 I wish to request a supplementary question. At the time of the question, I want to remind members of the Covid-related measures that are in place and that face covering should be worn when moving around the chamber and across the Holyrood campus. The first item of business is portfolio questions. The first portfolio is Covid-19 recovery and parliamentary business. I remind members that questions 7 and 8 are grouped together, and that I'll take If a member wishes to request a supplementary question, please press the request to speak button or indicate so in the chat function by entering letter R during the relevant question. Question 1, Gordon MacDonald. To ask the Scottish Government how its policies and actions across government will ensure that those hit hardest by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic are prioritised during the recovery. Cabinet Secretary, John Swinney. Yr Covid recovery strategy, which was published earlier this month, sets out the next steps in Scotland's recovery, recognising that, while the pandemic has affected every area of life, those who were already struggling have been hit hardest. The strategy addresses the systemic inequalities that are made worse by Covid, aims to improve people's wellbeing and to remobilise public services to be more focused on people's needs of building on lessons learned during the pandemic. Actions include upskilling and retraining opportunities, help for low-income families at most at risk of poverty, and locally-based mental health and wellbeing support for children and young people. While the strategy is focused over the next 18 months, it also includes actions over this Parliament to deliver substantial improvements in child poverty, make significant progress towards net zero, and secure an economic recovery, that is fair and green. Gordon MacDonald I thank the Deputy First Minister for that response. Will the cabinet secretary agree with me that the paltry rise in the minimum wage of £59 per hour by the UK Government will not offset the national insurance rise imposed by the Tory Government, or the £20 per week cut to universal credit, nor will it help people facing record petrol prices, energy or food price increases, or the general rise in inflation and highlights that the Tories are no friends of working-class Scots? The cabinet secretary is undeniable that there is a very significant cost of living crisis facing citizens in our country, which will become ever more severe over the course of the winter months due to the very significant increases in fuel prices and food prices, which are prevalent at the present moment. Mr MacDonald is correct that the increase in the minimum wage, although welcome, does not, in any shape or form, offset the impact of those factors. There have been changes announced to the decisions on universal credit during the course of the budget. I have not had the opportunity yet to fully assess the implications of those changes, but without a doubt there are households in Scotland that are facing an acute cost of living crisis, and the Scottish Government is focusing its efforts on doing all that we can to support those who face the challenge of poverty in our society. Oliver Mundell, thank you. There can be no doubt that our young people have been some of the hardest hit by the pandemic. Yesterday, I asked the First Minister what it would take for face masks to be removed from schools, particularly in the classroom. The answer was not particularly forthcoming. Can the cabinet secretary set out specifically what we expect to see before that measure can be relaxed? Mr Mundell will be familiar with the basis of decision making that has got to be undertaken in relation to any Covid restrictions, whether that is mask, wearing in schools, by pupils or any other measure. The Government has to be able to demonstrate that the decisions that are taken are proportionate to the scale of the pandemic. We are facing a situation in which case rates in Scotland are averaging around about 2,000 to 2,500 per day. That is a very high level compared to the levels that existed in Scotland in the past when we did not have restrictions such as face coverings in schools. The Government will take proportionate decisions based on the prevalence of the pandemic, and the pandemic remains a very serious threat to the health and wellbeing of all citizens in Scotland, but particularly to young people as well. Michael Marra, thank you, Presiding Officer. Young people have faced incredible disruption during the past 18 months. Active ventilation in classrooms is key to minimising further education disruption and securing their life chances. As the Government's ventilation inspection programme concluded prior to the October break, can the cabinet secretary confirm how many classrooms were inspected, how many failed inspection and what the preference-preferred method of mitigation is? Obviously, the Government has made resources available to local authorities to improve ventilation in schools. The education secretary is writing to the education committee. I am not sure if that letter has gone yet. I am not sure if it has been issued yet, but it is to be issued this week. First Minister confirmed that in her statement to Parliament yesterday. That will set out the progress that has been made in the ventilation assessment. A key part of the judgment, Mr Marra, asked me to set out what the Government's preferred method of ventilation is. He will forgive me if I do not dictate from Parliament the ventilation arrangements for 2,500 school settings around the country. However, the prevalence of CO2 monitors and the monitoring information that that provides is an essential part of the arrangements that the Government has taken forward in partnership with local authorities. I should, for the record, state that this issue is a matter for local authority decision making as the responsibility for running schools' estate rests entirely by statute with local authorities. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its policies and actions across government to support the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic and how those have been impacted by the reported cross-sector labour shortages. Our Covid recovery strategy recognises that many critical sectors across the Scottish economy are reporting issues with the supply of labour, resulting from EU exit, food and drink, transport and social care. The strategy therefore includes investment of an additional £500 million over this Parliament to support new, good, fair and green jobs and to equip people with the skills to enter into and progress in them. We are working with employers to help people into vacancies through our employability programmes, one of which is, of course, the young person's guarantee. However, the real solution lies in an end to policies that are damaging to the prospects of the Scottish economy, which emanate from the United Kingdom Government. My ministerial colleagues and I have made repeated representations to the UK Government to put in place emergency changes to the UK immigration system to combat acute post-Brexit skills and labour shortages. So far, the UK Government appears intent on ignoring the problems that they have created. I thank the Deputy First Minister for that answer. Some large employers in Adrian Shots across all sectors have expressed concern to me about labour supply. There is a particular concern for food production in the run-up to Christmas, with some worried that they might not be able to honour contracts. Will the Deputy First Minister agree to meet me and the employer's concern to discuss potential areas to support them, including those that we need to push the UK Government to deliver, such as extending visas for migrant workers? I have been delighted to meet Mr Gray and representatives of the business community in his constituency to hear at first hand their experiences. I have listened to a whole range of businesses in my constituency and in other parts of the country expressing their concern about the availability of staff and the acute challenges that are faced in a number of sectors. I have listed them in my original answer in relation to social care, hospitality, distribution, health service and food processing, where we are suffering as a consequence of the removal of free movement of individuals. I think that it has been a retrograde step. The Government warned that it would be damaging to the Scottish economy and that warning was ignored by the United Kingdom Government as it pursued the hardest of Brexit and the removal of the free movement of individuals. We know that unemployment in Scotland is projected to rise to over 5 per cent by the year end. That equates to nearly 200,000 people who are of working age who will be claiming benefits and who want to work. What more can the Scottish Government do through its skills agenda to ensure that those people can be retrained to fill the vacancies that Mr Gray refers to? The Scottish Government is absolutely focused on not just that but on the fact that there are about 21 per cent of our population who are economically inactive. Some of those people will be able, with the proper support in place, to be able to gain access to employment. The Scottish Government, in all of our employability interventions, is absolutely focused on ensuring that that is achieved. I have just come off a call immediately before I came into the chamber, which is focused on exactly that question, but I make the point to Mr Fraser that all of the dispassionate information that is coming to us from a whole range of sectors—he must be hearing it as much as I am hearing it from the business community—we simply do not have the adequate supply of individuals available in the economy. If unemployment rises in the fashion that he talks about, then there may well be people who are active in the labour market who can participate in other employment. However, we have historically low unemployment in Scotland today. It has been a factor of the Scottish National Party Government for many, many years, of which we are very proud at that very low level of unemployment that there has been in Scotland under our stewardship. However, we need to make sure that we have adequate numbers of people to contribute to the economic basis of Scotland. That has been made more difficult by the removal of free movement of individuals. Jackie Baillie There are acute labour shortages in the care sector that also have a direct impact on delayed discharge in our hospitals, caused by a variety of reasons and, undoubtedly, the case that low wages are also partly responsible. Given that you get paid more to work in Lidl or in a pub, when will the cabinet secretary value social care workers and agree to £15 an hour? The Government values social care workers and the contribution that they make. I agree entirely with Jackie Baillie about the way in which she positions the argument that the availability of social care workers is a material factor on reducing the pressure in our hospitals because of delayed discharges. There is absolutely no dispute about that point. The cabinet secretary for health announced before the parliamentary recess in October steps to increase the remuneration for social care workers. The Government will work with our local authority partners to do as much as we possibly can to support improvements in that direction. We will also be working with local authorities and health boards to support recruitment of additional staff to ensure that the care packages that Jackie Baillie wants to see in place for her constituents are just the same ones that I want to see in place for mine, which can reduce some of the pressure on our hospitals and enable our health service to cope with a very challenging winter that lies ahead. Before I take question 3, can I just point out that we are halfway through timings for this particular session of questions? I would be grateful if we could pick up the pace, please. I call Rora Mackay. To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to introduce a young person's citizens assembly. Minister George Adam. We have committed to establishing annual citizens assemblies in the lifetime of this Parliament. We will begin work to design the young person's citizens assembly with children and young people before the end of this year. In the meantime, we have committed to putting people at the heart of everything that we do to take a person-centred approach to Covid recovery and have convened a working group to set out how participation and deliberative democracy can be embedded. It is due to deliver a report later this year. I thank the minister for that answer and the pledge to establish an assembly for children and young people under 16 to ensure better representation. Does the minister agree with me that the recent challenge by the UK Tory Government on the implementation of the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child makes this pledge even more necessary? Yes, I do agree. The implications of the judgment are significant for children's rights perspective and in terms of the Government and indeed this Parliament's aspirations for the country that we want our children to grow up in. It is regrettable that the bill has been delayed and we will now become law in the form that our Parliament originally agreed to. The Scottish Government remains absolutely committed to the incorporation of the UNCRC into Scots law to the maximum extent possible as soon as possible. While the judgment means that the bill cannot receive royal assent in its current form, the majority of work in relation to the implementation of the UNCRC can and is continuing. To ask the Scottish Government how its policies and actions across Government will take account of the key findings and recommendations of the Royal Society of Edinburgh's Post-Covid-19 Futures Commission published earlier this week. We welcome the Post-Covid Futures Commission report and will consider its recommendations closely. The Covid recovery strategy sets out the need to work collaboratively and we look forward to further engagement with the Royal Society of Edinburgh on the issues raised in the report. Can I thank the Deputy First Minister for his response and for his comments at the RSE's event on Monday morning? The key findings and recommendations are far reaching and pretty challenging. They speak to issues of democracy, the importance of delivering on things like the Christie commission principles and things like social prescribing and the need for improved collection and understanding of data and evidence. I want to ask specifically about the challenge about preparedness. Brexit and Covid have shown us the vital importance of planning for future challenges. Can the Deputy First Minister comment specifically on the proposal for a foresighting centre to scope out and plan for potential risks and crises in the future? If Maggie Chapman will forgive me, I won't give a definitive answer on that because I wish to consider this specific proposal. In general, the idea of preparing resilience planning to meet the challenges that we face and, my goodness, we have faced them over the past 18 months is very much at the heart of the Government's intentions. We are currently undertaking resilience planning as a Government that is looking at a variety of concurrent risks around COP26, Covid, the implications of Brexit and preparedness for winter. I completely accept the premise of the question, the specifics that I will consider and advise Parliament and the Royal Society of Edinburgh accordingly. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the number of people who have downloaded the NHS Scotland Covid status app. Our Covid status app has been downloaded over 1.1 million times and separately our vaccination status letter has been issued either in PDF or printed format over 1.4 million times. Going forward, we ensure that those numbers will be sustained. People can continue to either download or request a paper copy of their vaccination status from NHS Inform or to call the free phone helpline 0808-1968565. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. The Scottish Government has failed to educate the public about the new passport rules instead of relying on businesses to do the work. With no extra funding, no public awareness campaign and an unreliable app, the Scottish Government accepted that the app does not work and that it should focus on helping businesses to recover. The Government is absolutely focused on helping businesses to recover. We have supported businesses in a whole variety of different ways to recover from the pandemic and continue to do so. The app is working perfectly well. It is entirely operational and has been able to be utilised at football grounds over the weekend with many thousands of people in attendance and there are reports of no disorder and no difficulty in the operation of the app. The app works particularly well. I suggest that the Conservatives move on from the argument. Countries around the world are using apps of this type. I do not see why anyone should think that Scotland should be an exception from that. It is working perfectly well. To ask the Scottish Government if those with a vaccine certificate from outside Scotland are being allowed into venues and events. If it is our desire that visitors to Scotland from outside the UK are able to access events and venues, there is, on the other hand, significant variation across the globe on what those look like and how they work and not all are acceptable. We have published guidance and a toolkit for businesses and event organisers and customers on our website to help to explain the issues that have to be wrestled with. What does the Deputy First Minister have to say to many of my constituents who continue for some time to experience incomplete vaccine records? That makes it incredibly difficult to get access to the vaccine passport. Is it not just another example of the failed vaccine passport system? It is about time that he ditched it. In a situation in which more than 7 million vaccinations have been undertaken, the most reasonable person would accept that there are bound to be individual cases where there are challenges and problems with the data. I would advise Mr Rennie's constituents if they have an issue to phone the NHS informed number, the number of which I gave, and the staff there will be very happy to try to address the issues that he raises. Mr Rennie will know that on occasions Members of Parliament have raised the fact that they had a particular problem, they phoned the number and they resolved it, so the mechanism is there to address the issues that he has talked about. Question 6, Stuart McMillan. Thank you, Presiding Officer, to answer to the Scottish Government how it is engaging with third sector organisations to ensure that the experiences of those on the front line offering support to our most vulnerable people help to shape our recovery from Covid. The Covid recovery strategy has been informed by public engagement and will deliver the recovery that people want and need to see. On behalf of the Scottish Government, I held a series of four open dialogue events with stakeholders during the summer. To hear about those aspirations, we listened to views and we worked with local government, business organisations to third sector and organisations such as the Citizens Assembly of Scotland and the social renewal advisory board to formulate our thinking. As part of the collective national endeavour for recovery and a focus on delivery of actions over the next 18 months, we will continue to work in close partnership with others, including those providing front line support in establishing a collaboration for recovery. Stuart McMillan. I thank the cabinet secretary for that reply. The cabinet secretary recently visited the Bello community gardens trust in my constituency. They provided over 4,500 isolation parcels to people in Inverclyde throughout the lockdown, offered a safe space for local people when restrictions were eased to meet with others and also continued to work with the local community for the good of our local environment. Will the cabinet secretary join me in praising Bello and inform me of what opportunities he took from the visit that could be replicated elsewhere in Scotland? It was a pleasure to visit the Bello community gardens trust in Mr McMillan's constituency. It was an example of a local organisation that had a core purpose of involvement in community activity pre-pandemic, but adapted very significantly and very quickly to meet the needs of individuals within the Greenock area. As a consequence of that, the trust has established itself in a whole variety of different areas around connections amongst individuals. There was a fantastic knitting gathering that I met there, which was providing socialisation for individuals who fell isolated during the pandemic. There was a gardens project, there was a skills project, and it was a fantastic example. Those ventures exist in all communities in the country, and I would compliment Bello community gardens trust on the outstanding work that they are doing. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how its policies and actions across Government will help to support local authorities to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. Delivering a strong recovery from Covid-19 is critical, and it will require collaboration and partnership working from all of us. To date, we have provided Scottish councils with an additional £1.5 billion in direct support through the local government fund settlement over and above the regular grant payments. Furthermore, we have published a Covid recovery strategy that we will deliver in partnership with COSLA. The strategy provides the overall principles that will guide our recovery over the next 18 months to make the needs of people most disadvantaged by Covid-19. As we all know, many councils are struggling, and that includes Glasgow. Can it reopen all the facilities that they want to, whether they are run by themselves or alloys like Glasgow Life? Clearly, Scottish Government's short of money can the cabinet secretary give any advice as to how we can move this situation forward? The Government engages in dialogue with a range of organisations. We have engaged in dialogue with Glasgow Life around those questions. As I indicated in my original answer, we have provided local authorities with a significant amount of increased resources that are available to them to assist in the challenges. We will continue to have that dialogue, but fundamentally, those decisions are for local authorities to take within the resources that are available to them. However, we will continue to have dialogue with Glasgow City Council and Glasgow Life on the issues that Mr Mason raises with me. To ask the Scottish Government what cross-government support and funding it is providing to local authorities to aid the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. The Scottish Government has worked with our partners in local government to agree the shared vision and outcomes of the Covid recovery and to recognise the critical role of local government in our national endeavour. We will support delivery of joint programmes of work with a recovery oversight board, allowing a strong focus on monitoring and performance towards outcomes. As I set out my answer to Mr Mason, the Government has allocated an additional £1.5 billion in direct support through the local government finance settlement, and councils have been granted additional financial flexibilities to address the financial pressures that they face. I thank the cabinet secretary for his response. Vision and cultured Dundee has suffered from a major drop in revenue as a result of the pandemic, resulting in a requirement for significant support from Dundee City Council, amounting to almost £3 million. They recognise what the cabinet secretary has already said, but this is a huge issue in Dundee. I wonder if he or another minister would be willing to meet with me and council John Alexander, leader of Dundee City Council, to discuss the issue further. I am aware that the French Secretary met representatives from Dundee City Council on 21 September. I would be very happy to meet with Mr FitzPatrick and Councillor Alexander to discuss the issue further. I recognise the challenges that are faced by local authorities, but part of my intention by creating the joint approach with local government is to ensure that we can collaborate and use all the resources available to us to try to address the very practical issues that Mr FitzPatrick puts to me. I will be happy to arrange that discussion. I can help John Mason and Joe FitzPatrick with their questions. How, cabinet secretary, will the largest block grant increases for this Parliament since the devolution settlement of 1998 announced today by the UK Government be used to support local authorities to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic? I will, as Mr Kerr, not be surprised to hear look very carefully at all the details of the announcements today. I shall look at the shiny glossy announcements and I shall pour over the detail as well to make sure that the wool is not being pulled over our eyes by the United Kingdom Government as it has been on so many occasions and if I was ever to find a group of people who were more adept at having the wool pulled over their eyes, they are sitting right in front of me in the Conservative and Unionist party. In fact, that knitting group that I talked about in Greenock would have delivered the wool to pull down over the eyes of Mr Kerr and his colleagues. We will now move on to the next portfolio, which is net zero, energy and transport. Any member wishing to request a supplementary question, please press the request-to-speak button at the relevant question or indicate in the chat function with the letter R. I call Mark Ruskell to ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its discussions with the Danish Government regarding the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance. The First Minister and the Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity met the Danish Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities on 13 October. Bond, Oil and Gas Alliance was briefly discussed along with other matters and initiatives concerning Scottish-Danish co-operation. In line with the Scottish Government's evidence-based approach to policy development, we have committed to undertaking a programme of work and analysis to better understand Scotland's energy requirements as we transition to net zero and how that aligns with our climate change targets. We will consider the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance further alongside that programme of work and analysis and any other sources of evidence that are provided. I thank the cabinet secretary for that response. I guess I am tempering my disappointment a little that the Scottish Government is not ready to join the alliance yet, but, as the First Minister stated in her speech on Monday, transition from oil and gas is undoubtedly one of the most difficult issues that we face, she said, and I agree with her. Can I ask the cabinet secretary if we can maintain the dialogue, not just during COP but beyond COP, with the members of the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance, particularly countries such as Denmark, who have had a challenging progression in transitioning their gas sector? I think that there is much that we can learn and there is much that we can contribute in that discussion with those countries that are drawing a line in the sand and are moving beyond oil and gas while still continuing to take their workers with them. As I mentioned, any consideration of joining beyond oil and gas would have to be consistent with their energy policy and their approach to energy policy. That will be informed of in the work that we are taking forward to assess the need for oil and gas in the years ahead as we transition to becoming an ex-ero nation by 2045. I can also say to the member that I can assure him of our continued engagement with other nations on energy matters, including the Danish Government, and we have planned engagements during the course of COP, where we are looking to explore further collaboration between Scotland and Denmark on areas of energy policy where there is a shared priority, particularly in the renewable sector. We are looking to build on the engagement that we have had with them in recent years to make that a more formal arrangement in the years ahead. The transition that the member refers to must be fair and managed for those workers. Answers to my written parliamentary questions show that much-vaunted just transition funding plan will not have any detail until a draft is produced in spring 2022. Given the urgency that the green members want to shut down the North Sea and the impact on almost 100,000 jobs, how long before the fund and the plan will be finalised and the organisations receive funding? As we set out in taking forward the north-east and Murray transition deal, we wanted to make sure that we shaped it in a way that reflected the needs of the community and the organisations that could benefit from it. We are undertaking an engagement process in order to achieve that. However, I am sure that the member will recognise that, given that the Scottish Government has committed over £500 million as part of the deal, he will join me in calling on the UK Government to match that and to make sure that making the similar investment to ensure that a just and fair transition is achieved in the north-east. Going by the track record of his colleagues in Westminster last week on the Scottish cluster, I am not holding my breath to make sure that they support the north-east of Scotland in the years ahead. Question 2, Bill Kidd. To ask the Scottish Government how it is involving young people in COP26. It is extremely important that children and young people are listened to at COP26, and not just listened to, but their views taken on board. We are facilitating this by funding the conference of youth, which is the UN's official youth event for COP26, and are supporting for the first time five young people from Scotland to attend and help to shape the statement to world leaders. We are also supporting the Young Scott-led youth summit, where young people will agree recommendations on climate action and have the opportunity to meet leaders and activists and to share their ideas on tackling the climate crisis. Bill Kidd. I thank the minister for that answer. Children and young people have been pushing for climate action, and it is very important that their views are listened to. So thank you for that. Can the minister further outline how Scotland will do what it can to contribute to a successful outcome at the Glasgow summit, including how it will engage with activists both in the developed world and from the global south? Young people have played an absolutely critical role in bringing climate and nature crisis issues on to the international agenda. They have challenged governments and they have done so from the grassroots. We need to all accept that they have the most to lose from any in action now. That is why we are supporting activists on the front line to participate at COP. For example, the First Minister will meet regularly throughout COP with Vanessa Nakati, the founder of the Youth for Future Africa. We are also establishing a COP hub in Malawi and are supporting events by the global assembly. We have also facilitated the Glasgow climate dialogues and the women's environment and development organisation. All of that is about driving gender equality in climate action in the global south. The minister will join me in congratulating all of the schools who are taking part in the moment in conjunction with the Children's Parliament and the Scottish Youth Parliament. Will she say what support is in place for children across Scotland who want to attend events, whether it is in Glasgow or elsewhere, that might fall on school days? Will she be encouraged and supported to be there? Will she say something about the cost of school transport for trips because schools cannot afford to get out and about with their young people? Absolutely congratulate the organisers of the moment. I am myself taking part in that on Friday in my constituency capacity with schools across Clyde Stale with an excellent uptake for the offer. It is so important that children are involved in COP. It can feel remote, it can feel elitist and part of what we have been trying to do through our themes of people in just transition is bring it alive. One of the events that I was able to take part in in that regard was My Climate Path, which is delivered with Young Scott and which is all about showing young people that path that they can take now to take them to a career in some of the green industries of the future. So with those structures and working with Young Scott in Yungo, there is a plethora of events available and I would be more than happy to share more detail of them with the member. Question 3, Jamie Greene. Thank you Presiding Officer. 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. Minister Graham Day. Presiding Officer, the turnaround director of Ferguson Marine updated the net zero energy and transport committee on the delivery timetable and budget for the Gwyn Sacks and the 802 on 30 September. The cost to complete the vessels remains the same as it was reported in the turnaround director's December 2019 report to Parliament, which is between £110.3 million and £114.3 million. The answer is that there will be five years light and more than double in budget. Once was a time when you couldn't keep SNP ministers away from Ferguson Marine in Port Glasgow, mostly for a photo call. Let me ask the new transport minister since he took office how many times has he personally been to the yard in Port Glasgow? How many times has he personally met Tim Herre, its turnaround director, and is it about time he apologised to the people of Arran for the symbolic way his Government has handled the replacement ferries for these islands? Well, Mr Greene knows full well because, as I recall, he was a member of the rec committee in the last Parliament. Oversight of Ferguson Marine and its contracts lies with Kate Forbes. Kate Forbes, I can assure him, has visited the yard and she meets with Tim Herre. I'll repeat it because he's clearly not listening. The ministerial responsibility for this sits with Kate Forbes and she has visited the yard quite recently and met and speaks to Tim Herre on a regular basis. What I've done, perhaps unlike Mr Greene, I have been to Arran recently, I have met with the ferries committee, I'm focused on engaging with the communities who are waiting on those vessels and also working on the issue of Ardrossan harbour. That's where my responsibility lies. Kenneth Gibson Thank you, Presiding Officer. Islanders look forward to the Glen Sannocks joining the Ardrossan to Brodick route. Can the minister advise the chamber as to the progress being made regarding the Ardrossan harbour redevelopment that she just touched on and that the Glen Sannocks will be able to sail to and from Ardrossan at the earliest possible opportunity? Minister. Presiding Officer, as I just alluded to, we are actively engaged in trying to find that long-term solution to secure the best use of Ardrossan for connections to Arran. Discussions continue with Peel Ports on the group, the project delivery options and the related commercial agreements. Those are challenging discussions but a resolution must be found to deliver improvements in a practical and cost-effective way, reflecting the needs of all of the partners involved. I intend to convene a further task force meet later this year to update stakeholders on progress. However, I can advise Mr Gibson that, in keeping with the united front and the united approach that has been taken by the Government and the local council, Joe Cullinan, the leader of the council, is going to co-chair the task force. Thank you, Presiding Officer. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its discussions with trade unions representing Scotland's staff. Presiding Officer, Scotland has held numerous discussions with all the trade unions. Two unions consulted their members and overwhelmingly accepted the offer. The third union has also accepted what is a very fair offer. Only RMT leaders have formally rejected the offer and then two revised offers without consulting their Scottish members. That final offer remains open to the RMT until 5pm this evening. The deadline of tonight is essential so that Scotland has enough time with Network Rail to implement contingency plans in time for COP26. I thank the minister for the answer. The eyes of the world will be on Glasgow next month with thousands of visitors from all around the world. Those visitors have the potential to use Scotland's trains, however many will be unable to do so if the strikes go ahead. Has the Scottish Government carried out an assessment of the cost of the rail strike during COP26 to the Scottish economy? The impact of any industrial action during COP, for the period of COP, will be very significant. We are focused on trying to mitigate that if indeed it happens. I think that this is lost in this argument. This is not just about COP. The actions of the RMT's leadership will impact everyone over the two-week period. It is a deeply regrettable situation that we find ourselves in. It is not for the want of effort on the part of ScotRail and this Government to resolve it. I asked the transport minister about industrial action in the railways. He said that it was not anything to do with him. Can I ask the transport minister to confirm to Parliament today that he has rejected a counter-proposal from the RMT that would resolve the dispute? First of all, that first statement is completely untrue. The second point is that we have on numerous occasions over recent weeks being led to believe by the RMT. Well, if Mr Bibby would stop chirping, he might hear the answer. Multiple times over recent weeks we have been led directly and publicly to believe that there was a possible resolution of this dispute. This Government and ScotRail reached out on all occasions only to find the goalposts moved. It has been very difficult to establish trust in this process. If I heard the minister correctly, he said that the RMT members had not been consulted in the offer. Can he confirm that and say why the RMT is not consulting their members? I absolutely can confirm that, but I have to direct Mr Mason's question to the RMT leadership in Scotland as to why their members unlike the membership of the TSSA or Unite, why they did not afford that opportunity. I am not sure that the minister has increased the aggressive language towards the RMT that will resolve the issue. Can he answer Mr Bibby's question? Was there a counter offer and was it accepted or rejected by the minister? On a number of occasions during this process, proposal has appeared to be put forward by the RMT, and then it has changed. In essence, there have been a number of occasions during the discussions, there have appeared to be progress to be made, and then the goalposts are moved. That is the reality. To ask the Scottish Government how much funding has been allocated to the upgrade of the A77 and its infrastructure investment plan 2021-22 to 2025-26. STPR2 phase 1 confirmed the importance of investing in Scotland's trunk road network, supported by £1.5 billion and capital allocated to the infrastructure investment plan and spending view. On the A77, funding has been allocated to date to enable the completion of the £46 million mable bypass. We have a statutory obligation to maintain the safe condition of trunk road assets and decisions for allocating that funding on the A77 will be based on a road asset management plan. That will augment the £88 million already spent since 2007, managing and maintaining the route. I thank the minister for that answer. In successive transport reviews, the Scottish Government has forgotten Ayrshire and especially the A77, time and time again. As we have heard, a lot of numbers there, but I have got the official Scottish Government figures here, a mere £5 million was allocated to the road, while other road projects have received hundreds of millions. With no sign of a full upgrade in the programme for government and little sign of one appearing in the strategic transport projects review, that leaves people in Ayrshire with few options. The message from the Scottish Government to motorists in the south-west of Scotland is clear and, once again, we are being left behind. Can the cabinet secretary promise my constituents today that work to dual the A77 will be commenced within the lifetime of this Parliament and, if so, will it appear in the STPR2 report? As the member well knows, the review that was done of that road recommended against dueing of the route. There are two items in the STPR2. One recommendation, 17, is about the development of capacity enhancement measures on the route, such as partial dueing, town and village bypasses, we talked about Mabel earlier and improved overtaken opportunities. In recommendation 18, implementation of targeted measures such as improvements to road geometry, bends and junction improvements along with safety camera deployment measures. Those two proposals, amongst others, are currently going through the very detailed final appraisal and I would hope that we will be able to advise Parliament the outcome of that process in the next few months. Can the minister detail the impact that the Scottish Government's A77 Mabel bypass improvement scheme in my constituency will have on the levels of traffic in Mabel High Street when the bypass is soon opened? The opening of the new bypass is predicted to reduce traffic on Mabel High Street by approximately 50 per cent with a number of HDVs reducing by approximately 90 per cent. I know that that will be extremely welcome by residents. Following the opening of the bypass, Transport Scotland will be undertaking an evaluation of the project in line with Scottish Trunk Road Infrastructure project evaluation guidance. That evaluation will be carried out to assess the impact of the bypass by comparing conditions one year and then three years after opening with forecasts made during the scheme design and development. However, I think that we all know that it will make a very substantial difference. To ask the Scottish Government when work will commence to address congestion at the Sheriff Hall roundabout. The Scottish Government is committed to delivering the grade separation of Sheriff Hall roundabout as part of our £300 million commitment to Edinburgh and the South East Scotland city region deal. Following publication of draft orders, a significant number of objections were received, which Transport Scotland is currently trying to resolve. However, a public local inquiry may be required if objections cannot be resolved. As with all Trunk Road projects, this is the appropriate forum for considering outstanding objections. So delivery of the scheme can only commence following statutory approval. Therefore, a timetable for its progress can be set. Actually, thereafter, a timetable for its progress could be set on. And I'll be happy to share that detail with Parliament in due course. Miles Brex. I thank the minister for that answer. Transport Scotland has suggested and has been disappointment that this could see a six-year window of a potential solution being found in 2027. This is a project of strategic importance to Edinburgh and the South East of Scotland. So can I ask the minister if you'll look to make this a strategic national transport project and will also agree to visit the junction along with me to see the real need for this to be invested in as soon as possible? Minister. Presiding Officer, I think that Miles Brex knows that there is a due process to be followed here. He represents a region, he represents many many people and there will be different views on this. And it's absolutely appropriate that all the due processes are forward. I'd like to see the objections resolved to everyone's satisfaction as soon as possible so that the work can commence. And I will take them up on the invitation. Question number seven, Oliver Mundell. Thank you, Presiding Officer. To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the net zero secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding reports that wind farm developers are offering payments to local residents in return for signing nondisclosure agreements and not objecting to planning applications. Presiding Officer, I advise a member that no such discussions have taken place. Oliver Mundell. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. Does he agree with me that this practice is unacceptable at distorts the planning system and has the potential to turn local communities against the very green energy projects that we need in the future? And will he commit today to carrying out a review of what's happening in practice on many of these large-scale applications? Presiding Officer, I recognise the point which the member has raised on behalf of his constituents. However, he'll be aware that this is a live planning matter and was subject to a public local inquiry and the issues that he's raised have been erd during the course of that inquiry. Scottish ministers have not received the report from the reporter as yet. As I'm sure the member will appreciate from the ministerial code point of view, it wouldn't be appropriate for me to comment on a live planning matter where the reporter has not published a report as yet. However, I can assure the member that the reporter will consider those matters and I would expect to see consideration of that within any report once it's received by Scottish ministers. Question 8 Julian Martin Thank you Presiding Officer to ask the Scottish Government what role the Acorn project could play in achieving Scotland's net zero and just transition ambitions. Advice from the Climate Change Committee described CCUS as I quote a necessity, not an option. There is simply a no realistic route to net zero without CCUS and what's more the Scottish cluster is vital for a just transition. That's why the Scottish UK Government's decision is so astonishing. It shows a lack of ambition of leadership and of commitment to tackling climate change. As outlined in Parliament yesterday we remain committed to the Scottish cluster and reaching net zero by 2045. We are urgently engaging with the sector and the UK Government and quite simply this is a decision which is a serious mistake and one which needs to be reversed. Julian Martin I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. The North East of Scotland is an obvious location for a carbon capture project and I agree that the UK Government's decision not to invest in the ACORN project at this stage is a devastating blow to our net zero obligations and the economy of the North East. If the UK Government are in any way serious about a just transition then the cabinet secretary agree with me that they should not only match the Scottish Government's £500 million investment in a just transition for North East of Scotland but urgently reconsider their nonsensical decision on ACORN and isn't it incumbent on all North East MSPs and their MP colleagues regardless of party to demand that that happens? Cabinet secretary I am sure that everyone in this chamber has signed up and committed to delivering a just transition but it's important in order to achieve that that the words actually follow into action and that's why we made the commitment of providing £500 million as part of the just transition fund for the North East and Moray to support that transition away from oil and gas into low-carbon and zero-carbon industries. That's why we've also called upon the UK Government to match that fund to support that transition given that the UK Government have been able to lean on the natural resources of the North East of Scotland for many decades and it's only right that they provide the financial support that's necessary to allow a just transition in the North East. And I hope that members right across this chamber will apply as much pressure to the UK Government to match our ambitions for the North East of Scotland in delivering a just and fair transition and at the same time to ask them to and press them to reverse what is the astonishing decision not to progress with the Scottish cluster given its importance to delivering not just net zero targets here in Scotland but right across the whole of the UK. This is a serious betrayal of the North East of Scotland and it's not one that can be allowed to stand.