Chamber and committees

The latest output schedule from Hitachi shows that they plan to deliver all 70 class 385 trains to Scotland by next April. This will allow ScotRail to introduce the full fleet by the May 2019 timetable change date across various central belt routes.

The next tranche of trains to be accepted will support further driver training and the next service introduction milestone will see another three pairs introduced onto the Edinburgh/Glasgow (E-G) via Falkirk High route during September. As more new Hitachi trains enter passenger service across the central belt this in turn will allow more class 380 trains to be transferred back to Inverclyde services.

Network Rail has confirmed it currently anticipates the redevelopment of Glasgow Queen Street Station, part of the Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP), being delivered within the original estimate of £120 million.

Scottish Ministers announced in March 2018 a further £80 million investment in the North Hanover Street car park site at the station. This investment, which is separate from EGIP, will deliver extensive retail, food and beverage opportunities resulting in an enhanced economic return. The development deck which will also be delivered will unlock wider development opportunities in the area, delivering substantial benefits for Glasgow.

No banknote, including Bank of England notes or notes issued by the Scottish banks, qualifies for the term 'legal tender' in Scotland. However, the term legal tender does not in itself govern the acceptability of banknotes in transactions. Whether or not notes have legal tender status, their acceptability as a means of payment is essentially a matter for agreement between the parties involved. Bank notes, including those issued by the Bank of England, continue to be accepted as a form of payment across Scotland.

Our approach to setting our public sector pay policy reflects the value the Scottish Government places on its public sector workforce and underpins our drive to create a more successful country focussing on business growth, jobs and fair work. Leading by example we have taken positive steps to address years of austerity by being the first UK government to lift the 1% pay cap. We have taken in to account cost of living and affordability to deliver a pay policy for 2018-19. A policy which balances the need for fairness and consistency across all public sector workforces with the flexibility for individual bodies to address local pay issues, working to advance earnings growth, particularly for those on lower incomes.

The pay policy set the framework for pay negotiations on public sector pay increases for both staff pay and senior appointments within the Scottish Government and its Associated Departments, Executive Agencies, Non-Departmental Public Bodies and Public Corporations in Scotland over the period 2018-19, a combined workforce of 37,500. The pay policy provides a guaranteed increase for lower paid staff and a cap for the highest earners but allows individual employers the flexibility to apply variable increases to address local pay issues such as pay inequalities and/or recruitment and retention. Details of the 2018-19 pay policy and who it applies to are detailed on the public sector pay webpages: www.gov.scot/publicsectorpay

Since opening to traffic in September 2017, the Queensferry Crossing has been open each day, with the exception of Thursday 30 November 2017 to 6 December 2017 when defects identified to the surfacing adjacent to the joints of the Queensferry Crossing meant that some snagging works were necessary prior to increasing the speed limit to 70mph. The Queensferry Crossing remained open during these works and traffic southbound was diverted over the Forth Road Bridge.

The Scottish Government is working with NFU Scotland to support SEPA to disseminate information to farmers, crofters and land managers on how to avoid problems and minimise impact resulting from water extraction and irrigation practice.

We will continue to monitor the situation on a weekly basis and discuss the position when the Agricultural Weather Advisory Panel next meets on 8 August. The Panel was established by the Scottish Government in December 2017 to act as a taskforce for rapidly sharing information, best practice and encouraging co-operation across industry to help farmers and crofters respond effectively to challenging weather conditions, both in the short term and in building longer term resilience.

To date, the Agricultural Weather Advisory Panel has progressed a number of actions. For example, it has extended the scope of support under the Scottish Government’s Farm Advisory Service to include: specialist advice for farmers and crofters through the National Advice Line; face to face advice on feed budgeting; and delivery of a number of one-to-many resilience workshop events. In addition, the Farm Advisory Service has issued a number of technical advice notes and updates on how to better cope with weather events, including advice on responding to prolonged dry periods. We have welcomed the campaign being conducted by NFU Scotland and others to encourage farm businesses to plan now for their autumn and winter feed needs.

We are supportive of HIAL’s planned Remote Towers and Centralised Air Passenger Surveillance air traffic management solution which is essential to ensure that air services in the Highlands and Islands can continue to operate in the future in a safe and efficient way. The HIAL Board has taken the decision in principle to locate the Remote Towers Control Centre at Inverness based upon a robust Locations Options Appraisal by the leading consultants EKOS Ltd.

There are currently 11 major sized vessels, 4 medium sized vessels and 16 minor sized vessels within the CalMac fleet, a total of 31 vessels.

The estimated cost of replacing the entire CalMac fleet at today’s prices would be around £800m.

The Scottish Government is committed to making local taxation more progressive whilst improving the financial accountability of local government and is always open to further dialogue on options for reform.

However, Scottish Ministers have been clear that they will not consider requests to explore a Tourist Tax unless the tourism and hospitality industry are involved from the outset and their long-term interests and the sustainability of tourism are fully recognised.

The Scottish Government is watching the development of Hyperloop, which is still in the early concept stage, with interest. In the meantime the Government continues to invest in developing the transport network using existing technologies to meet current and future demand.