Chamber and committees

Expert Ferry Group membership is not a paid role however travel and accommodation expenses are eligible to be met by the Scottish Government, in line with the Scottish Government’s travel and subsistence rules.

Since 2013 claims amounting to £2,800 have been reimbursed, these relating to members in the private sector.

The minutes of the Expert Ferry Group meetings are published on the Transport Scotland website at https://www.transport.gov.scot/public-transport/ferries/expert-ferry-group/. These record attendance at each meeting.

The Scottish Ferries Plan 2013-2022, published in December 2012, set out the Scottish Government's desire to have on-going consultation for all ferry-related issues. The plan stated that we would consider how best to involve key transport professionals, academics and operators of ferry services as we deliver wider consultation mechanisms, and so we established the Expert Ferry Group.

Current members of the group may have contributed views, either as individuals or as members of other bodies, to the formal public consultation stage on the draft Ferries Plan.

The Transport Research Institute (TRI) at Napier University were awarded a contract for one of several packages of work in 2009 (Work Package 1 - Methods of Delivery and Operation, Competition and Procurement). Professor Alf Baird worked for TRI at that time.

The 2008 Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR), which sets out the Scottish Government's priorities for investment until 2032 and forms the main basis for the specification of future transport spending priorities, did not recommend a rail link between the west coast Highlands and Inverness. As a consequence the Scottish Government has no current plans to progress this project.

However we are committed to improving rail services and connectivity across the Scottish network and are willing to consider proposals for new services where there is clear evidence of benefits, subject to affordability, taking into account the potential impact on other passengers on the network. Transport Scotland are happy to offer support and advice to promoters who wish to take forward projects for consideration, in line with Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) and accompanied by a robust and coherent business case.

Promoters of any new rail link should contact the local Regional Transport Partnership, in this case Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership (HITRANS), to establish if the proposal fits with their local and regional transport strategies.

The ‘Assessment of the Impacts of the Road Equivalent Tariff Pilot’ report by Halcrow Group Limited, was published in July 2011. See below link -

https://www.transport.gov.scot/media/9859/assessment-of-the-impacts-of-the-ret-pilot-final-report-master-290216.pdf

The report set out indicative RET fares and presented the total revenue impact for Firth of Clyde routes. The report also included analysis of the benefits of rolling out RET across the network in general. The analysis is based on information at the time and made a number of assumptions.

The Ferries Plan 2013-2022 stated our intention to roll out RET to all lifeline services. However, there is no commitment to timing or funding for introducing RET on such ferry services.

Further consideration of fare levels on the Gourock – Dunoon ferry service will be given once the outcome of the Ferry Services Procurement Policy Review is known.

Transport Scotland advised Forres Community Council at the meeting on 7 November 2016, that in line with Scottish Planning Policy, Network Rail could not be expected to provide enhanced provision as there was no fundamental change to the existing situation. As a statutory consultee within the planning process, Transport Scotland is not in a position to compel Network Rail to install a controlled pedestrian crossing.

However, considering the representations of the Community Council in regard to pedestrians crossing the A96, Transport Scotland made a commitment to carry out an assessment of crossing facilities. The results of the assessment demonstrated that the current and proposed method of crossing the A96 with an uncontrolled crossing in two stages is the appropriate means of crossing.

The pedestrian crossing assessment included a sensitivity test which doubled the current number of both pedestrians and vehicles at this location and this indicated that even with these increases, the proposed crossing facility was the appropriate type of crossing.

Further Safety Audits will be carried out prior to opening and a year after completion and any identified safety issues will be addressed. Transport Scotland’s Strategic Road Safety team also conducts an annual safety review every year and any issues arising will be identified. Should passenger numbers increase as the improvements to the Aberdeen to Inverness railway are implemented, a new survey and assessment can be carried out.

The detaining of the vessel after failing a Port State Control inspection is an operational matter for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, and was recently the subject of legal proceedings. The Scottish Government was pleased to note the sale of the vessel has now been authorised, and would like to see this matter concluded as a matter of urgency for the sake of the remaining crew members who are staying with the vessel until the sale is finalised.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-10393 on 20 July 2017. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

(a) Vehicle movements over certain dimensions or weights (generally referred to as “Abnormal Loads”) require formal approvals which involves the input of parties such as road authorities and emergency services. These approvals are based on the routes, dates and suggested times proposed by the haulier making the application. Once the application is approved, the final decision on the exact timing of movements rests with the Police service. This also includes any late changes due to unforeseen circumstances such as weather, other road incidents or plant failure.

For the Glensanda quarry, there have been movements of abnormal loads involving dump trucks and quarry equipment over several years to and from the quarry to other parts of Scotland and the port at Corpach.

The quarry dump trucks moved this summer were 5.54m wide had gone through the aforementioned approval process. They were moved under police escort at a time set by Police Scotland. Transport Scotland’s operating company, BEAR Scotland, was involved in the discussions on the timing of the movements and stated a strong preference for night-time movements, to lessen impacts on journey time reliability.

However, the primary concern of Police Scotland in the movement of any abnormal load is public and road user safety. We understand the decision on the exact timings for the Glensanda operations was made by the local Road Police team. It is understood that this decision considered safety concerns raised by their colleagues who had previously escorted movements of plant on that route in hours of darkness.

Police Scotland has now agreed that future police escorted moves take place in daytime off-peak (between 1pm & 2pm) to avoid peak-time congestion in Fort William. They will monitor and review this proposal prior to any future movements, which will avoid arriving in Fort William at peak times. BEAR will continue to work with Police Scotland and the haulier to minimise disruption and provide network updates to Traffic Scotland for public dissemination. All dump trucks movements are now complete but 3 movements of other plant is scheduled to move from October.

(b) Aggregate Industries (AI), which operates the Glensanda Quarry, is a key part of the local and regional economy in the Fort William area. AI does move material and equipment by barge between Glensanda and Barcaldine. However the ships used by the company which AI now employs to deliver the dump trucks have to use Corpach port (north of Fort William) as the harbour at Barcaldine cannot accommodate their vessels. Using Corpach aligns with the Abnormal Load Policy of using nearest ports to minimise road traffic. However this still requires the loads
to travel along the A828 and A82 through Fort William.

On 22 August 2017, Scottish Ministers announced that a scheme to significantly reduce fares on Northern Isles ferry services will be rolled out in the first half of 2018.

Road Equivalent Tariff will be introduced on the Pentland Firth routes, whilst a variant of the Road Equivalent Tariff scheme will be brought in on the routes from Aberdeen to Kirkwall and Lerwick.

The fares reduction is currently estimated to increase annual subsidy payment to Serco NorthLink Ferries Ltd by some £3 million to £4 million, based on the current timetable and service levels. The actual subsidy will be dependent on the resultant level of increased patronage.

As indicated in the announcement, work is being undertaken with the commercial operators on the Pentland Firth with a view to including them in the fares reduction scheme.