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The Programme Working Group, comprised of representatives from CMAL, CalMac, Transport Scotland and Argyll and Bute Council, has been considering various replacement vessel and infrastructure options to ensure the optimum solution for ferry services to Dunoon and Kilcreggan.

In terms of moving forward with replacement vessels and infrastructure for the route, approvals from Transport Scotland’s Investment Decision Board and Ministers will be required following completion of the Outline Business Case, which will be subject to budget considerations and investment priorities across the network. An investment decision is currently scheduled for Q2 2026.

The development of the Community Needs Assessment methodology was undertaken by Stantec as part of a wider commission, the total value of which was £12,465.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-42300 on 11 December 2025.

Programme costs and budgets as well as construction and delivery timelines are currently being reviewed alongside vessel and infrastructure options and will be included in the Outline Business Case.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at /chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

For work on Community Needs Assessments (CNA) for the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services routes, people and other internal resources are allocated as part of Transport Scotland's planned work programme. Budget allocations for this work are as follows:

Consultancy services to support the CNAs for Cowal and Rosneath ferry services cost £24,990.

The CNAs for Coll, Colonsay, Iona, Kerrera, Lismore, Mull and Tiree are currently underway. For the consultancy services to support these, a Contract Award Notice was published on 1st December 2025 () and the total value of the contract is £148,602.

Work on the CNAs for the Sound of Barra and the Sound of Harris routes is being done in-house.

Consultancy services to support the CNAs for the Outer Hebrides (mainland routes), Small Isles routes, Skye and Raasay are currently being procured, and the contract price will be included in a contract award notice.

Resources and budgets for future CNA work for all other Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Service routes will be determined allocated on a case-by-case basis.

We do not currently have a plan to make bleed kits available nationally across Scotland but we encourage the public to focus on calling the emergency services for assistance in the case of an emergency and encourage members of the public, including young people themselves, to learn the basic first aid skills which could be vital in saving a life.

Whilst our approach to tackling knife crime is to prevent young people from picking up a knife in the first instance, it is important that bystanders are given the best advice on how to provide direct pressure to a bleeding wound using readily available items such as dry towels or clothing. Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) call handlers are well trained to provide first aid advice to bystanders before an ambulance arrives.

SAS is following the position of the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives, which is supported by a number of UK organisations such as the London Ambulance Service and the NHS England London Violence Reduction Programme, in promoting bystander first aid but not the general role out of commercially available bleed kits. The SAS major trauma team regularly reviews how best to treat patients experiencing significant bleeding, which includes reviewing and taking part in guidance and research.

Following a parliamentary debate on 26 February, a Motion (S6M-16571) was passed calling on Scottish Enterprise to review its human rights due diligence checks.

I updated Parliament (S6W-38968) on Scottish Enterprise’s review on 25 June. I confirmed that Scottish Enterprise had identified opportunities for improvements, which it committed to rolling out incrementally, over 2025-26.

I committed to providing a further update to Parliament, once Scottish Enterprise had developed its revised and detailed operational guidance, and asked that Scottish Government officials be kept abreast of that work.

On 28 November, Scottish Government officials received a formal update from Scottish Enterprise confirming that its updated human rights due diligence policy and procedure had been substantially finalised. Operationalisation of the revised human rights due diligence checks will now begin, on a phased basis. During the period of early implementation, these checks will be subject to further refinement. Scottish Enterprise outlined further detail of its improvements, which includes provisions to ensure human rights due diligence checks effectively address and adapt to emerging risks associated with customer relationships through:

• An increase in the frequency of human rights due diligence checks, to every 12 months to maintain ongoing vigilance and responsiveness.
• Removal of previous exemptions and broadening of the scope of human rights due diligence checks.
• Enhanced online screening, supplemented by follow-up engagement with customers as necessary.
• Introduction of targeted customer checks, including the requirement for a customer statement specifically addressing items and activities governed by the UK Strategic Export Controls regime.

Scottish Enterprise has indicated that work is continuing on the development of a new digital platform for customer onboarding, which is to be rolled out in 2026. This will provide a more comprehensive customer journey and workflow for managing and recording customer interactions and due diligence checks, including human rights due diligence checks.

Scottish Enterprise’s letter also confirmed that its internal Senior Review Group, established following its review, is now fully constituted and meeting weekly. The Group will provide strategic input and support operational decision-making.

I thank Scottish Enterprise for its work on developing these enhanced procedures, and towards implementing them fully in 2026.

The contractors carrying out Community Needs Assessment (CNA) work for Transport Scotland are appointed via procurement from a framework of pre-qualified organisations.

1.The CNAs for Cowal and Rosneath were undertaken by Stantec. The call-off contract was awarded in January 2023.

2.The CNAs for the Sounds of Barra and Harris ferry services are being undertaken in-house. Work started with the launch of user surveys in August 2025.

3.The CNAs for Coll, Colonsay, Iona, Kerrera, Lismore, Mull and Tiree, are being undertaken by Stantec. The call-off contract was awarded in November 2025.

4.The CNAs for the Outer Hebrides (mainland routes), Small Isles, Skye and Raasay are scheduled to commence shortly and contractors are currently being procured.

5.CNA work for the other Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services routes is planned to commence in 2026. Contractors have not yet been procured.

This morning, I will visit the site of MiAlgae’s new bio-reactor project Grangemouth, which will see omega-3 being produced and sold at scale. The construction of the new plant at Grangemouth is being made possible as a direct result of up to £3 million in grant funding being allocated by the Scottish and UK Governments, with £1.5 million coming from the Scottish Government’s Grangemouth Just Transition Fund.

Subject to final negotiations and confirmation of public funding conditions, we are also allocating up to £6.23 million from the Grangemouth Just Transition Fund to Celtic Renewables to support pre-construction costs associated with its at scale ABE bio-refinery project at Grangemouth.

A further additional £595,000 from the Fund to be utilised by Scottish Enterprise to progress essential enabling activities that will make progress towards Grangemouth’s transition.

I look forward to providing a fuller update to Parliament later today on the progress being made by this Government to support Grangemouth’s Just Transition to Net Zero.

I am pleased to announce that today we have published our Phase 1 report on the Future Medical Workforce Project. You can access the report .

The report follows an extensive exploratory process to understand the challenges and opportunities for Scotland’s medical workforce over the next 15 to 20 years.

Over the past six months, we have engaged widely with the profession, we have listened to over 2,000 doctors through a national survey and 40 focus groups.

The report reflects these candid views and explores how technology, service redesign, and cultural change can help create a better future for the profession, enabling high-quality care in a rapidly changing health system. It also makes the case for meaningful change.

Phase 2 of the project will begin in January 2026 and will focus on designing solutions in partnership with the profession. This will include workstreams on training reform, workforce planning, and service redesign.

A letter will be sent to the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee to provide an update on the report and to invite them, along with key stakeholders, to a cross-party discussion in the new year to review the findings and consider how best to take forward Phase 2 of the project.

I attended the 44th British-Irish Council meeting held in the Vale Resort, Cardiff, Wales on 5 December.

The summit was hosted by the First Minister of Wales and attended by ministers from across the UK and Ireland. The Prime Minister attended, as did the Taoiseach and Tnaiste, the First Minister and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Chief Ministers of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man.

The theme of this year’s summit was a creative future: unlocking the potential of the creative industries across these islands.

The main summit plenary provided an opportunity to highlight the strength of Scotland’s creative industries as well as outline the Scottish Government support extended to our creative sector.

During the main plenary discussion on latest political developments, I took the opportunity to restate the Scottish Government’s ongoing concerns over the intolerable situation in Gaza.

I also welcomed the UK government’s headline agreement with the European Union, while making clear that further progress was required to address trade barriers and promote freedom of movement.

Ahead of the main summit I held bilateral meetings with the Tnaiste and Irish Trade Minister (Helen McEntee).

We discussed the close relationship between Scotland and Ireland; whisky tariffs and the United Kingdom’s new approach to the European Union.

I also held a wide-ranging discussion with the Prime Minister, during which I raised the impact of the UK Budget on Scotland’s oil and gas and renewables sectors and pressed for immediate action on the Energy Profits Levy.

I also discussed the future key economic infrastructure including Grangemouth and Mossmorran, and pressed for an update on UK-US Trade negotiations including the tariff on whisky.

Finally, I welcomed the recent UK Government announcement on the lifting of the two-child benefit cap, noting that this would allow the Scottish Government to further deliver on our commitment to address child poverty.

The Communiqué that was issued by the British-Irish Council after the meeting can be found on its website at:

44th British-Irish Council Summit

Vale of Glamorgan, Wales

5 December 2025

Communiqué

The British-Irish Council (BIC) held its 44th Summit meeting today, Friday 5 December 2025, hosted by the Welsh Government in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales.

The theme of the Summit was A Creative Future: Unlocking the Potential of the Creative Industries Across These Islands. The meeting was chaired by the Rt Hon Eluned Morgan MS, Prif Weinidog Cymru (First Minister), Welsh Government.

A Creative Future: Unlocking the Potential of the Creative Industries Across These Islands.

The Summit plenary focussed on Member Administrations’ respective screen sectors. Leaders discussed the importance of the sector to the Creative Industries, both culturally and economically, as well as the opportunities and challenges facing the sector, and efforts by administrations to support the industry and those working within it.

Latest Political Developments

Council members reflected on significant recent developments within their administrations and discussed a number of domestic and international topics of mutual interest.

Next Summit Meeting

The Council noted that the next BIC Summit will be hosted by the Government of Guernsey in summer 2026.

BIC Secretariat

5 December 2025

Plenary Participants