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Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S5W-07465

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 2 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether the data collected by the review into ferry tendering announced by the Minister for Transport and the Islands on 2 February 2017 will be put into the public domain after the conclusion of the review.

Question reference: S5W-07466

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 2 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government when its freight fares review for the Northern Isles will be completed.

Following a commitment made in the Ferries Plan 2013-2022, Transport Scotland, under guidance of a working group of key stakeholders, is currently conducting a comprehensive review of ferry freight fares. The aim of the review is to develop an overarching policy for freight fares across Scotland’s entire ferry network, including the Northern Isles Ferry Services.

A substantial amount of work has taken place and a potential preferred option for setting freight fares has now been identified. I have asked Transport Scotland officials to undertake further detailed analysis in order to fully understand the impact of implementing this option.

We have always been clear that the exact timing of the introduction of a new freight fares structure will be decided only after careful consideration of all relevant factors. It is important that this work is done properly and thoroughly. I hope to be in a position to provide more information on timing following the conclusion of the detailed analysis of the preferred option.

Question reference: S5W-07461

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 2 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its ongoing review of the tendering process for ferry routes, what it means by the term, "in house operator".

Question reference: S5W-06999

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 2 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many scheduled ferry sailings were cancelled in each month in 2016 due to weather conditions, broken down by route.

Information in respect of cancelled and delayed sailings on the Northern Isles Ferry Services, operated by Serco NorthLink Ferries can be found on their website by following the link below. http://www.northlinkferries.co.uk/information/publications/

In relation to information in respect of cancelled and delayed sailings on the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services, operated by CalMac, and on the Gourock-Dunoon Ferry Service, operated by Argyll Ferries, that data has been collated and a copy has been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib number 58550.)

Question reference: S5W-07000

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 2 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many delays to scheduled ferry sailings there have been in each month since January 2016, broken down by (a) route and (b) reason for the delay, and what it considers to be a delay in this context.

Question reference: S5O-00755

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 March 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the proposed integration of the British Transport Police in Scotland into Police Scotland.

Question reference: S5W-07101

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 1 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its planned programme to replace all unprotected lay-bys on dual carriageway sections of the trunk road network with the latest protected designs, and when this programme will be completed.

There is no set programme for the replacement of lay-bys on dual carriageways on the trunk road network. The programming of lay-by improvement schemes are considered based upon; condition inspections, whether there are other improvement schemes planned adjacent to the lay-by, and whether the annual review of road safety statistics has identified a lay-by replacement as a priority scheme. All trunk road works are developed and programmed against competing priorities across the network.

Question reference: S5W-07253

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 1 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has given assurances to any publicly-owned ferry operator that, if the review into ferry tendering recommends that the Teckal exemption, or any other process that allows ministers to award contracts to publicly-owned operators without a competitive tendering process, should apply, publicly-owned companies would automatically win these contracts.

Question reference: S5W-07005

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 1 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether it made any formal, stress-tested assessment regarding which designs would be appropriate for Scottish weather conditions when purchasing vessels for Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd, and for what reasons decisions were made to purchase vessels that would not be able to sail in unfavourable conditions instead of vessels that would.

Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd is responsible for the procurement of ferries on behalf of the Scottish Government.

Safety is paramount and, as such, the Scottish Government has made that the top priority for new vessel design.

After safety, reliability is a key criteria in vessel design. For example, Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd have confirmed that the 100 metre vessels that are currently being constructed by Ferguson Marine Engineering Ltd at Port Glasgow are designed with superior manoeuvring ability and are equipped with twin controllable pitch propellers, twin high lift flap type rudders, fin stabilisers, one stern thruster and three bow thrusters.

The vessels are to be capable of berthing in a 50 knot beam wind, this is Beaufort 9-10 (storm force); weather conditions that a vessel is very unlikely to sail in. As part of the shipyards’ required tender documentation, station holding capability diagrams were submitted. Sea keeping evaluations were also submitted.

Berthing and manoeuvring computer simulations are also being carried out at Glasgow City College’s state of the art maritime facility.

Question reference: S5W-07002

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 1 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what criteria it uses for assessing ferry and ferry operating company performance and delays.

Information regarding the Performance Monitoring Regime in respect of the Northern Isles Ferry Services, operated by Serco NorthLink Ferries, and the Gourock-Dunoon Ferry Service, operated by Argyll Ferries Ltd, are available on the Transport Scotland website by following the link below.

http://www.transport.gov.scot/ferries/northern-isles

http://www.transport.gov.scot/water/ferries/gourock-dunoon

The new Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services contract operated by CalMac from 1 October 2016 will be published on the Transport Scotland website in due course. The contract contains details of the Performance Monitoring Regime.

The Invitation to Tender which was issued for the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Service procurement exercise outlines the Performance Management Regime. A copy of the ITT is available on the Transport Scotland website by following the link below. http://www.transport.gov.scot/system/files/documents/reports/CHFS%20Vol%203%20Contract%20and%20schedules%20%20%20ITT%20Issue%20Version%203%201%2019%2002%2016.pdf