The BBC can sometimes get things incorrect. It did so not least, and quite seriously, when it said that there was a failure to complete sea trials for the MV Islay. That was very serious, so we had to get that amended.

I do not, in fact, have any civil servants in Edinburgh. My civil servants are based in Glasgow. That is one factual inaccuracy. Further, the formal invite to carry out that function was given to a well-respected and well-known islander, and I am glad that she did it. Such speculation also diminishes her role.

Gossip should not end up in reports that I then get asked about. I will stick with the Ethical Standards Commissioner and the correct way to go about these things.

It was quite a long inquiry.

I always oblige, convener.

I thank you and the committee for inviting me to the meeting. I have tried to keep the committee informed by regular correspondence on various significant developments. In these brief opening remarks, I will set out some of the Scottish Government’s key achievements.

The national transport strategy’s vision and priorities remain central to policy and decision making for the Scottish Government, as well as the focus of our regional transport partnerships and a wide range of organisations. We need that to continue, as that collaborative approach is key to delivering public transport provision for the people of Scotland and helping them to access services, education, employment and leisure in a more sustainable way.

Encouraging people to use public transport is fundamental to our vision. To support that, a number of commitments have been delivered, and there have been developments to improve connectivity, accessibility and affordability. I would like to highlight some of those. We have introduced free interisland ferry travel for young people and expanded the concessionary ferry voucher scheme to include islanders aged 19 to 21. The free rail travel pilot for companions for blind people has also been introduced, and we are working to launch the pilot scheme for free bus travel for people seeking asylum, as well as a bus fare cap that is to be trialled in one of our regions.

As members well know, peak fares have been abolished across ScotRail services, and we have opened new rail stations at Hairmyres and East Kilbride, with the wider East Kilbride enhancement project set to deliver electrification by the end of the year.

There have been a number of port infrastructure improvements supporting resilience for our communities. The strategic approach to the islands connectivity plan and the vessels and ports plan for the Clyde and Hebrides and northern isles networks were published in May, and the direct award of the Clyde and Hebrides ferry contract to CalMac Ferries was delivered last week. The new arrangements will see almost £4 billion of public funding investment over 10 years, moving from a commercial arrangement to a model that is fully focused on delivering a public service for the communities that depend on those ferry services.

Work is also on-going to prepare and develop the northern isles ferry service 4 contract, with services to be procured by 30 June 2028. Following her recent successful sea trials, the MV Isle of Islay will be handed over to Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd by November, and I look forward to seeing her service on the Kennacraig to Islay route.

On major projects, the £152.7 million construction contract was awarded for the fourth section of the A9 dualling programme, which is between Tay crossing and Ballinluig. We have published the A96 corridor review report and consultation, and we have engaged with local communities on resilience work that is on-going for the A83, as work has continued on the short, medium and long-term solutions.

One of my main concerns has been safety on our roads. Through the road safety improvement fund, £10 million has been allocated to councils for initiatives that address safety concerns across the local road network.

On bus and accessible travel, we have invested further in zero-emission buses. We have recently awarded more than £26 million for active travel infrastructure and construction projects across Scotland; established a working group to tackle antisocial behaviour; and welcomed two major bus operators to the national smart ticketing advisory board. We have announced £4.5 million of funding for rural and island electric vehicle charging, and launched the cross-pavement charging grant pilot programme. Further, £20 million is being provided to encourage and enable more households and businesses with lower incomes to purchase electric vehicles.

We have also established the heavy goods vehicle market readiness fund to provide £2 million to support collaboration to identify investment in HGV decarbonisation.

We have published our aviation statement, which outlines the specific actions that we will take to encourage decarbonisation and increase international connectivity.

As you will be aware, we face many challenges across all modes. We continue to work together with partners to take forward a range of vital steps to address those challenges and deliver our commitments.

Finally, earlier this year, we published our report “Connecting Scotland—The Value of Transport”, which provides a broad framework for understanding and illustrating how transport contributes to Scotland’s growing economy. That is a useful resource for decision makers, both locally and nationally, to draw on.

I understand that the committee is eager to explore many of those issues and others. I look forward to answering members’ questions.

I do not have any bus officials with me, because we thought that we were going to go into other areas and that we would be finished by now—I know that the committee might still want to go into other areas.

I have not had those discussions with SPT, and I lead on the budget areas. Unless and until we have a business plan, or even an ask, it is very difficult to say—it is all hypothetical. SPT cannot have those discussions until it has come up with its own costed plans.

The report from CMAL—which is negotiating on our behalf, as the appropriate body to do so—is that the discussion on the heads of terms is well advanced. Clearly, some of the property—that is, the assets—has not been the subject of any transactions since the 19th century, and when it comes to the final agreement we want to ensure that the detail of that is all provided for. I think that Peel Ports would reflect that the process needs to be done properly and negotiated in a way that delivers a good contract. That is what we are proposing.

Why is that important? It is important, because there is a limit to what the Scottish Government can invest in any private organisation. The limit is about £60 million—

I have been making sure that, in the meantime, it has been working. The parties have worked together in a constructive way, as has been identified by those who work with that tripartite combination. The joint working between CMAL, CalMac and Transport Scotland officials on the in-person consultations and those organisations all coming together with one voice is really important.

It has been a busy year for ferries, not least given the commissioning and procurement of almost a third of the fleet. CalMac, as I have recognised, now has a direct award. A lot of work by Transport Scotland colleagues and CalMac was involved in producing that.

I have always said that I would be open to a change in governance arrangements. Had such a change happened during the two years since I came into post, it would have disrupted a really important period of intense work with everyone. I was a member of the committee when it took extensive evidence for the ferries inquiry. I remember Monica Lennon and I going on a very informative visit to the Western Isles together, which was before you joined the committee.

CMAL’s function is absolutely essential. I am open to considering whether its governance arrangements could be handled by bringing different bodies together. Now that we have a direct award for at least one of the partners, we are in a position to more readily consider what we might want to do going forward. I am not closing off that option. Now might be a more appropriate time than any point over the past two years to look at that.

I do not want to go into too much detail, but I think that the situation has improved. That does not mean that there is not an issue, and I am very conscious that you have to look at it. If you are testing whether I am aware of the different things that matter for any future arrangement, including pensions, the answer is yes.

Those are big and major strategic projects. Strathclyde Partnership for Transport is leading on putting together what is required for a business case for the Glasgow metro scheme. You will know from your experience on the committee that business cases have to be presented if there is an approach for national funding and so on.

On developments with Aberdeen rapid transit, Aberdeen has led in many ways in terms of using bus. I am less familiar with the third project relating to the south of Scotland—it has not come to me, given the stage that it is at. The business cases will need to come to us when it gets to the point of looking for national funding. In fact, all those projects are still some distance away. Local authorities will identify what funding they have to bring, and, given that the projects are longer term, what financial mechanisms they might want to deploy, using their borrowing and other powers, to help to finance the roll-out. Consideration of that aspect is really important. A lot of advisory work goes on in that regard, with Transport Scotland providing that advice.

There is also a lot of planning work. Indeed, the other day, I had a debrief from people who are involved with the national census, who told me about the statistics and information that they have at a micro level, which are helping to inform the plans for the Glasgow metro.

The partnerships are not accountable to me. We have set out the plans, the projects and the priorities in relation to where we will provide support, but it is important to note that there is not a command-and-control aspect regarding the projects.