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The Scottish Government does not currently have infrastructure or vessel design contracts with either company; Mott MacDonald or BMT; that is overseen or is directly managed by Transport Scotland, however both companies are used by Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL) as part of their Professional Consultancy Services Framework.

Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL) awarded a £155,000 contract to international design and engineering firm BMT to provide consultancy services for the concept design of a new passenger ferry for the Gourock, Dunoon and Kilcreggan routes as part of the Gourock Dunoon Kilcreggan Infrastructure and Vessels Programme.

Following a public sector procurement process, in August 2020, CMAL appointed engineering firm Mott MacDonald to draw up high-level options for the redevelopment of Gourock harbour.

Mott MacDonald was also awarded a £1.5 million contract which covers design consultancy services for vessel enabling works at Port Ellen and Port Askaig in Islay, Kennacraig and Colonsay.

Further details of these projects can be found here - CMAL Caledonian Maritime Assets LtdHome - CMAL Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (cmassets.co.uk) .

The outputs from Project Neptune will be considered alongside the suite of existing documents that support our ambitious vision for Scotland’s transport system for the next 20 years.

The value and duration of the contracts the Scottish Government has signed with Ernst & Young in connection with the Scottish ferries network since 1 January 2015 are listed below:

Project Neptune - £156,000 – 2021-2022

Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services: Financial Support - £404,000 – 2015-end of CHFS contract .

The Scottish Government is investing £62 million, through the Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund (ScotZEB), to support 276 new battery-electric buses and charging infrastructure. 137 of the buses will be built in Falkirk, bringing the total number of buses being built in Scotland with Government support to 344. ScotZEB Phase 1 included a “community benefit” criteria that all bids were scored against. Guidance encouraged bidders to be creative and innovative in finding ways that their bid would deliver wider benefits, giving the example of creating jobs or enhancing economic development, including in the local area. The review of Phase 1 of ScotZEB will consider how this criterion might be strengthened in the future.

We are fortunate that one of the world’s leading manufacturers of zero-emission buses, Alexander Dennis, is headquartered in Scotland. Alexander Dennis’s order book is typically comprised of about 25% of orders from Scottish operators, with the remainder coming from other parts of the UK or beyond, while the highly skilled, green jobs benefit the local community. Through the Falkirk Growth Deal, including £1 million from Scottish Government, ADL will lead on the creation of a Public Transport Net Zero Tech Cluster to focus on cost effective decarbonisation of public transport. This will include the creation of a campus with an R&D centre of excellence, a high-tech incubator and a dedicated flexible carbon neutral manufacturing space.

The Bus Decarbonisation Taskforce is a short life group comprised of leaders from the bus operating, bus manufacturing, finance, energy and public sectors. Its remit is to explore the hurdles and opportunities in transitioning to a zero emission bus fleet. It is not a decision making body, it does not exercise any statutory functions nor handle any funds and its role includes helping to shape and inform relevant Scottish Government policy commitments.

We aim to publish a draft of the Islands Connectivity Plan for consultation by the end of the 2022.

The underspend on HM Treasury Funds available for each of the three years is as follows:

2018-19 - £339m (£191m Resource, £147m Financial Transactions and £1m Capital)

2019-20 - £256m (£85m Resource, £97m Financial Transactions and £74m Capital)

2020-21 - £426m (£358m Resource, £61m Financial Transactions and £7m Capital)

This includes all planned and anticipated carry forward commitments built into the following years’ budgets.

For 2021-22 the current carry forward requirement is £511m to fulfil known and forecast 2022-23 obligations. Current forecasting is in line with this requirement but remains subject to final movements and the outturn processes. The final underspend figure for 2021-22 will be the 2022-23 Scotland Reserve opening balance.

It is unclear what is meant by funding uplifts in the question.

As part of the funding arrangements and ongoing work with local authorities on schools/ELC ventilation, the Scottish Government has agreed updated reporting arrangements with local authorities to ensure an appropriate understanding of how and to what extent funding is being used.

We will provide an update to the Education, Children and Young People Committee in due course.

Transport Scotland has not held any discussions with Network Rail on proposed staff reductions in Scotland.

Network Rail advise that UK wide it has undertaken two rounds of an industry special Voluntary Severance Scheme, focused on management grades where it could be verified there would be no impact on safety, performance or customer service. However, no representations have been made to Scottish Government on this matter.

The Scottish Government asked Andrew Horne, Chief Executive of We Are With You Scotland, to chair a multi-agency working group focusing specifically on improving drug treatment services for young people.

The purpose of the group is to set clear expectations for the delivery of treatment support to children and young people who experience problem alcohol and drug use.

To date, the group have sourced statistical data which will be used to shape how we improve the provision and access to drug and/or alcohol treatment and support services. The group will work towards establishing Standards for Young People’s Alcohol and Drug Services in order to provide consistency in quality across Scotland. The group will also consider residential rehabilitation provision as part of their work to develop these standards. However, residential rehabilitation is just one aspect of a recovery oriented system of care, and the group will also look to develop a comprehensive approach to early intervention for young people which is focused on supporting children and young people to access support that is age-appropriate and in their own community so that, where possible, they can remain with their families.