Chamber and committees

I can announce today that Scottish Ministers have decided that a direct award should be made to CalMac Ferries Limited. The due diligence work has concluded there is no financial, operational or legal impediment to proceeding with a Teckal-compliant direct award of CHFS3.

This is a unique opportunity to change the emphasis from a commercially driven arrangement to a public-focused service wholly directed at meeting the important and particular needs of the communities it serves. Discussions will continue with staff, island residents, businesses and communities and trade unions on the arrangements so that the new contract reflects local needs and interests. Transport Scotland is now working closely with CalMac Ferries Ltd on the necessary arrangements for commencement of the new contract on 1 October 2025. I will ensure that Parliament is kept updated about progress on those new arrangements.

Taken together with our ongoing investment in new vessels and infrastructure, this will improve the overall resilience and capacity of these services, particularly for the future, as set out in the recently published Islands Connectivity Plan.

The Scottish Government made clear to Project Willow partners that the outputs of initial work must align to its draft Grangemouth Just Transition Plan with workforce and community considerations as fundamental prerequisites.

Both the workforce and the wider community were fully engaged in the initial research informing Project Willow, and stakeholders have regularly been kept appraised of findings and progress through the Project Willow standing committee that had representation from Unite and through the Grangemouth Future Industry Board which has representation from both community and workforce members.

Going forward, workers and the wider Grangemouth community will be able to contribute to next steps of Project Willow through regular review points across the GFIB group, as part of the Just Transition process. And we continue to engage closely with trade unions, educational institutions, and workers to make progress.

The extended producer responsibility for packaging (pEPR) scheme pays local authorities for an efficient and effective collection and disposal system for household packaging waste. This includes costs for incineration.

The Scottish Budget continues to support businesses, including nightclubs and music venues, with a number of measures including maintaining the Small Business Bonus Scheme which remains the most generous scheme of its kind in the UK, and a freeze to the Basic Property Rate in 2025-26 which ensures that over 95 per cent of non-domestic properties continue to be liable for a lower property tax rate than anywhere else in the UK.

Recognising the challenges faced by the hospitality sector 40 per cent relief is offered in 2025-26 for hospitality premises with a rateable value up to and including £51,000, including Grassroots Music Venues with a capacity of up to 1,500 people, capped at £110,000 per business. 100 per cent relief continues for hospitality premises located on islands, and in prescribed remote areas (Cape Wrath, Knoydart, and Scoraig), capped at £110,000 per business.

The Scottish Government continue to demonstrate steadfast support for culture and the arts in Scotland, with record-changing increases in funding for the sector. The highest ever number of artists and organisations will receive regular funding from Creative Scotland this financial year – including grassroots and community culture as well as the music sector.

The detailed information requested is currently being collated and I will write to the member as soon as the information is available and a copy will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib number 65811).

The Scottish Government does not have a position on the use of the term “spatial squeeze” by stakeholders. The Scottish Government does not hold any data on stakeholders who have indicated non-acceptance of the phrase.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-36801 on 8 May 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Scotland’s National Water Scarcity Plan sets out how water resources will be managed during periods of prolonged dry weather. As part of that plan, the Scottish Government, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and Scottish Water have established processes to monitor the situation and support those affected.

On 25 April, SEPA published the first in a series of weekly water scarcity reports to update key sectors and stakeholders on the latest position. SEPA, Scottish Water, Nature Scot and the National Farmers Union Scotland are all working to encourage water users to develop contingency plans to minimise their impact on the environment.

Public Water Supplies are largely operating as normal and, due to many years of strategic investment by Scottish Government and Scottish Water to strengthen resilience measures, Scottish Water are able to maintain supplies during prolonged dry periods to all parts of Scotland.

We recognise that there are a number of households, largely in remote and rural locations, who are serviced by private water supplies and who may be affected by water scarcity. The Scottish Government are proactively engaging with local authorities to determine if water scarcity and low water flows are having an impact on households who are reliant on private water supplies. We will continue to assess the conditions closely and liaise with local authorities where necessary.

Private sector investment in energy and infrastructure projects will be critical to realise a just transition at Grangemouth. That is why our final Just Transition Plan will seek to instruct and mobilise wider support from investors and developers, centred around the clear opportunities present at Grangemouth.

The Scottish Government welcomes the publication of Project Willow and its recommendations which set out a transformative future for parts of the Grangemouth cluster, if the public and private sectors work together.

To support this, Scottish Enterprise and the UK Office for Investment have established an “Investor Taskforce” to identify and attract investors with an interest in progressing the Project Willow proposals. I would encourage any interested investor to engage with Scottish Enterprise in the first instance to explore how any opportunity could be progressed.

On 25 April the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) started publishing weekly water scarcity reports. These use a range of hydrological and meteorological data to describe water scarcity levels across the country. The latest report can be found on SEPA’s water scarcity webpage and highlights areas in Scotland currently at risk of water scarcity. Scotland’s National Water Scarcity Plan explains what the different levels mean in terms of risk and sets out when regulatory action may be required.

The Scottish Government supports a wide range of research projects which investigate Scotland’s future risk and resilience to water scarcity. Within its Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture Strategic Research Programme, the Scottish Government is funding a five-year project led by the James Hutton Institute that is developing our understanding of drought vulnerability in Scotland. Part of this project includes working with SEPA to improve drought risk assessment.

The Scottish Government also funds the Centre of Expertise on Water (CREW), which has funded, and continues to fund, projects to improve our understanding of water scarcity in Scotland. For example, in June 2024, CREW completed a study into the “Future Predictions of Water Scarcity in Scotland: Impacts to Distilleries and Agricultural Abstractors” and published a series of infographics highlighting potential future risk areas for different agricultural sectors.