- Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 16 January 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 25 January 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-21597 by Tavish Scott on 13 January 2006, what was deemed to be the relevance of the minister’s meeting with Western Ferries in September 2005; what precise objectives were set for that meeting, and what was achieved.
Answer
The Managing Director of WesternFerries wrote to me shortly after my appointment as Minister for Transport requestinga meeting to discuss issues related to ferry services in Scotland, particularlythe Gourock to Dunoon service. I agreed to meet the company as part of a seriesof meetings in which I engaged with stakeholders across the transport industry.Given that the meeting was initiated by Western Ferries, the Executive did not setany specific objectives for the meeting. However, as a consequence of the meeting,I gained more of an understanding of the company’s views.
- Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 16 January 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 25 January 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-21597 by Tavish Scott on 13 January 2006 and acknowledging that the “decisions, actions or conclusions” in respect of a Users Charter relating to the services provided by Western Ferries between Inverclyde and Cowal that were referred to in that answer were overtaken by the December 2004 announcement, what the precise details were of these “decisions, actions or conclusions”.
Answer
At the meetings in June, Julyand August, Western Ferries outlined their proposals for a Users’ Charter. Discussionsat that stage were exploratory in nature as the Executive sought clarity on thecompany’s proposals. At the meeting in November, Western Ferries provided furtherinformation on the detail of their proposals. However, the proposals were not consideredany further by the Executive as they were overtaken by the Executive’s proposalsfor the Gourock to Dunoon service as announced on 8 December 2004. The Executivedid not therefore reach a stage where it was required to take any decisions or actionsor form any conclusions on Western Ferries’ proposals for a Users’ Charter.
- Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 16 January 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 25 January 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-21597 by Tavish Scott on 13 January 2006, what the precise dates were on which discussions in respect of a Users Charter relating to the services provided by Western Ferries between Inverclyde and Cowal took place and which parties were present.
Answer
Western Ferries proposals fora Users’ Charter were discussed at meetings on the dates detailed below. The partiespresent at each meeting are also indicated below:
8 June 2004 – Scottish Executive officials and representatives fromWestern Ferries.
19 July 2004 – Scottish Executive officials and representatives fromWestern Ferries.
11 August 2004 – Minister for Transport, Scottish Executive officialsand representatives from Western Ferries.
9 November 2004 – Scottish Executive officials, representatives fromWestern Ferries and representatives from Argyll and Bute Council.
15 December 2004 – Scottish Executive officials and representatives fromWestern Ferries.
22 September 2005 – Minister for Transport, Scottish Executive officialsand representatives from Western Ferries.
- Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 13 January 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 23 January 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive how many migrants under the Fresh Talent initiative, including but not exclusive to those under the Working in Scotland scheme, have entered employment, broken down by sector and month.
Answer
The information requested is not available. Individuals moving to Scotland from the rest of the UK and overseas do so under a variety of means and it is not possible to identify to what extent they have been influenced by the Fresh Talent initiative.
- Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 13 January 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 23 January 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive how many migrants under the Fresh Talent initiative, including but not exclusive to those under the Working in Scotland scheme, have been (a) skilled, (b) unskilled and (c) semi-skilled, broken down by month.
Answer
The information requested is not available. Individuals moving to Scotland from the rest of the UK and overseas do so under a variety of means and it is not possible to identify to what extent they have been influenced by the Fresh Talent initiative.
- Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 12 January 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 23 January 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to review the latest tender process in respect of the ferry route between Campbeltown and Ballycastle and whether it will meet ferry operators in order to identify any inhibitors that resulted in a lack of bids and to develop a successful basis for tenders to be encouraged.
Answer
The Scottish Executive was disappointed that no tenders were submitted from the four invited bidders for a public service contract for a subsidy to operate a passenger and vehicle on the Campbeltown to Ballycastle route. The Executive has approached the companies involved to explore their reasons for not bidding and will consider this further, directly with the companies, if necessary. The Executive is also considering whether there are any feasible or practical options to pursue a contract within the terms of the current tendering process. It is too early to predict the outcome of these approaches. The Executive will also take into account that no tenders have been submitted from the invited bidders in the last two tendering exercises undertaken for the Campbeltown to Ballycastle route, despite the substantial subsidy available in relation to the potential benefits predicted.
- Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 12 January 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 23 January 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will state the selection criteria that it will apply in awarding the contract for the Gourock to Dunoon ferry route and whether the successful bidder will gain any contractual advantages, such as exclusivity on the route and the option to offer a more frequent service.
Answer
The service specification for the commercial service on the Gourock to Dunoon route is currently being developed. Part of this process will be to determine the selection criteria that the Executive will use to appoint the successful operator. Issues such as the frequency of service will be considered as the proposals for the route are developed. On the exclusivity issue, any ferry operator can operate any ferry service provided they do so in accordance with the regulatory standards.
- Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 12 January 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 23 January 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive what the next step will be in order to continue the process of providing Campbeltown with a regular and long-term ferry service.
Answer
The Scottish Executive is currently exploring the reasons for the lack of response from the market to the tendering of a public service contract for a subsidy to operate a passenger and vehicle ferry service on the Campbeltown to Ballycastle route. The Executive is also considering whether there are any feasible or practical options to pursue a contract within the terms of the current tendering process. It is too early to say whether this process will produce a regular and long-term ferry service, particularly when no tenders have been submitted from the invited bidders in the last two tendering exercises undertaken for the Campbeltown to Ballycastle route. This was despite a substantial subsidy being made available by the Executive and the Northern Ireland administration.
- Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 13 January 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 23 January 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive how many migrants under the Fresh Talent initiative, including but not exclusive to those under the Working in Scotland scheme, have not held degrees or qualifications gained from Scottish institutions.
Answer
The information requested is not available. Individuals moving to Scotland from the rest of the UK and overseas do so under a variety of means and it is not possible to identify to what extent they have been influenced by the Fresh Talent initiative.
- Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 22 December 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 20 January 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive whether all savings listed in the Efficiency Technical Notes in support of the Efficient Government Programme are net of redundancy payments and the cost of capital and/or other spend-to-save disbursements.
Answer
Where investment was justified to enhance or sustain service delivery, and not solely in order to secure efficiency gains, capital costs and redundancy payments are not taken into account when calculating the efficiency saving. In any project where efficiency improvement was the primary rationale, the treatment of development and redundancy payment costs will be considered on a case-by-case basis, and will be reflected in future iterations of the Efficiency Technical Notes.
