Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S4W-28138

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 October 2015
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 3 November 2015

To ask the Scottish Government whether it expects Transport Scotland to issue calls for further interim tenders for the (a) ferry services and (b) harbour operation component of the 2016-2024 contract for Clyde and Hebrides ferry services.

Question reference: S4W-28014

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 October 2015
Current Status: Answered by Aileen McLeod on 2 November 2015

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-26580 by Aileen McLeod on 21 July 2015, what information has been received from the Crofting Commission regarding the number of crofts that have been re-let (a) in the South Uist area and (b) elsewhere since April 2012 because (i) of an absentee landlord or (ii) they were not actively farmed.

As indicated in the response to S4W-26580, the information requested is not held centrally. The Crofting Commission administers the regulation of crofting on behalf of the Scottish Ministers and the chief executive of that organisation was asked to supply the information requested to you directly.

The Crofting Commission has indicated that it sent a letter to you containing this information on 20 July 2015. This letter noted that since April 2012 the Crofting Commission had terminated 24 tenancies, including one in South Uist. In each case the tenant was not fulfilling his or her crofting duties and, in most cases, cultivation and maintenance duties were not being fulfilled either. The reply also noted that 15 of the tenancies have since been re-let and measures were in hand to re-let the remaining tenancies. Since the Crofting Commission provided its original response, it has indicated that a further croft has been re-let, taking the total number to 16.

Question reference: S4W-28063

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 October 2015
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 2 November 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether to include Lochindorb in the boundaries of Cairngorms National Park.

Question reference: S4W-28057

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 October 2015
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 2 November 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review the boundaries of Cairngorms National Park.

Question reference: S4W-27942

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 October 2015
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 29 October 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how many seafarer (a) cadets and (b) trainee ratings have been recruited by Caledonian MacBrayne since July 2006 and how many of these traineeships have resulted in permanent employment.

Since January 2006, including the most recent intake from August/September 2015, CalMac Ferries Ltd has sponsored a total of 118 deck, engine and electro technical officer cadets, details of which are outlined in the following table:

	Current	Previous
Deck Officer Cadets	23	42
Engineer Officer Cadets	24	24
Electro Technical Officer Cadets	3	2
	50	68

For officer cadets, CalMac is in a tri-partite arrangement with Clyde Marine Training Limited and Northern Marine Management Limited. For the duration of their cadetship, officer cadets are employed by Clyde Marine Training Limited and sponsored by CalMac Ferries Ltd. The majority of the officer cadets’ sea phases are spent on deep sea voyages with Northern Marine Management Limited, in-filled with some time at sea with CalMac Ferries Ltd.

Of the 68 previous officer cadets, 17 failed to complete their training. Of the remaining 51 officer cadets, six have been given permanent employment with CalMac Ferries Ltd. In addition, one officer cadet who did not complete his cadetship has been given permanent employment by CalMac Ferries Ltd, as a rating rather than an officer. Of the remaining 44 officer cadets, CalMac does not hold records of their current employment status.

Since January 2006, CalMac Ferries Ltd has recruited a total of 26 deck and engine rating trainees, details of which are outlined in the following table:

	2006	2010	2013	2014
Deck Ratings Trainees	4	2	6	6
Engine Rating Trainees	0	0	4	4
Permanently Employed	3	2	8	0
Still Completing Training	0	0	1	9

Of the 26 trainees recruited, 13 have been given permanent employment, 10 are still completing their training and three have left the company. Of the three who moved on, two left after being given permanent employment elsewhere and one during the course of their training.

Question reference: S4W-27940

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 October 2015
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 29 October 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of the planned expenditure in Scottish Ferry Services: Ferries Plan (2013-2022) will be on (a) Northern Isles and (b) Clyde and Hebrides routes and what the total expenditure has been to date.

The costs of the ferries plan proposals are not available in the format requested.

The following table details the actual spend by the Scottish Government in supporting ferry services in financial years 2013-14 and 2014-15. In addition, the current forecast outturn figures for 2015-16 are also outlined.

As the spending review for future years has still to be decided, budget and anticipated expenditure details are currently not available.

	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16
			(forecast)
Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services	£85,522,390	£101,071,419	£115,958,000
Road Equivalent Tariff	£3,889,000	£5,034,000	£10,000,000
Sub-total (Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services Network)	£89,411,390	£106,105,419	£125,958,000
Northern Isles Ferry Services	£37,507,196	£35,973,572	£32,268,314
Other Ferry Services	£4,299,504	£3,288,197	£3,545,281
Total (Ferry Services)	£131,218,090	£145,367,188	£161,771,595
Piers and Harbours and Vessels	£13,295,693	£20,216,321	£45,495,000
Total	£144,513,783	£165,583,509	£207,266,595

Question reference: S4W-27949

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 October 2015
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 29 October 2015

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-27326 by Derek Mackay on 16 September 2015, whether representatives of Seatruck Ferries are involved in those discussions and when ministers or officials last met representatives of Seatruck Ferries to discuss the charter terms for the MV (a) Hildasay and (b) Helliar from 2018.

Question reference: S4W-27944

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 October 2015
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 29 October 2015

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-27326 by Derek Mackay on 16 September 2015, whether it has discussed with officials from Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd the development of a public sector comparator to estimate the cost of a directly purchased and owned vessel on the Northern Isles contract from 2018.

Question reference: S4W-27945

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 October 2015
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 29 October 2015

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-27326 by Derek Mackay on 16 September 2015, whether it will apply collectively bargained pay rates to all seafarers working on ro-pax vessels chartered to work on Northern Isles ferry services from 2018.

Question reference: S4W-27946

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 October 2015
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 29 October 2015

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-27326 by Derek Mackay on 16 September 2015, what steps it will take to ensure that the principles of the fair work framework will apply at the earliest opportunity to seafarers working on all ro-pax vessels chartered from Seatruck Ferries to work on Northern Isles ferry services from 2018.

The Scottish Government will ensure that the principles of the fair work framework are applied as appropriate during the tendering process for the next Northern Isles ferry services contract.

Details of the Northern Isles ferry services tender will be confirmed when the procurement process commences. As part of their tender proposals, bidders for the future contract will be invited to provide details of the vessels they plan to use.