Chamber and committees

We will continue totake action to promote further and higher education, and have already announcedsteps to remove the graduate endowment fee so that access to higher education isopen to those who have the ability rather than the ability to pay. However, we donot believe it is helpful to express participation in terms of a target rate. Unlikethe position in England there has never been a target rate for participation.

Details of the deliveryof our current committed programme of major and important trunk road and rail infrastructureimprovements can be found on the Transport Scotland website at www.transportscotland.gov.uk. Futuretransport investment priorities will be considered by the multi-modal StrategicTransport Projects Review (STPR) which is undertaking an objective, evidence-based,review of the existing performance and future requirements of the nationally strategictransport networks. This willinclude better utilisation of the rail and road networks.

In addition, the HighLevel Output Specification (HLOS) for 2009-14 sets out future requirements for moreefficient working of the rail network. With growing demand for rail travel, it isanticipated that there will be a continuing requirement for improvements to railservices, including increased capacity and performance. A range of priority areasare identified within the HLOS and efficiency savings will be used to support theirdelivery.

Transport Scotland has the operational responsibility for this area, andcan be contacted if required.

I refer the memberto the answer to question S3W-1493 on 24 July 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are availableon the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

The costs for the Scottish Broadcasting Commission will be met from existing budgets. Total costshave not yet been decided, but will depend upon a work plan for the conduct of thecommission, which remains to be settled.

The ScottishGovernment is committed to tackling alcohol problems in Scotland. Over £10 millionwas made available to NHS boards in Scotland in 2007-08 specifically to tackle alcoholproblems in their area, in addition to their general financial allocations. Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS board wasawarded almost £3 million.

Alcohol and drugs action teams are tasked with theresponsibility for the strategic planning and co-ordination of action to tacklealcohol misuse in their area.

The ScottishGovernment will continue to take forward the commitments set out in the UpdatedPlan for Action on Alcohol Problems, but to complement that action, a longerterm strategic approach is required if we are to tackle Scotland’s complexrelationship with alcohol, and deliver sustainable change in attitudes.

Widening access tolifelong learning is a priority for the Scottish Government. We have already announcedthe intention to abolish the graduate endowment fee which has helped remove oneof the barriers faced by people in deciding whether or not to study at higher educationlevel and we will be considering further measures to remove the debt or fear ofdebt which is a significant factor in widening access.

We recognise thatthat significant activity is already taking place to widening access and that itrequires a long term strategy. Accordingly, we will continue to work with the ScottishFunding Council to ensure there is a focus on those activities which are most effective.This will require partnership working with colleges, higher education institutions,the funding council and the four Regional Widening Access Fora.

Cowal Ferries Ltd,a subsidiary of David MacBrayne Ltd, operates the  Gourock-Dunoon ferry serviceon behalf of the Scottish Government. Subsidy is provided by the Scottish Governmentto Cowal Ferries Ltd, rather than to individual passengers, to cover the provisionof the passenger element of that service. No distinction is drawn between differentclasses of passengers.

I am satisfied thatthe vehicle element of the current Cowal Ferries Ltd service on the Gourock to Dunoonroute does not generate an additional subsidy requirement. Indeed, the revenue fromvehicles carried exceeds the additional costs involved in running a vehicle, asopposed to passenger only service, using the vessels currently deployed on the route.

The HITRANS surveywas focussed on ferry users rather than users of Gourock station. It cannot thereforebe used, on its own, to derive estimates of the percentage of passengers using Gourockstation who are ferry users. It can be used to derive estimates of the percentageof those using the Gourock to Dunoon ferry who arrive at or depart from Gourockby train. On this latter basis, the survey showed that 56 of the 179 passengersinterviewed on the Gourock to Dunoon service had used the train to arrive at Gourockor planned to use the train for their onward journey from Gourock. This represents31% of passengers using the service which is twice the figure used by Western Ferriesin preparing the news release it issued on  18 July 2007. This interpretation of the survey results has been endorsed by the author of the HITRANS report.

Early in itslifetime, the new administration concluded that the quickest and most effectiveway of putting in place the contract for the Clyde and Hebrides ferry services that European law requiredwas to complete the tendering process which, by that stage, was at an advancedstage.