Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government does not hold information on Abellio ScotRail staff sick leave at that level of detail.

The Scottish Government is committed to running a rail network that focuses on delivering good customer service and value for money to the public. As part of the recent franchise agreement, Transport Scotland secured a clear and straightforward Delay Repay process, currently in use, whereby passengers on Scotland’s railways can claim compensation in the event that their service is subject to any delay lasting over 30 minutes. As is normal in any long term service contract, through discussion with ScotRail and Caledonian Sleeper we will investigate altering delay repay processes to refund affected passengers.

As part of Transport Scotland’s 4 weekly performance meeting with ScotRail, the Delay Repay compensation scheme is discussed including, for example, the key incidents resulting in Delay Repay claims, the total number and value of claims, and the amount repaid.

Officials from Transport Scotland met with ORR on 18 November 2016 to discuss a range of topics including compensation arrangements offered by ScotRail.

ScotRail require flexibility to review and amend the services they stipulate internally as “Golden Trains”. Performance patterns are altered as operational circumstances change and improvement plans take effect. The purpose of classifying these services at any given time is to minimise the knock on impact any lateness can present to timetabled services later in the day.

The Scottish Government is committed to working as a key partner in the Texas Instruments Taskforce. Close partnership working with all partners is essential to ensuring successful outcomes. Through our enterprise agency, Scottish Enterprise, we are working with the company at a local and corporate level to identify potential investment opportunities; to support development opportunities; and also developing a potential project with the company to reduce energy consumption. Through our skills agency, Skills Development Scotland, we will support individuals affected by the proposals to close the plant as part of the PACE response and to date 250 individuals have attended PACE events.

I attended the meeting of the Texas Instruments Taskforce on 5 September and was very struck by the positive tone of the meeting with everyone working together to secure the best possible future for the site and am aware of a number of interested parties that are exploring potential to acquire the site and Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Development International stand ready to support any investment in the plant. I was not able to attend the meeting on 7 November, due to a prior commitment, but was represented by senior officials.

The estimated cost of a new small ferry is approximately £10m - £12m per vessel and for a new major ferry the estimated cost is approximately £45m - £50m per vessel. These reflect the prices of recently procured vessels.

The Scottish Ferry Services: Ferries Plan (2013-2022) sets out the indicative programme of vessel replacement. The Ferries Plan stated that projects would be taken forward when resources were available and funding prioritised according to need.

Since the publication of the Ferries Plan the following vessels have been delivered into the Clyde and Hebrides fleet;

• MV Hallaig - August 2013 - £11.750m

• MV Lochinvar - May 2014 - £11.750m

• MV Loch Seaforth - November 2014 - £42m

• MV Catriona - September 2016 - £12.3m

In addition, two large vessels are currently under construction by Ferguson Marine Engineering Ltd in Port Glasgow for delivery in 2018.

Building on the Ferries Plan, a Vessel Replacement and Deployment Plan (VRDP) 2014 was published in October 2015 which considered historical and projected customer demand and the on-going provision of capacity to meet that demand. The VRDP indicates future priorities with additional vessels to replace vessels reaching the end of their working life. An updated VRDP is due to be published shortly.

As part of the Performance Improvement Plan (PIP), ScotRail are undertaking a comprehensive review of timetables on the Borders, Far North, Argyle, and North Clyde routes.

ScotRail have not advised of any planned increases to journey times as part of PIP.

In December 2016 there will be some refinements to North Clyde & Argyle Line timetables. This takes cognisance of recent performance and forms part of the normal timetable development process.

The ScotRail Franchise Agreement protects the current journey times through the “Journey Time Metric” which incentivises ScotRail to protect and improve journey times across Scotland.

The Scottish Government set out initial proposals in the consultation "The integration of the British Transport Police in Scotland into Police Scotland" https://consult.scotland.gov.uk/police-division/transport-police and will address key issues in the Bill and accompanying documents when they are introduced.

As the scope of any works to be carried out at Ardrossan has not yet been determined no estimate has been made by Scottish Government.

I have asked Transport Scotland to commission a STAG-style study to assess the options for the mainland port for the Arran service.

This study will look at potential work to improve Ardrossan Harbour, as well as the proposal from Associated British Ports to use an upgraded facility at Troon.

We will engage closely with all relevant stakeholders in analysing the various berthing options on the mainland as well as wider socio-economic factors. I will travel to Arran to speak to the local community and hear their views on the service. I will also meet with both local councils and representatives of the local communities in Ayrshire, as well as Peel Ports and Associated British Ports.