Chamber and committees

On 3 March 2026, the former Deputy First Minister and the former Cabinet Secretary for Transport informed Parliament of the Scottish Government’s proposal to directly award contracts for four new vessels Ferguson Marine. These contracts cover replacements for the research vessel Scotia, the fisheries protection vessel Minna, and two additional ferries to be delivered as part of Phase 2 of the Small Vessel Replacement Programme (SVRP2).

Fulfilment of the proposed programme, subject to due diligence processes to assess viability, would secure a pipeline of work and allow the shipyard to move ahead with its modernisation plans while pitching for additional orders on the open market.

The proposed contracts would also unlock the remainder of the £14.2m committed by the Scottish Government to upgrade the yard’s infrastructure, improve productivity and streamline production.

The costs for implementing new policies will be detailed during the standard budget setting process.

The £2 bus fare cap is currently being delivered as a 12 month pilot and has been successfully rolled out across the Highlands and Islands. A local authority based model was developed as part of the process of establishing the pilot, and the Scottish Government will undertake a formal evaluation of the pilot with partners and bus operators to assess its impacts and identify lessons learned. These findings will inform the development and design of future schemes, including consideration of how a national bus fare cap could be implemented.

While statutory responsibility for managing and maintaining school estates rests with local authorities, the Scottish Government has engaged with the Highland Council on the issues at Rosebank Primary School. The Council has confirmed that no further class cancellations are expected and that remedial works to the affected toilet facilities will be completed before the start of the new school session in August. It has also committed to keeping the Parent Council updated on progress.

Through the £2 billion Learning Estate Investment Programme, the Scottish Government is providing the Council with significant funding support for its Broadford Primary School, Nairn Academy and Tain Campus projects. This funding is intended to augment, rather than replace, the Council’s own investment in its school estate.

More broadly, the latest School Estate Statistics, published in September, show that the proportion of school buildings reported as being in “good” or “satisfactory” condition has increased to a record 92%, compared with 62.7% in 2007.

In 2023, Glasgow City Council last raised the issue with the Scottish Government of the rising cost of maintaining the Clyde Tunnel and the possibility of it becoming a trunk road. The request was made by the Glasgow City Council - Convener for Neighbourhood Services and Assets.

Scottish Ministers are committed to reforming the public sector to deliver high-quality services in a fiscally sustainable way. Public Service Reform is central to this, with an increased focus on accelerating change and strengthening the delivery of key services, including ferry operations.

In this context, Scottish Ministers will consider structural reforms to improve accountability, transparency and efficiency within lifeline ferry services, as part of a wider approach to better integrate publicly owned transport bodies and maximise public investment. Communities and businesses remain central to this, with an emphasis on reliability, resilience and value for money.

While no final decisions have been taken on the nature or timing of reforms, engagement will continue with CalMac, CMAL, island stakeholders and trade unions as this work progresses.

The Private Jet Tax will be implemented as higher rates of Air Departure Tax (ADT)which will apply to the carriage of passengers by air on private jet flights from Scottish airports.

Rail Recharged: Scotland’s Fleet Transition Strategy, published in November 2025, sets out how we will renew ScotRail fleets as they reach the end of their operational life in the coming years.

ScotRail is committed to ensuring its trains remain safe, reliable and fit for purpose. This is delivered through a programme of ongoing maintenance, periodic overhaul and targeted upgrades across its fleet. These activities are designed to sustain performance, extend asset life and enhance the passenger experience.

Improvements, including those made to class 158 trains so far, have involved upgrades to interiors, passenger information systems, and accessibility features, alongside technical modifications to support reliability and operational resilience.

This approach ensures the fleets can meet current service requirements while supporting wider objectives around passenger satisfaction and network performance.

There is no further update at this time and this remains a complex matter, as previously indicated in the answer to S6W-27329 on 17 May 2024. Any introduction of RET on Gourock to Dunoon routes would require careful consideration of a number of issues, including Subsidy Control requirements.

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/written-questions-and-answers.

We will review the Infrastructure Delivery Pipeline (2026-27 to 2029-30) at each Spending Review. It is a live document and new projects and programmes will be added to the pipeline at future updates as investment plans are agreed.