Transport Scotland - Ferry services to Arran & Cumbrae: EIR release
Information request and response under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004
Information requested
Copies of correspondence between Jamie Greene MSP and Scottish Government Ministers regarding ferry services to Arran & Cumbrae. I seek seeking correspondence from 6 May 2021 onwards.
Please contact me if you need me to clarify my request. If this request is determined to exceed the costs limit I would be grateful for any guidance on how it could be narrowed.
Response
As the information you have requested is 'environmental information' for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.
This exemption is subject to the 'public interest test'. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.
I enclose a copy of all of the information you requested in PDF format titled Annex A. The correspondence involved is arranged in chronological order of the MSP. Please note that where a response has not been recorded by Scottish Government ministers, that the request in question has been withdrawn.
Annex A contains all letters between Jamie Greene MSP and Scottish Government Ministers from 6 May 2021 onwards relating to ferry services to Arran and Cumbrae.
Please also find below a full list of Parliamentary Questions which fall within the scope of your request:
Parliamentary Questions asked by Jamie Greene regarding the Arran and Cumbrae ferry routes, 05 May 2021 - 17 April 2024.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 October 2021
Answered by Graeme Dey on 2 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an updated estimate of the financial cost to the Isle of Arran economy of the delayed MV Glen Sannox ferry.
Link
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 September 2021
Answered by Kate Forbes on 21 October 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the timetable for the delivery of the MV Glen Sannox ferry.
Link
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 September 2021
Answered by Kate Forbes on 21 October 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the estimated final cost of the MV Glen Sannox ferry upon completion.
Link
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 October 2021
Taken in the Chamber on 27 October 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the anticipated final cost and delivery date of vessels 801 and 802 for the CalMac fleet.
Link
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 October 2021
Answered by Graeme Dey on 2 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the number of hospital appointments that have been missed on the mainland as a result of delays or cancellations on the Ardrossan-Brodick ferry route.
Link
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 October 2021
Answered by Graeme Dey on 2 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the number of hospital appointments that have been missed on the mainland as a result of delays or cancellations on the Ardrossan- Brodick ferry route.
Link
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 October 2021
Answered by Graeme Dey on 2 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an updated estimate of the financial cost to the Isle of Arran economy of the delayed MV Glen Sannox ferry.
Link
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 November 2021
Answered by Graeme Dey on 24 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent on repairs to the entire CalMac fleet in each calendar year since 2018.
Link
Date lodged: Friday, 12 November 2021
Answered by Graeme Dey on 26 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government when the Minister for Transport will next meet Ferguson Marine, including its senior management and other staff, to discuss the delivery of the ferries for the CalMac fleet that are currently being built.
Link
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 November 2021
Answered by Graeme Dey on 30 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of introducing a scheme for island businesses that lose income as a result of ferry delays and cancellations.
Link
Date lodged: Friday, 03 December 2021
Answered by Graeme Dey on 16 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-04433 by Graeme Dey on 30 November 2021, whether it will provide the information requested regarding whether it has undertaken an assessment of introducing a specific scheme for island businesses that lose income as a result of ferry delays and cancellations, and for what reason it did not provide this information in its answer.
Link
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 February 2022
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 9 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with CalMac regarding reported staffing pressures on the Arran ferry routes.
Link
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 February 2022
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 1 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on (a) when it anticipates that vessels 801 and 802 for the CalMac fleet will enter into public service and (b) the current revised total cost of the build, including a breakdown of (i) capital costs, (ii) resource costs and (iii) any loans or underwritten finance made in relation to the build at any point and to any party.
Link
Date lodged: Monday, 16 May 2022
Taken in the Chamber on 17 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the anticipated delivery date of the ferries under construction at Ferguson Marine, in light of recent reports that the number of faults in the two vessels has risen.
Link
Date lodged: Monday, 27 June 2022
Taken in the Chamber on 30 June 2022
To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to reduce breakdowns on ferry services to Scotland’s islands.
Link
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 October 2022
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 16 November 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what the estimated date is for the implementation and customer use of CalMac's new Ar Turas ticketing system.
Link
Date lodged: Friday, 10 March 2023
Answered by George Adam on 23 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that 180 Freedom of Information requests to the Scottish Government regarding Ferguson Marine and Scotland's ferry network remain outstanding, with many not being processed within the statutory timeframe.
Link
Date lodged: Monday, 24 April 2023
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 10 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what it estimates the cost will be of repairing the engine exhaust leak on the MV Isle of Arran vessel that occurred in April 2023.
Link
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 March 2023
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 11 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that CalMac’s new Ar Turas ticketing system no longer offers the option of a season ticket for residents of the Isle of Cumbrae, what plans are in place to offer suitable and appropriate discounts in line with historic benefits.
Link
Date lodged: Monday, 24 April 2023
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 10 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what it estimates the cost will be of repairing the engine exhaust leak on the MV Isle of Arran vessel that occurred in April 2023.
Link
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 June 2023
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 17 July 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has made an assessment of the impact of the redevelopment of Ardrossan harbour on the ferry routes servicing Arran, and, if so, whether it will provide details of this assessment.
Link
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 September 2023
Taken in the Chamber on 21 September 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to any benefits to islanders of restoring the monthly season ticket on the Largs to Cumbrae ferry route.
Link
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 September 2023
Answered by Neil Gray on 22 September 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what its latest and revised best estimation is for the in-service delivery date for when the Glen Sannox ferry will be operable on the CalMac route, and the total estimated overall cost of the vessel upon delivery.
Link
Date lodged: Monday, 27 November 2023
Taken in the Chamber on 28 November 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the finance secretary’s letter to the Finance and Public Administration Committee on 21 November, whether it will provide an update on the delivery of “vessels and piers” projects, including the Small Vessels Replacement Programme and the port works at Ardrossan and Gourock harbours
Link
Date lodged: Monday, 22 January 2024
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 31 January 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to ensure the reliability of ferry services, in light of reported figures showing that CalMac's annual compensation figures are eight times higher than they were in 2017-18.
Link
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 January 2024
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 2 February 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how many CalMac sailings have been cancelled because of mechanical, technical, or structural issues with vessels in each of the last five years, broken down by
vessel.
Link
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 January 2024
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 2 February 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, for each vessel in the CalMac fleet, how many days each vessel has been out of service or unable to operate in each of the last five years because of (a) bad weather and (b) non-weather-related reasons
Link
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 January 2024
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 6 February 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a list of the vessels in CalMac's fleet, broken down by the (a) age and (b) recommended timeline for the replacement of each vessel.
Link
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 January 2024
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 20 February 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported comments from Peel Ports that “endless tinkering” by the Scottish Government has caused the delays to the repair of Ardrossan Harbour
Link
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 January 2024
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 28 February 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to protect island connectivity, in light of the reported series of disruptions to the Arran ferry service.
Link
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 March 2024
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 9 April 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent on repairs to the entire CalMac fleet in each calendar year since 2020.
Link
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 April 2024
Taken in the Chamber on 25 April 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how it will improve connectivity on the islands of Arran and Cumbrae ahead of the busy summer tourist season.
Link
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