Chamber and committees

ScotRail is obliged to provide rolling stock to deliver its service provision and has already adjusted leases of existing rolling stock to mitigate against project slippage, it has also agreed leases for more trains during this franchise term and will continue to keep other options for more rolling stock under review. ScotRail also regularly reports on progress with introduction of new fleets. The lease end dates of all rolling stock is contained in the publically available Franchise Agreement, this is due to be updated through the regular Variation process to reflect revised lease end dates. ScotRail continues to work hard to ensure that adequate capacity is provided between Edinburgh and Glasgow in light of Hitachi delays.

The Scottish Energy Strategy, published last December, restated the Scottish Government's continued opposition to new nuclear stations, under current technologies. With the costs of renewable and storage technologies falling, new nuclear capacity is not needed to meet Scotland's long term energy needs, nor, in our view, does it deliver good value for consumers.

This policy does not preclude extensions to the operating life of Scotland's existing nuclear stations.

The Scottish Government are committed to delivering the benefits of a single command structure to provide integrated infrastructure policing in Scotland; our priority is to ensure a safe and seamless transition that delivers continuity of service for rail users and staff and ensures public safety.

On 20 February the Joint Programme Board set up to oversee the integration was advised by Police Scotland and the BTP Authority that the operational aspects of the integration will not be ready for April 2019 as planned; and on the same date the Scottish Government wrote to the Justice Committee Convenor to confirm that we have agreed that a re-planning exercise should take place in the coming months to ensure all aspects have a clear and realistic delivery plan in place. Part of this exercise will involve further joint partnership working by Police Scotland and the BTP Authority on any implications to railway policing in Scotland during this process; this will include consideration of workforce planning for future retirements.

We believe there are significant benefits for BTP officers moving to Police Scotland and the recent survey findings news release said that: “more positively, many respondents thought that the move to Police Scotland could provide greater development opportunities”. There is a need for further engagement with BTP officers and staff on a range of workforce matters and the re-planning exercise provides an opportunity to do so.

The Justice Committee will continue to be updated as the work of the Joint Programme Board progresses.

The principle behind the Scottish Government’s record investment in Scotland’s railways, is to improve the passenger experience on our national ScotRail franchise. Over £475m is being invested in rolling stock, delivering an additional 200 carraiges to provide much needed additional capacity to passengers.

We have also ensured that fares on ScotRail services can be affordable for all, with regulated peak fares capped to the level of the Retail Price Index, and Off-Peak fares, one per cent below RPI. Discounted advance fares enshrined in the contract means passengers can travel between two Scottish cities for £5. And queue-busting smart ticketing is now available across the complete ScotRail network.

Levels of passenger satisfaction are clearly linked to the reliability of ScotRail services, and as my colleague Humza Yousaf has stated in this chamber on an number of occasions, ScotRail’s performance must improve to meet the challenging, but achievable contract targets that the Scottish Government and passengers expect.

The pending introduction of new electric trains and faster Inter-city services will be a game changer in the overarching principle that the ScotRail franchise will improve connections to our communities; enable job opportunities, and spread economic prosperity across the country.

I look forward to the support of this chamber in delivering these aims for Scotland.

Appropriate governance arrangements are in place that allow Glasgow Prestwick Airport’s performance to be monitored through the Operating Company Board and the Holding Company Board.

The HoldCo Board has corporate responsibility for ensuring that the Group fulfils the aims and objectives set by the Scottish Ministers. The OpsCo Board determines the long term strategy for developing the Airport and reports to the HoldCo Board. The Scottish Government has observer status on the OpsCo Board and has non-executive Directors on the HoldCo board.

As we have made clear since acquiring the airport in 2013, it is the Scottish Government’s intention to return the airport to the private sector when the time is right. No timescale has been set.

The draft budget for 2018-19 allocates loan support of £7.9 million for Glasgow Prestwick Airport.

Loan funding required in future years will be considered through the approval of the airport’s business plan for that year.

The Scottish Government provides LGBT Youth Scotland with funding of £260,000 from the Equality Budget in 2017-18 for a package of measures to advance LGBTI equality in Scotland, including delivering History Month.

I spoke at the Equal Futures Conference on 1 February organised by LGBT Youth Scotland and Children in Scotland to mark the start of LGBT History Month 2018, and the Scottish Government has been supporting the social media work of LGBT organisations throughout History Month.

Glasgow Prestwick Airport is operated on a commercial basis and at arm’s length from the Scottish Government. Ministers do not intervene in commercial discussions between any airport and any airline. Decisions on where to base aircraft and which routes to operate are entirely for airlines to take. Scottish airports compete with each other and with airports across Europe for capacity with Ryanair and many other airlines.

The MV Caledonian Isles is the current vessel on the Arran route. The operator made Scottish Government aware that both of its bow thrusters separately failed in early February 2018.

CalMac Ferries Ltd. confirmed that these failures, whilst regrettable, did not pose a safety issue. Following assessment, the operator implemented control measures to mitigate any additional risks identified. The operator notified the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and the Lloyd's Register of Shipping classification society. Both were content for the vessel to remain in service. In both instances the vessel was repaired and the vessel is fully operational.

Transport Scotland officials meet regularly with the operator to discuss matters relating to the operation of the Clyde and Hebrides Public Service contract.