Chamber and committees

The current Air Passenger Duty rate amounts are set by the UK Government, which is responsible for assessing the impact of the tax on Scotland and the rest of the UK.

Our aim is to reduce the burden of Air Departure Tax (ADT) by 50% and to abolish the tax altogether when resources allow. Cutting the tax burden will help to ensure a more level playing field with many other European airports competing to secure the same airlines and routes.

We will publish the findings of an independent study of the economic impact on Scotland of reducing the overall ADT burden by 50% in the Autumn.

The decision to move the launch date was taken by the shipbuilder, Ferguson Marine Engineering Ltd (FMEL), to enable a greater quantity of internal outfitting to be completed prior to the vessel’s launch after which all further work has to be completed whilst the vessel is afloat alongside the outfitting berth.

There have been some design changes during the build process and, at this point, additional costs agreed between the contracting authority, Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL), and FMEL relate to enhanced mooring arrangements at £800k per vessel.

The vessel to be named the MV Glen Sannox is earmarked for the Ardrossan to Brodick route and Hull 802 is earmarked for the Uig to Lochmaddy and Tarbert (Harris) routes.

Redevelopment of the harbour and the terminal at Brodick is in the final stages of completion by CMAL. Works at Tarbert (Harris) are at the design stage and the necessary Environmental Impact Assessments and Harbour Revision Orders are being pursued. Works being undertaken at ports throughout the ferry network owned by CMAL and other authorities are planned on the basis of need which often relates to their age and volume of use. The two vessels under construction will be able to operate to the designated ports but in each case the ports are, in any event, required to undergo renewal in order to ensure the long term sustainability of the infrastructure and to maintain and enhance customer experience.

The new Brodick terminal will be within the budget of £30m and the current plans for Tarbert (Harris) indicate an estimated cost of £15m. The three other ports, Ardrossan, Uig and Lochmaddy, are not CMAL.

The Scottish Government does not hold the salary information for Cabinet Secretaries and Ministers as the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body is responsible for paying their salaries.

Special Advisers are appointed in accordance with Part 1 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance (CRAG) Act 2010 by the First Minister for the purpose of providing assistance to the Scottish Ministers. Under the terms of the CRAG Act 2010, the First Minister is required to prepare an annual report setting out the number and cost of Special Advisers and to lay it before the Scottish Parliament. This information will be published in the next few weeks.

On 20 July 2017, The Cabinet Secretary for the Economy, Jobs and Fair Work wrote to the Convenor of the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee and gave a commitment to provide an update on the Queensferry Crossing Opening
Celebrations and overall summary of costs in due course. This remains the case
and we will contact the Committee again as soon as we are in a position to
provide this information.

The FRC project is being delivered at £245 million under the budget set at the start of construction in Summer 2011.

The Scottish Government does not provide funding directly to Inverness Airport. Inverness Airport is operated by Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL).We provide funding to HIAL to offset the difference between the cost of operating their 11 airports and their commercial revenue. We provide funding to HIAL as a whole and it is then for HIAL to allocate this funding to each airport on an as needed basis. The funding provided to HIAL over the last 16 years is shown in Table 1.

Table 1: Funding to HIAL

Figures in Table 1 relate to core subsidy provided by Transport Scotland and its predecessors.

Transport Scotland do not directly employ any special advisers or consultants. At 31 March 2017 Transport Scotland had 67 consultants and contingent workers working on their behalf through contracted partner organisations and agencies. Transport Scotland do not hold annual salary details for these individuals.

The Building Scotland’s Low Emission Zones consultation is currently seeking views on a number of issues around low emission zones, including a national penalty scheme for LEZs. The public body recipient of monies generated by penalties has still to be confirmed.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-11138 on 19 September 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”

The original estimate for the Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP) as per the Final Business Case published on 27 January 2014 confirmed £742 million anticipated final costs (AFC).

Following the EY Major Projects Review in September 2016 the Network Rail AFC for EGIP was £795 million.

I will provide the Scottish Parliament an update when I have confidence in the projected final costs given to me by Network Rail- a reclassified body with the Department for Transport. The figure could change as a result of the commercial discussions currently underway between Network Rail and its contractors.

The cost of work done on the project up to 17 September 2017, as reported by Network Rail, is £727 million.

The Switched on Scotland Action Plan provides a range of incentives to local authorities and individuals to support the shift to electric vehicles including grants and loans.

The final design of individual low emission zones will be the responsibility of local authorities, but we recognise the importance of giving individuals and businesses sufficient opportunity to ensure their vehicles will be compliant. That is why the Building Scotland's Low Emission Zones consultation, which ends on the
28 November, is seeking views on the use of sunset periods, which would guarantee an exemption for residents during a set period.