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The Scottish Government wants to see more people take the train and recognises that prices have to be affordable and fair. Scottish Ministers ensure that fares are kept below certain thresholds by regulating the maximum permitted annual increase for selected fares, including Anytime and Season tickets, to the level of the Retail Price Index (RPI) for regulated Peak fares and one per cent below RPI for regulated Off-Peak fares. Scotland has the lowest level of fares increase with the average regulated fares increase below the rate of inflation.

Members will be aware that ScotRail launched fares initiatives last year to provide a free week for season ticket holders and additional offers for leisure travellers. A further phase of the fares initiative, which is fully funded by the Scottish Government and ScotRail, will be launched later this month, with full details being announced shortly.

I recognise ScotRail has faced a number of challenges recently and fully expect this downward trend to be addressed immediately. This is why Alex Hynes has instigated an independent review as part of ScotRail’s recovery measures, which I very much welcome, as the sooner we can address these challenges the sooner passengers can enjoy the level of service that they desire and deserve. I will be meeting with the ScotRail Alliance team tomorrow (Friday 19 January) to discuss and hear about their plans to address poor performance.

Registers of Scotland have been unable to find any record of a good neighbour agreement having been registered under section 75D of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 since 2011-12. However, as there is no prescribed style of good neighbour agreement it is not possible to be definitive. People may have chosen to use other named deed types, such as a minute of agreement, to register a good neighbour agreement. It is also possible that parties have entered into good neighbour agreements but chosen not to register them in the property registers.

The Anti Social Behaviour etc (Scotland) Act 2004 provides a wide range of powers to address antisocial behaviour. The supporting guidance on noise nuisance provides support to local authorities as to how they adopt its provisions.

The Statements on Legislative Competence which accompany the Planning (Scotland) Bill recognise the Bill’s competence, including its compatibility with the European Convention on Human Rights. The Scottish Government is not able to disclose legal advice it receives, including any legal advice that may have been considered in relation to compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights. The policy memorandum published to accompany the Bill addresses human rights issues at paragraphs 170 to 173 of the memorandum.

The Scottish Government is satisfied that the provisions contained within the Planning (Scotland) Bill are compliant with the Aarhus Convention, including new provisions which strengthen processes, engagement and participation in the planning system overall. The Scottish Government is not able to disclose legal advice it receives, including any legal advice that may have been considered in relation to compliance with the Arhus Convention. The policy memorandum published to accompany the Bill contains information about provisions which are relevant to the Aarhus Convention.

Although the annual report and accounts for Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise are signed off by their respective Accountable Officers during the summer, there are a number of internal processes that need to be followed before the accounts can be laid at Parliament.

These processes account for the time difference between the Accountable Officers signing off their accounts and the accounts being published.

The Scottish Government always ensures that the audited accounts for Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise are laid and published as early as possible and within the statutory requirements set out.

The Scottish Government has provisionally calculated the ethnicity pay gap using the Annual Population Survey data source. The estimate produced is now being quality assured by Scottish Government analysts in liaison with the Office for National Statistics, who own the data, to assess whether this Scottish estimate is reliable for public use.

We are also exploring whether a more reliable estimate may be produced from the three year pooled Annual Population Survey data set 2014-2016. Following our review these estimates will be made available on the Scottish Government web site, alongside technical notes and guidance.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. The Accountant in Bankruptcy has a statutory function to maintain a Register of Insolvencies that contains details of those subject to personal insolvency proceedings and business associations subject to receivership and winding up procedures in Scotland. There is currently no requirement to record the specific reason for business insolvency.

Corporate insolvency procedures in relation to Administration and Company Voluntary Arrangement are reserved to the UK Government and information regarding Scottish companies subject to these procedures is recorded on Companies House web-site.

While I recognise the benefits of having a greater understanding of the circumstances behind the insolvency, and strongly sympathise with the member's interests in driving out bad practice in term of late payments, it is unfortunately not currently possible to obtain the reasons for insolvency from the information available on the Companies House web-site. It is therefore not possible to determine the impact of late payments. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that the cash flow issue created by late payments, or inappropriate use of retention payments, has been a factor in tipping otherwise viable businesses into administration.

Travel and accommodation costs relating to my visit to North America between 16-20 October 2017 will be proactively published on the Scottish Government website within 12 weeks of the visit.

I was accompanied by my Private Secretary on my visit to North America between 16-20 October 2017.