Chamber and committees

As announced in Parliament on 03 March 2026, CMAL, as Procuring Authority for the MV Lord of The Isles replacement project, will follow the industry standard two stage competitive procurement. Following the initial SPD stage, qualifying shipyards able to bid for the contract. Scottish Ministers play no part in the procurement process.

Also announced on 03 March was our intention to direct award vessels from the next phase of the Small Vessel Replacement Programme to Ferguson Marine as part of a wider suite of publicly funded vessel projects, subject to the necessary due diligence and processes.

The Scottish Government supports the development of integrated smart ticketing across bus and rail, including in the Strathclyde area, as part of its wider commitment to improving public transport.

As set out in the Smart, Digital, Integrated Ticketing and Payments Delivery Strategy (2024), the Scottish Government’s vision is To increase the use of sustainable public transport by providing smart and integrated ticketing, payment, and journey planning data enhancements, contributing to a healthier, fairer and more prosperous Scotland.

In the Strathclyde area, multi-modal flexi-tickets, including one-day capped tickets based on the zones travel will take place in, are already available through Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT). These are available to download onto any compatible smartcard and covers travel by ScotRail, Subway and most buses in the SPT area.

At the national level, the National Smart Ticketing Advisory Board (NSTAB), established in 2023, brings together operators, local transport authorities and passenger representatives to provide strategic advice to Ministers on smart ticketing, including the technological standard for smart ticketing.

NSTAB will also support improvements to smart ticketing and progression for development of options for a new national integrated ticketing system, reflecting passengers’ desire for integrated contactless payment and digital ticketing. Its first recommendations were laid before Scottish Ministers in October 2025, in the form of the STAR (Standards and Technology Advisory Report), which was approved at a strategic level by Ministers in January 2026.

The delivery of a Scotland wide integrated ticketing system is, however, dependent on future funding allocation and any legislation that may be required.

The Scottish Government remains committed to the Aberdeen to Central Belt Enhancement project.

The timescales for the Aberdeen to Central Belt Service Improvement project remain under review and will be subject to investment decisions based on a Final Business Case. In terms of affordability, it has been determined that the project, and associated benefits, can be delivered in a phased manner with the first of those phases being the section from Dundee to Arbroath. This has been communicated to stakeholders including Nestrans and Aberdeen City Council via its City Region Deal Joint Committee.

Whilst we cannot comment on a live procurement, CMAL have previously stated the questions in the SPDS (Single Procurement Document Scotland) for the vessel replacement have been designed to ensure the best outcome for island communities.

Thanks to investment from the Scottish Government, the East Kilbride line has recently been electrified, with the majority of services now operated by modern electric trains - delivering enhanced reliability, comfort and excellent value for money for passengers, further strengthened by our decision to remove peak fares for good and a 12-month ScotRail fare freeze from 1 April 2026.

This investment also included double tracking of part of the line which enables the resilient delivery of 4 trains per hour in the peaks.

The current timetable provides 2 trains per hour throughout the day, all week, increasing to 4 trains per hour in the peaks. Since December, the evening service has been increased to 2 trains per hour, taking it back to pre-Covid levels. The current provision meets passenger demand well.

ScotRail monitors patronage on individual routes on an ongoing basis and adjusts services accordingly, where resources allow.

The Scottish Government is giving further consideration to the issues raised in the last session of the Parliament about the offence introduced by section 40 of the Regulatory Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 and related matters.

In June 2025 we published the Medium-Term Financial Strategy and the Fiscal Sustainability Delivery plan.

The Medium-Term Financial Strategy provided our assessment of the scale of the fiscal challenge over the next five years. This was £2.6 billion for resource spending and £2.1 billion for capital spending by 2029-30.

The Fiscal Sustainability Delivery Plan set out clear actions we would take to close the resource deficit, through driving forward reform and efficiencies and having a robust focus on public spending, identifying up to £2.9 billion of resource budget savings within the MTFS period. The progress of the Fiscal Sustainability Delivery Plan is monitored through internal quarterly reporting, supported by a robust governance framework. Progress on the FSDP measures will be reported externally on alongside the next Medium-Term Financial Strategy.

Building on the actions set out in the FSDP, we published Portfolio Efficiency and Reform Plans alongside the 2026 Scottish Spending Review, which set out around £1.5 billion of savings by 2028-29. These will drive efficiencies through shared corporate platforms, consolidation of public bodies, estates rationalisation and accelerated digital delivery – for example, extending ScotAccount and the NHS Digital Front Door, and moving 25% of correspondence to digital by 2030 (saving at least £100 million a year).

To address the capital spending gap, we published the Infrastructure Delivery Pipeline which is underpinned by prioritisation decisions and capital spending plans set out in the 2026 Scottish Spending Review. It sets out an affordable and deliverable pipeline of investment for the next four years.

The Scottish Government commissioned the Scottish School of Primary Care to undertake an independent evaluation of the Golden Hello initiative for GPs. The evaluation was published in March 2026: https://www.sspc.ac.uk/media/Media_1254907_smxx.pdf.

The Golden Hello initiative does not currently apply to dentists. Any future expansion and improvement plans for Golden Hellos will be set out in due course.

The final list of items to be covered by the legislation will be determined by consultation and engagement.

The Scottish Government supports the Scottish Events Campus (SEC) ambition for growth and recognises its strong track record in hosting conferences, concerts and events. SEC makes a vital contribution not just to Glasgow’s economy, but to Scotland’s economy as a whole. We continue to engage with the SEC and partners to understand proposals for potential expansion, including proposed commercial and investment models that the SEC, Glasgow City Council and existing partners are considering. These proposals are at an early stage and the Scottish Government has not yet received any request for financial support or investment.