Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government recognises the hazard of asbestos and the risks to health that it poses. However, asbestos is only dangerous when disturbed and advice from the Health and Safety Executive is that asbestos should remain in-situ providing it is in “Good” condition and even where damage is minor it should still be encapsulated rather than removed. The Scottish Government does not provide support to public authorities specifically for the removal of asbestos from their buildings as it is their statutory duty under UK Government legislation to manage issues relating to asbestos affecting their estate.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-28339 on 10 July 2024. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/questions-and-answers.

Retrofit schemes that are funded by the Scottish Government are assessed for value for money and the benefits to owners and the community as a whole. Scottish Government officials meet regularly with councils to monitor progress.

CalMac Ferries Ltd have paid harbour dues each year since 2011-12 as detailed in following table. This information is retained by Contract Year (October to September).

The Scottish Government has not estimated employment levels at P&O Ferries.

Our vision, shared with the Fair Work Convention, is for Scotland to be a leading Fair Work Nation by 2025, where fair work drives success, wellbeing and prosperity for individuals, businesses, organisations and society. Fair Work is a key driver for achieving sustainable and inclusive economic growth and a wellbeing economy.

Control over employment and industrial relations legislation is currently reserved to the UK Parliament; while this remains the case, we will continue to use our Fair Work policy to drive up labour market standards for workers across the Scottish labour market.

P&O are not members of the Scottish Maritime Cluster.

The Scottish Government has not held discussions with the UK Government regarding the provision of public funds to Port of Cairnryan since 2022.

The Scottish Government has not made any payments to P&O Ferries or the Port of Cairnryan since 17 March 2022.

The Scottish Government has not held recent discussions with the UK Government regarding employment conditions for merchant seafarers working on ferry routes between Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Shipping safety, seafarer welfare and employment conditions are matters reserved to the UK Government. The Scottish Government expects the highest shipping safety, crew welfare and employment conditions, and for these to be applied in the case of those vessels and personnel accessing Scotland’s ports and coastal areas.

Between 2020 and 2023 the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations worked in partnership with the Scottish Government to administer the Homelessness Prevention Fund.

The time-limited fund, which ended in December 2023, provided a total of £1.5 million to support the work of housing associations across the country to prevent homelessness for low-income families in Scotland.

We have not extended this particular scheme as the work required to end homelessness has evolved. In particular, the commitment to introduce new homelessness prevention duties points to the need for more targeted funding fully aligned with the aims of the legislation.