Chamber and committees

The Scottish ministers take very seriously the issue of the UK national minimum wage for staff paid both directly and indirectly by this government.

Scottish Government officials, and the current operators of the Northern Isles ferry services, Serco NorthLink Ferries (SNF) Limited, met most recently with Seatruck Ferries on 18 September 2015. A variety of issues were discussed including the rate of pay for seafarers working on the freight vessels chartered under the contract with SNF for Northern Isles ferry services.

A satisfactory resolution on the two SNF freighters has still to be reached in relation to the rate of pay for seafarers. This is due to Seatruck Ferries’ reluctance to reach an agreement given their concerns regarding setting a precedent for elsewhere in their operation.

Responsibility for payment and levels of the wages of the crew on its vessels lies with Seatruck as the employer. However, Scottish ministers will continue to press the matter with Seatruck Ferries. Our key aim is to ensure the affected workers on the vessels in question receive at least the minimum wage.

The MV Hildasay and the MV Helliar came into service on the Northern Isles ferry service (NIFS) contract in December 2009 and January 2011 respectively.

The annual charter costs and maintenance costs of these two freight vessels on the Northern Isles ferry services since they came into service is commercially sensitive to the current and previous operator of NIFS.

The MV Hildasay and MV Helliar have been time charted by Serco NorthLink Ferries from Seatruck since June 2012 and as such vessel maintenance costs are part of the time charter payment.

Serco NorthLink Ferries (SNF) has supported four officer cadets per year since July 2012. Consequently it has supported a total of 12 cadets over the last three years.

SNF has also offered training places to three further officer cadets who required additional sea time over and above their initial industry support.

The first three officer cadets taken on at the start of the contract in July 2012 have recently completed their three year training phase and are either awaiting certification or final examinations. Permanent employment offers only follow the satisfactory completion of this process.

SNF also continues to support ratings transferring from onboard service roles to deck and engine positions.

The Scottish Government has identified the preparation of a pollinator strategy for Scotland as an important part of the priority project ‘Conservation of priority species’ in Scotland’s Biodiversity – a Route Map to 2020 which was published in June 2015.

A draft pollinator strategy is being prepared by Scottish Natural Heritage and, as I stated in the answer to S4W-24775, I expect it to be ready for public consultation in 2015. As part of the consultation, I anticipate that discussions will be held with a range of interested parties, including the Bumblebee Conservation Trust and Buglife.

Responses to the initial invitation to tender were received from Serco Caledonian Ferries Ltd on Thursday 17 September 2015 and from Calmac Ferries Ltd on Monday 21 September 2015.

As noted in my statement to Parliament on 24 June 2015, it has been demonstrated that European law (Council Regulation (EEC) No 3577/92, applying the principle of freedom to provide services to maritime transport within member states (maritime cabotage), and the relevant provisions of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union) requires the Scottish Government to tender ferry services when public subsidy is being provided.

The previous contract for the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services (CHFS) was awarded in 2007, following a full tendering process carried out under the same requirements of European law. Subsequent to that, the European Commission carried out an in-depth investigation between 2008 and 2009 of Scottish ferry subsidies. Following that investigation, a decision was issued noting that state-aid payments for CHFS were allowable and proportionate. This positive outcome was based in part on the commission’s recognition that the contract had been awarded in compliance with the maritime cabotage regulation and associated guidance.

Keith Brown, the then Minister for Transport, wrote in 2012 to the European Commission, seeking a review of the requirement to tender ferry services in Scotland. Commissioner Almunia, the then competition commissioner, made clear in his response that the commission strongly advocates the widest possible use of open and transparent tendering procedures when public authorities entrust companies with a public service obligation. Keith Brown, as Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Investment and Cities, also met with senior commission officials in Brussels on 2 July 2015 to explore further the potential to avoid tendering the CHFS contract. The commission reiterated its position that the maritime cabotage regulation, in line with the principles of the EU treaty, requires non-discrimination between operators and that the best way to ensure this is an open and transparent competitive tendering exercise.

We continue to seek clarification from the commission about individual issues that arise in relation to publicly subsidised ferry services in Scotland.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-27833 on 15 October 2015. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-27837 on 15 October 2015. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-27833 on 15 October 2015. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

Road equivalent tariff (RET) fares have been rolled out as a series of pilots, beginning on routes to the Western Isles, Coll and Tiree in October 2008. RET for passengers, cars, small commercial vehicles and coaches was further rolled out on routes to Islay, Colonsay and Gigha in October 2012 and then Arran in October 2014. The final roll-out of RET on all remaining Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services routes will take place on 26 October 2015.