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There are four shortlisted bidders for the Gourock to Dunoon ferry service tender.

The tender specification for the Gourock to Dunoon ferry service has still to be finalised. It would be therefore be premature to discuss technical requirements or conditions contained within the tender. The tender specification will be publicly available when it is issued to bidders.

We have had no discussions with HM Revenue and Customs with regard to companies tendering for the Gourock to Dunoon ferry service. However, a rigorous consideration of financial capacity and legal/regulatory compliance was carried out in respect of all companies who submitted a pre-qualification questionnaire. All four shortlisted companies successfully passed the assessment.

Ministers are currently considering the tender and contract documents for the Gourock to Dunoon ferry service. When the documentation is finalised the timetable for the remaining stages of the procurement process will be made clear.

UHI Millennium Institute submitted its application for university title to the Privy Council Office in May 2010. The Scottish Government has sought the advice of the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) for Higher Education on the application and a scrutiny panel is now assessing it with a view to QAA providing recommendations to Scottish ministers in December 2010. The Scottish Government also launched a consultation on 30 August 2010 on the award of university title to UHI which seeks responses by 22 November 2010.

Scottish ministers are the relevant franchising authority for the rail passenger services provided under the ScotRail franchise agreement. If that agreement ended without a further franchise agreement having been entered into, Scottish Ministers would be under a duty to provide or secure the provision of those services. That duty, commonly known as operator of last resort, is set out in section 30 of the Railways Act 1993, rather than the Railways Act 2005, and is subject to the qualifications set out in that section. The duty ceases if the services begin to be provided again under a franchise agreement.

In the event that only one bid was received, then subject to competition having been maintained, it would be considered on whether or not it represented value for money.

As I announced in the chamber on 10 December 2008, the estimated cost of the Forth Replacement crossing is £1.7 - £2.3 billion (total outturn costs in 2016).

Section 30 of the Railways Act 1993 as amended makes the relevant franchising authority responsible for securing passenger rail services in the absence of a franchise. Scottish Ministers are the relevant franchising authority for the services provided under the ScotRail franchise agreement. The Secretary of State is the relevant franchising authority for any other franchise agreement.

The tender documents for the Gourock to Dunoon ferry service have not yet been issued. It would therefore be inappropriate at this stage to comment on the content of these documents.