Chamber and committees

Transport Scotland and CMAL will continue to engage with CalMac on maintenance, repair, and vessel resilience activities, considering preventative approaches as part of this. The ongoing engagement is aimed at minimising unplanned outages which affect performance of the fleet and at helping to deliver reliable services to our island communities. Direct comparison with other fleets is not straight forward but it is noted that the unplanned events in the CalMac fleet are, in part, a consequence of challenges of maintaining equipment which, in some cases, is no longer supported by original manufacturers. These activities are supported by the ongoing commitment to the additional maintenance and resilience funding. The phased replacement of the older vessels in the major and small vessel fleets, along with the related standardisation of equipment, will reduce unplanned maintenance, and make overhaul and repair activities more efficient over the coming years.

The Scottish Government has had no engagement with the administrators of British Polar Engines Limited.

The Scottish Government has engaged Cosla, setting out its position on tariffs for the use of public charge points, a significant proportion of which are owned by Local Authorities. It is important that tariffs are structured to avoid unduly subsidising those who can afford to pay, support infrastructure maintenance and create the conditions that will be attractive for the future private investment that will be needed to grow the network. As highlighted in a market insights report (Opportunity Through Tariffs to Encourage Private Investment in EV Infrastructure Across Scotland) published by Scottish Futures Trust last November, adoption of such pricing regimes does not preclude local authorities from introducing flexible and off-peak pricing structures to enable more affordable charging.

As energy market policy remains reserved to UK government, the Scottish Government cannot take all of the action it would like to in order to support Scottish consumers. We welcome the intention set out by UK government to consult on how to rebalance the price of gas and electricity. The UK government’s Review of Electricity Market Arrangements presents an opportunity to reflect on the structure of the wholesale electricity market and consider what can be done to ensure it serves the best interests of consumers and delivers net zero. However, this review will take time, so the UK government must also work to identify short-term opportunities to support bill payers today.

CalMac Ferries Ltd (CFL) operate a bespoke planned maintenance system which was introduced a number of years ago on the Major Vessel Fleet. A project is underway to replace the system with a modern off the shelf established, marine system, however this project is dependent on funding being secured. The new system would allow standardisation of planned maintenance across the whole fleet as well as bringing efficiencies to the preventative maintenance, data and record keeping and drive efficiencies in the dry-docking process.

Scotland’s inward investment plan recognises the importance of spillover benefits that inward investment can bring to the Scottish economy. The focus is on attracting embedded investments which deliver knowledge exchange and supply chain benefits for Scottish businesses and educational institutions, as well as on creating high value jobs.

Potential inward investment projects are assessed by Scottish Development International based on agreed parameters, including planned jobs and supply chain impacts, with regional account teams specifically assessing local developmental linkages.

The Scottish Government, in collaboration with delivery partners, has commissioned an independent evaluation of inward investment support which includes a focus on these factors. The evaluation is due to be published in summer 2023 but findings show that inward investment projects attracted in recent years are typically of the developmental nature described by Ivan Turok, namely that they:

1. have a high degree of local autonomy;

2. play an important role in global value chains;

3. deliver significant supply chain benefits;

4. are engaged in knowledge exchange with businesses and with the Higher & Further Education sectors;

5. are diverse in terms of the mix of industrial sectors;

6. exhibit high levels of innovation; and

7. often expand operations in subsequent years.

As set out in the National Strategy for Economic Transformation (NSET) and the Programme for Government 2022-23, a review will be conducted of how to support Scotland’s social enterprise, co-operative and employee owned business sectors to grow. The review will commence in Autumn 2023, with an initial pre-review stakeholder discussion to be held this month.

Funding provided to NHS Boards for Childsmile programme delivery is set out in the following table.

In addition to direct programme allocations, funding is provided to NHS Boards through the annual Outcomes Framework allocation to deliver a range of core services, including for Childsmile. The total value of this allocation for each financial year is also set out in the following table:

The Scottish Government currently has no plans to introduce regulations under the Act.

However, involvement in local football clubs can be important to communities and that is why the First Minister recently launched the Fan Bank on 31 May 2023. This initiative is aimed to help support fans organisations who want to become involved in the decision making affecting their club where this is appropriate and where viable proposals have been developed.

Scottish Government has not had any discussion with Glasgow City Council regarding the reopening of The Lighthouse in Glasgow.

Scottish Ministers' stated objective since purchasing Glasgow Prestwick Airport in 2013 has been to return the business to the private sector when the time and circumstances are right for the business and for the Scottish Government as shareholder.

That means we must be confident that any sale would not only represent value for the taxpayer but would put the business on a firm footing going forward and secure wider economic benefit to build on the foundations we have put in place.

Any purchase offer from a private operator will be evaluated against these objectives and will only proceed if they are met.