Chamber and committees

The draft Islands Connectivity Plan (ICP) Strategic Approach paper was published for public consultation earlier this year. Building on the Fair Fares Review, we said that we would take forward detailed consideration of a number of ferry fare proposals, including on Road Equivalent Tariff, islander fares and under 22s.

The outputs from the consultation and engagement, published on 3 September, will support the finalisation of the ICP Strategic Approach, and will inform the development of the remaining elements of the ICP, including work on future ferry fares policy.

The draft Islands Connectivity Plan (ICP) Strategic Approach paper was published for public consultation earlier this year. Building on the Fair Fares Review, we said that we would take forward detailed consideration of a number of ferry fare proposals, including on Road Equivalent Tariff, islander fares and under 22s.

The outputs from the consultation and engagement, published on 3 September, will support the finalisation of the ICP Strategic Approach, and will inform the development of the remaining elements of the ICP, including work on future ferry fares policy.

Scottish Ministers make contractual grant payments based on the projected cumulative difference between Operating Costs and Revenue for each Service Year.

Islander fares on Northern Isles routes were frozen from 2020 to 2024 along with a 20% reduction in cabin fares. This meant that government effectively bore the loss of revenue.

These initiatives have required the Scottish Government to invest an additional £4.8m since 2020, over and above the general subsidy, in order to protect islanders from the impacts of recent high levels of inflation.

The decision to extend the NIFS3 contract will be carried out as part of the current contractual agreement in place. Scottish Ministers have sole discretion on whether they accept the Revised Base Case. Transport Scotland and Serco NorthLink will continue to engage with stakeholders as appropriate on service provisions as per the current contract.

I met Beatrice Wishart in July 2023 to discuss the work carried out by Dogs Against Drugs (Shetland) and have corresponded with her since. Dogs Against Drugs (Shetland) receives funding from the Scottish Government-funded Shetland Alcohol and Drugs partnership and has previously received a one-off grant from the Serious Organised Crime Community Grant Scheme. I have agreed to provide a further one-off grant of £30,000 to help meet current pressures while my officials assess the longer term funding position against an extremely challenging financial climate.

Regrettably, a start date for the review is not confirmed at this time. It is important that the review of the guidance on patient travel expenses reimbursement is considered within the context of wider reform on access to health care which is already in progress. This will inform both how and when the review is taken forward.

In 2023 we prepared the draft Transport to Health plan and have been engaging with Health Boards, Regional Transport Partnerships and other partners to take forward a range of commitments to improve joined up working on transport to health. The plan will be published in September and a workplan has been agreed.

The Marine Directorate is adequately resourced to deliver against the First Minister's priorities and to meet its core Statutory and Regulatory obligations. We continually review our workforce management plan to ensure we are recruiting to match our delivery. Although we do not hold the vacancy information requested, you can find a variety of Scottish Government workforce information online, including the latest Scottish Government Workforce Statistics. Scottish Government Workforce Statistics March 2024 – gov.scot

We are aware of the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023, enforceable in England and Wales but, as yet, have no intelligence on how effective it has been in preventing this sort of crime.

The theft of agricultural plant and machinery is a significant concern to our rural communities and can have serious consequences for the agricultural sector in terms of cost and confidence. The Scottish Government continues to work with partners across the Scottish Partnership Against Rural Crime (SPARC) and through the continued expansion of the local partnerships against Crime (LPARCS) across Scotland with this sort of theft a priority for the group.

SPARC and the local partnerships share intelligence on organised crime groups operating across borders, providing specific information to the rural and farming community on how to best secure and prevent theft of equipment, as well as other crimes. They also demonstrate crime prevention measures in relation to the marking, tracking and securing of farm machinery and tools, including in the highest impacted areas.

The Scottish Government ensures all non-UK vessels landing into Scotland are authorised to do so by meeting detailed regulations which includes vessel tracking and daily electronic catch reporting, and the requirement to complete Port State Control and export documentation. Officers from the Marine Directorate verify documentation by undertaking risk-based remote and physical inspections at ports. The Scottish Government also inspect non-UK vessels at sea using Marine Protection Vessels and surveillance aircraft. Additionally, the Scottish Government is further developing a program of detailed analysis of vessels fishing Scottish waters but landing in another state. This involves working closely with the EU and other third countries to improve data sharing, including sales and inspection data.

The licensing of non-UK fishing vessels to fish in UK waters is led by the UK Government, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. As of 12 August 2024, there were 1549 EU vessels, 213 Norwegian vessels and 26 Faroes vessels with UK access licences.