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It was Transport Scotland’s intention to publish the Emergency Measures Agreements 1 (March – September 2020) performance and management fee values for (a) Abellio ScotRail and (b) Serco Caledonian Sleepers Ltd in April 2021.

However, due to the pre-election period this was not possible and Transport Scotland now intend to publish this information in due course upon completion of an appropriate diligence process to establish the correct contractual amounts.

Transport Scotland officials meet regularly with their counterparts at Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) and CalMac Ferries Ltd to discuss future investment in vessels and harbours for the Clyde and Hebrides network, primarily but not exclusively at a formal bi-monthly programme board. Discussions have produced a forward programme which was summarised for the next five years in Annex D of the Scottish Government's Infrastructure Investment Plan published 4 February 2021 and is also reflected in the CMAL Business Plan 2021-2024 published 9 April 2021.

The cost incurred due to disruptions, including potential charter of any additional tonnage, if available, would depend on the time over which vessels were chartered for and under which conditions. We are actively exploring opportunities for chartering additional tonnage, including consideration of the suitability of MV Pentalina to increase resilience across the network. In addition, we have also confirmed new investment of £580 million in ports and vessels to support and improve Scotland’s ferry services over the next five years, as part of our wider infrastructure investment plan.

It is too early to say where future vessels to replace the current CalMac fleet will be built. These replacement programmes will follow national procurement rules; ensuring quality, value for money and the timely delivery of vessels to serve our island communities.

On 8 June 2021 I announced that the process to build a new ferry for Islay was formally under way. The Scottish Government look forward to continuing to work with key stakeholders to develop programmes for major vessels and small vessels – investing at least £580m in our ferry networks over the next five years.

We are committed to improving safety on our trunk roads including the A77. We have invested over £88.7 million on the A77 since 2007 to ensure its safe and efficient operation. In addition, we have spent approximately £35 million on four separate road schemes on the A77 and are currently constructing the Maybole Bypass at a cost of £29 million.

We carry out an annual road safety review on the entire trunk road network including the A77. From this review a number of schemes were completed in the last year including the installation of safety measures at the A77 / A751 junction north of Cairnryan, upgraded road markings on the approach to Dutchhouse Roundabout and a scheme is programed for construction shortly to upgrade the street lighting columns at the Holmston Roundabout with passively safe columns.

Other schemes currently under design include the signalisation of the Doonholm Road junction at Ayr, further safe systems measures including upgraded traffic signs, safety barriers and footway improvements at the A751 junction and measures to manage speed of traffic through Girvan.

Additional average speed cameras were installed and became operational on 29 April 2021 on the A77 Ayr Bypass between Whitletts Roundabout and Bankfield Roundabout.

As part of a package of measures to encourage active travel, removing barriers to accessibility and improve pedestrian and cycle safety we are also investigating upgrades to the existing footway from Bogend Toll to Dutchhouse Roundabout, increasing the width of the shared use path from Holmston to Whittlets Roundabout and a pedestrian crossing assessment is currently ongoing in Kirkoswald.

This is an operational matter for ScotRail in negotiation with its staff through established collective bargaining arrangements.

I understand that established rest day working agreements remain in place for all ScotRail operational staff. The exceptional supplementary arrangements for Ticket Examiners and Conductors came to an end following successful recruitment, training and deployment of some 140 additional staff.

Similarly, 160 new drivers have been recruited, but Covid safety restrictions governing training in driving cabs have prevented their full training and deployment and therefore the exceptional supplementary arrangements remain in place until their training and deployment can be completed.

As I have confirmed to Parliament, I am open to constructive and viable suggestions for improving matters and we are actively exploring opportunities for chartering additional tonnage to increase resilience across the network.

Chartering an additional freight vessel for the Stornoway-Ullapool route from June to September, in order to free up deck capacity for resident and visitor vehicles, was identified as a short-term option in recent Outer Hebrides Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) study report. However, charter options for such a freight vessel have not been readily available. We would also need to carefully consider the business case around charter, purchase or new build of a vessel as part of work for the Islands Connectivity Plan.

Collective bargaining agreements are a matter for the relevant employer and employees. The employer in each case would depend on the type of charter entered into. If a vessel is chartered on a ‘bare boat’ basis and crewed by CalMac staff then existing contract arrangement regarding collective bargaining arrangements would apply. If a time charter on a temporary basis is progressed, for example the MV Pentalina, then the employer of the crew would not be CalMac and different arrangements would apply.

The cause of the breakdown remains subject to ongoing investigation. It would be inappropriate to comment further until that investigation is complete.

The construction of the A77 Maybole Bypass project is progressing well and is anticipated to be complete in winter 2021 as confirmed in the Infrastructure Investment Plan update published in December 2020.

This date is subject to any further impacts of the pandemic and unforeseen circumstances such as the effects of exceptional weather.