel Ports (who own Clydeport) for a number of studies to both develop engineering options for a caisson dry dock gate to replace the existing earth bund and to prepare the necessary information for consent and licence applications for this use.
Scottish Enterprise (SE) has been fully engaged for over two years to help Peel develop new employment generating uses for the site. Scottish Development International and North Ayrshire Council have been part of the joint approach.
To date SE have not funded any studies of options for the site however they have recently finalised a report following a study of opportunities for LNG use in Scotland in which Hunterston was used as a case study for a reception port.
Peel is also considering on-site electricity/heat generation to attract high heat/power users to the site by providing cheaper utilities than grid provision.
Peel has published marketing information on the site which promotes it as a multi-use Port and Resource Centre. This relates to the coal yard part of the site.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 16 February 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 6 March 2018
To ask the Scottish Government how many times the Ardrossan-Arran ferry service has been (a) cancelled and (b) delayed since 1 January 2018, broken down by reason.
Answer
From a total of 544 scheduled sailings, ?the Ardrossan-Arran (Brodick) ferry service has been (a) cancelled 34 times and (b) delayed 73 times between 01 January 2018 and 15 February 2018. In the following table a breakdown of the reasons for these disruptions is shown.
Ardrossan/Arran Disruptions | Level 1 Lateness Count | Level 2 Lateness Count | Cancelled Sailings | Total |
| | | | | |
Adverse Weather | 11 | 7 | 30 | 48 |
Broken Down Vehicle | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Bunkering Issues | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Knock-on Delay From Previous Sailing | 16 | 13 | 0 | 29 |
Late Bus | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Late Foot Passenger Traffic | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Mechanical Problems (Ship) | 2 | 4 | 2 | 8 |
Mechanical Problems (Shore) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Navigational Issues | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
Ship Involved In Emergency | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Substitute Vessel (Annual Overhaul) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Very High Tide | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Very Low Tide | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
Vessel Changeover | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Total | 45 | 28 | 34 | 107 |
1) All disruptions over 10 minutes between 1 Jan 2018 and 15 Feb 2018
2) Level 1 Lateness - arrives 10-20 minutes later than Published Timetable
3) Level 2 Lateness - arrives over 20 Minutes later than Published Timetable
During periods of service disruption CalMac will, where possible, advise the travelling public in advance of any potentially cancelled sailings or amended timetables. This information is provided via the ferry operator’s website, by text and social media, as well as the national and local media.
Where periods of disruption are anticipated, CalMac will seek to flex the scheduled ferry service to provide sailings before or after the revised timetable, to minimise the impact on our remote and island communities.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 19 February 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 1 March 2018
To ask the Scottish Government how it will respond to SEPA’s reported announcement that major firms are failing to meet environmental protection measures.
Answer
Regulation of businesses’ compliance with environmental protection measures is a matter for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). SEPA’s Compliance Assessment Scheme (CAS) results for 2016 showed that 92% of its regulated sites were compliant with their environmental consent requirements. The scheme is a regulatory tool that helps SEPA ensure that compliance is delivered and that action is taken to deal with any compliance failures that they identify.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 19 February 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 28 February 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what the subsidy cost will be of extending the contract with Argyll Ferries Limited until December 2018.
Answer
Negotiations between Transport Scotland and Argyll Ferries Ltd are currently on-going in relation to extending the contract to December 2018. Details including subsidy costs are being considered as part of these discussions.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 19 February 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 28 February 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to promote working mothers and pregnant women in the workplace, in light of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s comment that employers across the UK are “in the dark ages” regarding the role of working mothers in the private sector.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to the development of an inclusive labour market. Following the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) pregnancy and maternity report in 2016, a Ministerial working group, whose membership includes the EHRC and representation from the private sector, was established in December 2016 to challenge pregnancy and maternity discrimination in the workplace. I chair this working group.
Minutes from Working Group’s meetings are available on http://www.employabilityinscotland.com/key-clients/women-and-work/pregnancy-and-maternity-discrimination-working-group/ .
While powers over flexible working, including parental leave and pay, are reserved to the UK Government, the Scottish Government encourages flexible working practices by funding Family Friendly Working Scotland, which is working with employers to change workplace cultures. Family Friendly Working Scotland are also members of the Working Group on Pregnancy and Maternity Discrimination.
We have recently launched the £500,000 Workplace Equality Fund which will deliver employer led innovative solutions to overcome workforce inequality, including those faced by faced by women. We also fund a Returner’s programme to assist women to re-enter the workforce following a career break.
We will continue to engage with partners, including the EHRC and employers, to support pregnant women and working mothers in the workplace.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 19 February 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Aileen Campbell on 27 February 2018
To ask the Scottish Government how it will respond to recent data from the Care Inspectorate, which reportedly highlights issues with malnutrition in care homes.
Answer
The Care Inspectorate is the scrutiny body that supports improvement and monitors the quality of care in Scotland, including care homes.
The Care Inspectorate carries out regular, unannounced inspections of every care home in Scotland and if a concern is raised about any aspect of care, including food or nutrition, it works with care services to help them improve. If the Care Inspectorate is not satisfied that sufficient improvement has been made, nor sustained, further action can be taken.
The Scottish Government will continue to work with the Care Inspectorate to improve nutrition and hydration in care homes. The Care Inspectorate is to publish an improvement resource on food and fluid in care homes later this year, to support improvement in this area.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 19 February 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 23 February 2018
To ask the Scottish Government when it expects its EU CAP IT system will be fully functional and allow farmers to receive their CAP payments in full.
Answer
The system has been functional for some time and, for example, has enabled us to process approximately 18,000 Basic Payment Scheme claims for both 2015 and 2016. Further enhancements in functionality continue to be applied.
The Scottish Government has issued 17,595 Basic Payment Scheme loan offers, and made loan payments, worth 90% of their full anticipated Basic Payment Scheme payment, to 13,350 business with a total value of £312.6 million.
We are aiming to complete full Basic Payment Scheme payments to all businesses for scheme year 2017 by 30 June 2018. However in any year there are a small number of more complex cases that take longer to process, which could extend final completion for some payments beyond that date.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 February 2018
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 28 February 2018
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the proposed merger between Police Scotland and the British Transport Police.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 28 February 2018
