Chamber and committees

I am very grateful for those answers.

Good morning, panel. My first question is for Craig Macadam. One of the conditions for success is to have an independent monitoring and reporting body alongside an improved framework—I am sure that you will have heard me ask about that earlier. The consultation does not say what either of those things should look like. Do you take a view on that?

Like Margaret Morrison’s answer, that was a useful summary.

Finally, I will throw that question to Sam Bourne, because I thought that the submission that came in from the Arran Ferry Action Group had some fascinating points on that area. Do you want to add anything to the two answers that we have already heard about where decisions on provision, procurement and specification should be made?

I understand. Thank you all very much for your answers.

I have one question, which I will direct to Margaret Morrison and Joe Reade, but I am conscious that, based on his submission, Sam Bourne might want to come in at the end. Where do you believe decisions on ferry service provision, vessel specification and procurement are best taken? Should they be taken by national organisations such as CMAL and Transport Scotland, by local authorities or, indeed, by something else, such as a transport forum?

Thank you very much for that.

I will throw the same question to Joe Reade, as he made some comments earlier about vessel size and capacity. Joe, is Margaret Morrison right that decisions on service provision and capacity should be taken at local authority level with chief engineers and others who know about those things?

Good morning. My first question is to John Cunningham. Throughout the inquiry, there has been a concern about the lack of financial resources available to local authorities to deliver net zero goals. I am thinking about your earlier remarks. Do you feel that investment for nature restoration and natural infrastructure reflects the importance of those matters within local authorities but also—given the significant lack of funding for councils from central Government, which you mentioned earlier—the non-ring-fenced resources coming to local authorities from central Government?

I am very grateful. Julie Waldron, would you like to add to that?

I am very grateful. Nick Halfhide, on the point that Julie Waldron has just pulled out, how could more effective partnerships—including leadership from senior staff and elected members—and policy levers for local authorities support the use of natural infrastructure and nature-based solutions at local authority level? Allowing for the complexities of leveraging private finance that you mentioned earlier, can that be done without a fundamental reassessment of local authority funding by the Scottish Government?

Thank you—I am very grateful. I will hand back to the convener but, before I do so, for full transparency I add that, earlier, I asked a question about buy-to-let properties. Just so that the committee is aware of it, I advise that I have a property that is occasionally let out but is not a buy-to-let one.