Chamber and committees

The cost of the temporary propping, which is extremely complex, is expected to be between £126m - £152m. The cost is dependent on a number of factors, for example duration and extent of works. Our estimated cost range includes allowances for risk, contingency and inflation, which is standard industry practice for large infrastructure projects.

As autonomous institutions, universities are responsible for their own entry requirements and admissions policies. Therefore, the Scottish Government does not collect or hold data on student admission appeals for universities in Scotland.

It is important to recognise that the dualling of the A9 between Tomatin and Moy and indeed, the whole A9 dualling programme seeks to enhance journey reliability and safety for all road users, including pedestrians, cyclists, and bus and coach passengers, as well as vehicle drivers and passengers. The design of each project builds in these elements, for example, the provision of new bus stops is integral to the contract for the Tomatin to Moy section.

The advance works listed in the response to S6W-28536 on 7 August 2024 include the following elements of work that will make improvements for pedestrians, cyclists, and bus and coach passengers.

? Tomatin Distillery Access and Local Road Improvements Project:

This advance works contract provided new facilities for pedestrians, cyclists, and bus and coach passengers to facilitate more reliable and safer travel in the area. This included footpaths, a new footbridge which replaced an existing footbridge over All na Frithe watercourse, and new bus stops and bus shelters. Public lighting was also provided along the new footpaths. These enhancements were completed in autumn 2022.

? Lynebeg Railway Underbridge:

This advance works contract included the provision of a new bus lay-by and bus shelter, and associated sections of new footpath, to provide better facilities for pedestrians and bus and coach passengers. This enhancement was completed in Spring 2022.

The cost information available does not enable a breakdown of costs to be provided for each of these measures included in these advance works contracts.

These works have been delivered early as part of the advanced works contracts for the A9 Dualling: Tomatin to Moy project, which was the subject of statutory consultation following publication of draft Orders and the Environmental Statement on 18 May 2018. Prior to that date, consultations on developing proposals were undertaken with a number of individuals and organisations and those findings helped to inform the nature of and design of the measures set out above that have been undertaken to improve reliability and safety for pedestrians, cyclists and bus and coach passengers who travel on this section of the A9.

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 .

Following the conclusion of the procurement process and contract award for the A9 Dualling Tomatin to Moy project, I recently wrote to the Net Zero Energy and Transport Committee to disclose this information which I am aware is of great interest. An extract of this letter containing this information is provided below:

'Having considered carefully our obligations around confidentiality and transparency, and following consultation with the contractor involved, I can advise that the contract value for the single bid received in October 2022 in relation to the previous procurement for the A9 Dualling: Tomatin to Moy project was £169,986,287.00 at October 2022 prices.

At the time of receipt of this tender, which was the first procurement of a major roads project undertaken by Transport Scotland following the occurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Scottish Ministers were unable to conclude that the tender submission represented best value for the taxpayer. As only a single tender was received on that procurement, no direct market comparator cost was available at that time. The cost of the tender received was significantly higher than both the original £115 million cost estimate for this project, even after allowing for significant inflationary effects, and a cost comparator bid of £136,945,150 compiled by Transport Scotland’s technical advisors.

I am delighted that the recent procurement process has led to a successful contract award and I am pleased to see progress with the delivery of the dualling. I am strongly of the view that the conclusion reached in respect of the previous procurement was appropriate based on the information available at that time. It is imperative that the Government ensures appropriate use of public funds and as best value for the taxpayer could not be demonstrated as outlined above, it was clearly not appropriate for the Government to proceed with a contract award at that time.'

Following careful consideration of the single tender received in 2022, the price of which was significantly higher than expected, Ministers concluded that award of the contract at that time would not represent best value for the taxpayer. Further background on this decision is set out in my response to S6W-28531 on 7 August 2024.

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 .

Careful consideration was given to the most efficient phasing of the Small Vessel Replacement Programme. This resulted in the current split with seven similar vessels procured in the first phase.

Phase two of the programme takes in other routes in the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Service network where the service requirements differ from the seven vessels in phase one, including routes where specific requirements need to be addressed. CMAL will be commencing with studies and engagement on these vessels later this year.

CMAL, as the procuring authority, has highlighted that Scottish public procurement regulations explicitly state that contracting authorities cannot artificially narrow competition by designing a procurement with the intention of unduly favouring, or disadvantaging, any particular economic operator. This means that CMAL cannot lawfully weight or design the contract requirements to favour Scottish shipyards or businesses. All candidates must be treated equally and fairly.

Advance works to a cost of £22.6 million have been undertaken for the A9 Dualling: Tomatin to Moy project, to de-risk the main construction works contract.

This cost is broken down as follows:

The planned in-service dates provided by CMAL in the June 2024 update to the NZET Committee were end November 2024 for MV Isle of Islay and end March 2025 for MV Loch Indaal.

Transport Scotland, CMAL and CalMac will keep these dates under review as the vessel builds progress. The dates will be subject to successful completion of construction, now entering the complex systems commissioning phases, and further crew familiarisation and berthing trails upon arrival in Scottish waters.

Further updates will be provided to Parliament in due course.

The Scottish Government has been working with AssistFM and Improvement Service to map existing breakfast provision across Scotland, including a survey to all primary and special schools to understand the scale and uptake of provision.