Chamber and committees

Crew commissioning of the vessel is already under way with senior Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac) crew present in the shipyard as the vessel is prepared for operational delivery. Following a period of berthing trials and crew familiarisation the MV Glen Sannox, (Hull 801) is set to be operational eight weeks after handover.

Our own estimates show that with Ofgem’s price cap set at £1,928 for an average household until March this year, 840,000 of Scottish households are in fuel poverty – 34% of all households. This is a 2% increase – an extra 20,000 households approximately – in the number of fuel poor households from estimates for October to December 2023. These estimates are based on Scotland’s statutory definition of fuel poverty, whereas the Outra figure is likely produced under a different definition.

According to the Scottish fuel poverty definition, a household is in fuel poverty if:

• in order to maintain a satisfactory heating regime, total fuel costs necessary for the home are more than 10% of the household's adjusted net income (i.e. after housing costs), and more than 20% in the case of extreme fuel poverty; and
• if, after deducting those fuel costs, benefits received for a care need or disability and childcare costs, the household's remaining adjusted net income is insufficient to maintain an acceptable standard of living.

Subsidised support for the majority of consumers ended last year, but thousands of households continue to struggle to balance high energy costs along with unmanageable legacy debt. This is why we continue to call for urgent, targeted support including the introduction of a social tariff mechanism for those who need it the most. It is disappointing that our calls, consistent with those from the industry and third sector, have been ignored.

I urge anybody struggling with their energy bills to contact Advice Direct Scotland and Citizens Advice Scotland who will be able to help in the first instance.

Harbour dues are charged to CalMac by the Ardrossan Harbour Company Ltd as per the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Service contract and the existing and ongoing cost of harbour dues will be factored into the business case. Neither CalMac or Transport Scotland are party to the financial arrangements between Ardrossan Harbour Company Ltd and their owner Peel Ports Group.

Statistics on the number of arrests for offences under the Protection of Workers (Retail and Age-restricted Goods and Services) (Scotland) Act 2021 would be kept by the Police Service of Scotland and are not available to COPFS.

Since the act came into force on 24 August 2021, there have been a total of 3,607 charges reported to COPFS for offences under that act.

Of those charges, 2,976 were marked for court proceedings and 1,199 resulted in convictions. Accordingly, 323 of those charges resulted in acquittals, while 141 were marked for ‘no further action’. A case may be marked for no further action where it is no longer in the public interest to prosecute or where it is no longer considered that there is sufficient evidence. The remaining 1,313 of the charges marked for court proceedings are still ongoing as of 31 January 2024.

Of the 631 charges which were reported to COPFS but not marked for court proceedings:-

320 were marked for a direct measure, 83 marked for no action, 74 are still awaiting a marking decision. Of the 320 marked for a direct measure, 19 were marked for a combined fiscal fine and requirement to pay compensation. A further 19 were marked for compensation alone. 61 were marked for a fiscal fine alone. 66 were marked for diversion. 6 were marked for an unpaid work offer. 122 were referred to the Scottish Childrens Reporter and 27 were issued with a warning.

A total of 154 charges were not separately actioned. This is where no action was taken against that particular charge but action (prosecution in court or direct measure) was taken against the accused in relation to other charges emanating from the same case.

Decline in applications for teaching bursaries can be for many reasons, including a fall in the overall number of applications for the PGDE courses in bursary eligible subjects.

We are engaging with a range of stakeholders including local authority employers, university providers and the teaching unions to work collectively to raise the profile of teaching as a highly rewarding career.

As you will be aware, the scheme was extended in 2023 to include Gaelic as a secondary subject, and Gaelic medium across all secondary subjects and in primary.

Officials meet regularly with NHS Forth Valley to ensure progress against their delivery plan. The board have a number of actions underway to support performance recovery including optimisation of their Flow Navigation Centre to ensure better links with primary and community care, increasing frailty capacity and focused work to embed their Discharge without Delay approach.

The Centre for Sustainable Delivery (CfSD) is working with NHS Boards including NHS Forth Valley to support delivery of the Urgent and Unscheduled Care collaborative, to ensure sustainable ways of delivering services, improving access for patients, and reducing unnecessary demand for services.

We refute any such suggestion and remain committed to delivering efficient and sustainable ferry service for the Arran community.

The development of the Ardrossan project remains challenging for all partners. The tender design work identified gaps in the original base case submitted by Peel Ports Group and North Ayrshire Council.

The project scope is of vital importance to the business case and cost estimate review work. There is a clear need for a robust business case to support decisions by partners on this scale of project. The impact of recent announcements from Peel Ports Group around the condition and integrity of the existing port infrastructure is under review.

The Scottish Government does not directly intervene with ScotRail staff duties, this is a matter for ScotRail as the employer.

Transport Scotland currently audit ScotRail under the Service Quality Inspection Regime (SQUIRe). The SQUIRe inspectors undertake a sample inspection of trains and check many aspects including train heating during its regular inspections.

There is no single point of contact in the Scottish Government for the National Acquisition Programme. The programme is part of the Affordable Housing Supply Programme and managed at a local level by More Homes Division Area Teams who work with local authorities and Registered Social Landlords to plan and progress acquisitions through the programme. The More Homes central Programme Management Team monitors and reports on the progress of the programme. There is no single point of contact in local government for the national acquisition programme. It is for local authorities to agree their policy position and approach to acquisitions as outlined in our published National Acquisition Programme information .

The Scottish Government has not conducted any region specific analysis, however we do not expect a significant increase in traffic numbers in any area.