Chamber and committees

The sensible thing to do is to see what the review says and how the options are assessed, because the options that are recommended will have an impact on the timescale, as will the amount of capital that is available.

I am not talking only about the A96; I am talking about all of the transport budget. You will know that there will be a 7 per cent reduction in capital funding from the Scottish Government in the coming years, because there was no inflation proofing for capital funding. Also, as you will be aware, construction inflation has been in excess of regular inflation. There are challenges for all aspects of construction.

I think that it would be remiss of me to give you a commitment on timescales before we have done the necessary piece of work. We will report as soon as the assessments have been done.

Bus travel is crucial. Obviously, different parts of the country have different types of connectivity, but in many parts of Scotland people who use public transport use the bus. I think that the figure was that 79 per cent of people who use public transport use the bus. It is already part of our transport mix.

This is about connectivity. When I was talking about the fair fares review and the idea of accessibility and affordability—I am now going back to the convener’s point about active travel—I said that how we integrate transport hubs such as railways stations with our bus network is really important. The work that took place in Lanarkshire on Motherwell train station, in partnership with the regional transport authority, was very important in ensuring that there is alignment between buses and trains and that it is easy for people to use bus travel to connect to rail travel.

Everyone is aware of the challenge: despite the considerable subsidy of the bus system—which has been important—we have a deregulated system, so people and companies can decide which routes to run. They run the buses commercially, unless they are subsidised by local authorities, so they have to make decisions about that. That is where some challenges are.

There is the community bus fund, which is offered in agreement with local authorities, and information about that will be published fairly soon. That is helping us to work out the priorities. The bus partnership fund is, as well. If I am honest, the bus partnership fund is a bit slower than I would have expected, in terms of how it can be delivered to get more focus on bus travel. The more people use buses, the more they can be prioritised. I know that that is quite controversial in some places, but it makes services more reliable, and the more reliable buses are, the more people are likely to use them instead of their cars.

It is a chicken-and-egg situation. A lot of the work has to be done with regional transport partnerships and councils. I have met the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities lead on the subject, Councillor Gail Macgregor, a number of times since I have come into post. That relationship is key because local councils determine how they want to prioritise bus travel.

That was a broad answer, but it touched on a number of issues.

We might have to ask about ScotRail’s experiences and observations. There are tensions that can cause difficulties and people can behave in ways that they should not.

No, I think that things have moved on a bit since then.

I am acutely aware of the timescale for the provision for retendering or, indeed, extension. I am not going to give you any information about what I will recommend to my Cabinet colleagues that we should do on that, but you will be one of the first to know, because of your responsibilities and interests. That is as much as I can tell you just now.

On driving improvement, you are right to identify the tensions. Clearly, there are merits and demerits in terms of the committee’s recommendations, and you acknowledge that. On the views of islanders, I would lean heavily on my experience of talking to ferry committees in meetings and on visits over the past few months. They want to see service change and improvement. Some of that is about attitude, behaviour and relationship management. I do not underestimate or shy away from the fact that the fleet’s lack of resilience has consequences, which CalMac has to deal with. I also make it clear that communities continuously support and praise CalMac’s front-line staff, who often have to deal with the immediate issues.

There are changes that I expect to see, particularly in business-to-business aspects, such as the role of freight, whose economic value and importance we must recognise, as I know the committee has done. If we want to see the expansion of economic activity in our islands that we need—it is happening in relation to renewable energy and whisky from Islay, for example—that must be built into the changes, improvements and service standards that CalMac or any future operator has to deliver on. We can build such service standards into any future contract.

It is incumbent on the board, whose chair I have met, to address what I expect from it. I cannot and should not have to micromanage CalMac. My relationship is with the board, so I will make clear to it my expectations. I reassure the committee that, in my very first meeting with the chair of David MacBrayne, I made it clear that customer focus is a key aspect that I want delivery on.

I know that the committee wants me to answer everything now. I cannot do that, but I will make sure that you are the first to know when such decisions are finally taken.

You asked about the timescale for the review that will indicate what the options are, what the best way to do this is and how to make sure that the improvements that are made are the best improvements and the safety issues are addressed. You are absolutely right to focus on that. It is a really important area for attention. However, I am not going to pre-empt what I will get on the review options. Clearly, we want to meet the timescales that have previously been committed to but, if you look at what the First Minister says in the published programme for government, you will see that the A96 is recognised as the priority that it is.

The timescale that you are talking about came from 2011, which is 12 years ago. I understand that all Governments need to be held accountable. This Government has been in power for a considerable time and we have focused on a number of major transport areas. The review that has taken place has been very detailed, with considerable responses from the public, and we cannot ignore that in our work. That is why the work will be done diligently and appropriately, and I say again that you will receive the report as soon as that assessment has been done.

All the stages of the strategic transport projects review appraisal—the initial appraisal, the preliminary options appraisal, the detailed options appraisal and the post-appraisal stage—have to take place in order to progress the work. That is exactly what I would expect—

Part of that is about engaging with Angus Campbell and the ferries community board about their expectations. I have met him since their report was produced and have had discussions about what the board actually wants, and what it really wants are improvements to the management of CalMac at senior level. I think that it has been absolutely clear about that requirement.

The second condition that is mentioned in the committee’s report is also really important. As unintended consequences will arise from certain decisions, those decisions must be robust. I think that that is what the committee was indicating.

It is difficult, because the committee is saying one thing and the community board is saying another, and I am left to try to navigate between the two as I come to a decision. The committee’s advice is really important, but it is not the only advice, which I think that the committee has recognised.

You have heard from the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Net Zero and Just Transition. She leads on major infrastructure in terms of the strategic decisions and, importantly, budget decisions that will need to be made across the piece, as you would expect.

On cross-portfolio working, active travel is really integrated in a lot of our work. I can give you a couple of examples in relation to rail. We recently opened the refurbished Stirling station, which is very much aligned with active travel. That includes accessibility to bus services and particularly to more active travel such as cycling. The same applies to the reopening of Motherwell rail station.

In relation to the A9, which you mentioned, I know that there is interest in how we can ensure that there are safe routes around the A9 in particular areas. A number of MSPs, including John Swinney, have contacted me about those issues, including cycle lanes alongside the A9.

On how we work together, we always need to look for opportunities to connect active travel and rail. That is the big vision for how we can change Scotland through our activity. If we can link active travel, bus services and rail more, with greater connectivity, that is the big picture that everybody wants to see. The challenge is how we actually deliver it, including where and when, and what the priorities are.

I hope that that assures you that we do and will work very closely together.

My answer will be similar to the answer that I gave to your first question with regard to when the governance issue will be resolved. The issues are all connected, including what happens to the governance, CHFS 3, the wider improvement delivery exercise and the islands connectivity plan. Those issues are all part and parcel of the same thing, and I am looking at them in the round. The committee recommended that the issues should be looked at in the round, because some of them were being dealt with sequentially.

I cannot give you certainty on the date, but I can tell you that, in terms of my priorities, I am having regular and constant contact with my officials in order to get us into a position in which I can make that announcement. As I said in my previous answer, I know that the committee has a keen interest in that decision, and I will alert you about when that will be made.