 Rwy'n meddwl i'r next item of business, which is a statement by Hamza Yousaf on rail services. The minister will take questions at the end of the statement. There should be no interventions or interruptions. In fact, I would ask members if they wish to press their buttons now. Those who wish to ask a question later. I call on the minister to deliver his statement. Presiding Officer, I'm grateful to Parliament for the opportunity to make a statement about a railway network. Let me be quite clear. Everyone rightly expects a railway network that operates effectively. So when things go wrong, I fully understand the dissatisfaction of passengers and the inconvenience that is caused. Before I set out information on the performance of our railways, the actions that we are taking in the long-term transformation that we have planned, let me say firstly to any passenger who has had a bad experience on our railways that I am sorry. That this Government is committed to improving the service that you receive. There will always be incidents beyond our control on any transport system that interrupts service. In respect of last Thursday's failure at Edinburgh Waverly, I add my regret to that expressed by the First Minister. The breakdown happened at the worst place on the network, at the worst time and had a massive effect. Although no minister in any Government can guarantee that major failures will not happen, I can advise that ScotRail has learned lessons to ensure that they are better prepared for contingencies and, importantly, communication with passengers when such incidents do take place. Indeed, today we have seen a much more responsive reaction by ScotRail to the incident that has regrettably affected a large number of commuters in the Glasgow area. Let me be clear, this Government expects the highest possible standards of our rail industry and to achieve that we have set some of the toughest targets of any franchise in the UK. The franchise agreement asks for 91 out of every 100 trains to arrive at their destination within the recognised industry punctuality measure. I have no intention of underplaying issues for passengers or the effect that a sliding service quality can have in the journeys of individuals. However, it is important to recognise that, in a number of areas, that target is being met. On the Glasgow Dunblane line, for example, 93 per cent of services meet that target. For Ayrshire services, that figure is 93.8. On the Paisley canal, that figure is 97 per cent. Overall performance for the last year is sitting at 89.8, which is better than the figure that we inherited in 2007, despite the network being far busier with a 33 per cent increase in passengers. An additional 130 services running daily, we sit at a higher GB average at 87 per cent. However, when performance is being measured across the network, as a whole, let me be clear that it is not currently where I want it to be. At the same time, I know that increasing passenger numbers and pressure on services also means that experience for many passengers is not what they want it to be, either. To respond to those concerns, I instructed ScotRail on 23 August to develop a performance improvement plan and to deliver improvements to the customer experience. That plan was published on 20 October, and the ORR, the independent regulator, has confirmed that it is a robust, challenging but deliverable plan. There are some 250 individual actions within the plan and work is well under way to deliver them, but passengers want to see action now to strengthen the reliability of the rail infrastructure across the network. That is why I can announce now that, for example, £16 million of investment is being brought forward over and above what we have planned to already upgrade key junctions, track and signalling equipment. This week, action is taking place, for example, to new points that cow layers to improve circuits in Dunblane improved the reliability of our class 334 fleet-serving North Lanarkshire, Dunbartonshire and West Lothian. Action is taking place to fit an improved radiator design to tackle the cooling issues that are experienced by services on the border. They want action. £14 million is being spent on improving the overall reliability of the ScotRail fleet. In respect of operations, revised procedures are put in place, at major stations to focus on prompt departures, and they are managing known pinch points on our network. Commuters tell me that they are tired of skip-stopping. A skip-stop protocol has been introduced to protect peak-time commuters and reduce the instances of stops being missed. I know that overcrowding is frustrating for passengers when it happens. I can confirm that we are finalising details to provide more carriages from mid-December on both the morning and evening peak-time service on the border railway. At the same time, we will also introduce an early morning Perth to Inverness commuter service arriving just after 8 am. Southbound and new direct service will depart Inverness for Edinburgh arriving before 9.30 am, with a change of a broadly similar time to Glasgow. Those services will provide increased daily travel opportunities between North and Central Scotland. I know about the work that is required and the service that has to be delivered. I have taken action and a plan is now in place. This Government has a track record of delivering for our railways and is my firm intention that we will continue to do so. We are investing £5 billion up to 2019 to transform the railways, with huge increases in carriages, seats and services. Since 2007, 140 extra carriages have been introduced to the ScotRail fleet. An extra 200 carriages will follow in the next 30 months, starting from now. That means 50 per cent more carriages than in 2007. We are investing twice as much per capita as the UK Government in the existing network. Our seven cities will be linked by high-speed trains, with rolling stock more in keeping with an intercity experience, providing the latest standard of comfort, accessibility and catering provision, plus 40 per cent more seats. 70 new electric trains will be delivered in the central belt next year, providing commuters with up to 40 per cent of extra seats at peak times on the main Edinburgh to Glasgow route. We are not forgetting about the existing fleet at all. 90 per cent of our current fleet will be totally refurbished to improve the performance and reliability with much better on-board facilities such as Wi-Fi, power sockets, new lighting and new seats. We are also moving with the times in expanding electronic payments for travel. Already smart cards can be used for season ticket journeys across the railway network. Fair increases are at their lowest level since devolution of rail in 2005. Increases in peak fares are capped at inflation, and a £5 intercity fare has been introduced. All those initiatives and more are a direct consequence of our passenger focus franchise specification. To support those service improvements, we are in the midst of one of the most significant transformations of our railway infrastructure in recent memory. I am only going back four years and yet in that period we have delivered the award-winning Paisley canal electrification project in 2012, the transformation of Haymarket station in 2013, the electrification of Glasgow to Cumbernaud line and the whifflet lines in 2014, the opening of the border's railway last year, the remodelling of Queen Street's tunnel to prepare for electrification. The start of advanced work to improve the Aberdeen to Inverness line and partnership with local authorities, the redevelopment of Dundee station for completion during December 2017, on-going work on the electrification between Edinburgh and Glasgow via Falkirk, commencement of advanced work for the rolling programme of electrification on the shots line and to Stulley. In addition, Edinburgh Gateway will shortly open. We have committed funds for Rob Royston, we have committed funds for East Linton and Reston and we have increased the level of central funding for the new contours station as well. We are committed to completing these projects unlike the deferrals and cancellations south of the border where large cost overruns have triggered an aggressive programme of asset sales. We are not in that position. Our investment in infrastructure signals are confidence in Scotland's railways, but it also means that there is a substantial challenge to operate an effective service and introduce new trains and enhance the passenger experience while making major infrastructural improvements. Recognising that challenge, we encourage ScotRail and Network Rail to form an alliance to cement their operational relationship. We have seen some benefits to that approach, particularly through the effective communication and management of improvements that works at Winchborough and at the Queen Street tunnel. Clearly, the alliance could do more. Network Rail is a body whose activities in Scotland are fully funded by the Scottish Government, yet its formal accountability we know remains to the UK Government to fully realise the potential of the alliance to enable it to deliver the modern railway that passengers expect to see. We need that full and further devolution of rail powers and responsibilities. I call on all parties in the chamber to support that objective. We signed a 10-year contract for the provision of passenger rail services with Ibello, and we set tough targets on behalf of Scotland's passengers. It is the duty and responsibility of Ibello to fulfil its obligation under that contract. It is my job to hold on to account, and I will personally be closely monitoring Ibello and its progress in the improvement plan until performance returns to acceptable contractual standards. At the same time, we will also act in the additional powers given to the Parliament in the Scotland Act 2016. This removes the prohibition on public sector bodies to bid for future ScotRail franchises, but it does not remove the need for competition. Any public sector bid, of course, would need to be tested in competition, so that we can pick the best option for Scotland's passengers in an objective manner. We will use the powers that we have and follow through on our manifesto commitment to take steps for a level playing field and franchise commitments. To take that forward, I have written to trade unions, to party transport spokespersons, to regional transport partnerships and transport focus to invite all parties to an initial round-table meeting next week, where I will set out our approach to the legal powers and the potential for a public sector operator. Those have been testing times for passengers particularly, but there is the performance improvement plan in place with concrete actions that I have detailed here and now. Ibello and the Government are committed to ensuring the success of the ScotRail franchise. As I have briefly highlighted, there is a broader backdrop with exciting service propositions, more and new rolling stock, significant infrastructure improvements that will benefit our growing number of ScotRail passengers. I am acutely aware that, of course, we are about to enter a winter period. With all the attendant challenges that that brings, there will be times when winter weather means that passengers will face disruption. However, I wish to conclude by stressing that I am personally determined to achieve the best outcome for passengers. In that respect, I hope that the chamber will join me in supporting the efforts and actions of the management and staff of ScotRail and delivering their improvement plan and making a resounding airfranchise, a franchise that I firmly believe delivers for Scotland. Murdoff Fraser, to be followed by Neil Bibby. I start by thanking the minister for his statement for an advanced copy of it. If the minister thought that, by making a statement today, he would avoid media scrutiny because of the Chancellor's autumn statement earlier, he has been run down by the express train of events. For this, it has been another day of delays, cancellations and disruption, harming our economy and hurting passengers. This from a train service that the minister said yesterday was not bad. We should be clear where responsibility lies. It was this SNP Government that awarded the current contract franchise to Abilio. It is this SNP Government that sets the fairs and decides how much overcrowding there is on the trains. It is this SNP Government that has to start taking responsibility for the state of our railways. We have heard a lot of promises from the minister today, but what passengers want to know is when will we see improvements? What is the deadline given by the minister to Abilio for them to meet their current contract obligations? What exactly are the consequences of them failing to do so? Secondly, we will be participating in the minister's round-table discussions about how we can improve the rail service, but let us be quite clear why this idea of a public sector bid has been floated. It is in order to try and win over the rail unions who have called for the minister's head. Even if it were possible, it would be 2022 before it could take over the ScotRail franchise. Does the minister not understand that passengers want improvements now, not in six years' time? Let me try to take some of the points that Murdo Fraser has asked about. Many talks about—I heard him yesterday talking about a shambles in Scotland's railway—I completely reject that proposition. Let me just put this in some kind of regional context. We are performing, despite ScotRail not performing to the standards that I want, performing 2 per cent higher than the GB average. Passengers' satisfaction is at 7 per cent higher than the GB satisfaction. Yesterday, all I had to do was look at the news where ferries were stranded, roads were closed in England, trains were cancelled across the network. If he describes this as a shambles, then surely the situation by his Government is in all many shambles. I will not be taking any lectures from him. He said what actions are the Scottish Government. He is right. Passengers and commuters want actions right now. I detailed some of those actions. They want actions right now. We are accelerating and bringing forward £16 million of spending on our ferries. As on top of the spending, we are already bringing forward. They want action. I have brought forward £14 million of improvements on the reliability of ScotRail's fleet. They want action when it comes to skip-stopping, so a protocol has been put in place for skip-stopping at peak times. They want action on capacity, so we have introduced and are going to continue to introduce more carriages in our fleet. They want action, and they demand action quite rightly. They are getting action from this Scottish Government, which you will not like. What I will say about this may be novel to Murdo Fraser, but when he asked about the public sector bid, this may be novel to him, but it was in our manifesto that we intend to take forward and fulfil that pledge of a public sector operator putting forward a public sector bid. I heard him talking about renationalisation. It is worse saying that his Government has reclassified national network rail, therefore reclassifying it under the Department for Transport. I am pleased that he has accepted an invitation to come across. As I have said in my statement that when it comes to a public sector bid, it has to be competitive with a private sector bid as well, but I do believe that there is some merit in a public sector bid where profits are reinvested back into the railways. I will be working with unions, other political parties and transport spokespeople for that. I welcome the fact that he is there. I look forward to what I am sure will be his constructive ideas. Neil Bibby, followed by Bob Doris. Scottish Labour are happy to meet the minister next week to explain to him the benefits of a people's ScotRail, but this statement today was requested in relation to performance here and now. The facts are that the minister demanded an improvement plan and services have become worse. Staff morale is at rock bottom. His handling of the situation has seen him fall out with a bellio, network rail and transport unions. He claimed that he was not a transport expert, and he is right. After today, the minister will ditch the spin and publish his 246-point improvement plan in full, so far passengers in Parliament have only seen a summary document. The minister failed to guarantee passengers today when services will get better. Is it still the case that it will be March before targets are hit? This week, the minister claimed that ScotRail was not a poor service. Passengers standing on overcrowded platforms waiting for late running over-priced trains would beg to diver. Isn't it the case that he is wrong and passengers are right, and he is on the wrong side of Scotland's passengers? What I've heard from Neil Bibby in the media this week, and he just repeated it again, these petty, pathetic personal attacks towards me. I could respond to every single one of them, but I'm not going to. Passengers watching this, commuters watching this want to know what action are we taking. When he says that improvement isn't being made, he is, of course, being disingenuous, because in the last eight weeks improvement has been made from 89.5 per cent to 89.8 per cent. That is not good enough. That is not where I want it to be, and he shakes his head. That 89.8 per cent was higher than every single year when Labour were in government and last in government. When he says that it's not good enough, I agree that it's not good enough. That's why the improvement plan we want and the franchise that we've committed to will be 91.3 per cent. I want to see regular improvement. Of course, I've been honest in saying that disruption can happen. I think that every reasonable commuter, every passenger that I've spoken to understands that winter weather, for example, will probably affect certain services at certain points, but I want the communication to be better to passengers, and I want improvements to be made. He said that action is what is demanded. I agree with him. Action is what is demanded. That is why I have highlighted £16 million of investment on the infrastructure, £14 million on the fleet, and I have skipped-stoping protocols in place. I have also mentioned the fact that fare increases are at their lowest in anywhere on those islands and, in fact, the lowest in fare increases since we had those powers in 2005. He wants to cut from the sidelines and make pathetic personal petty attacks on me. That is fine. I will leave him to do that. I will stand up for the commuters and the passengers in this country, day in and day out. Bob Dorris, to be followed by Maurice Golden. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I welcome potential options for a public sector bid in the future. However, my constituents, particularly those who use the Maryhill train line, will be more concerned about service improvements over a much shorter time period. I met with Abilio Scotland to ask them to meet with impacted commuters in my constituency to listen to their concerns with a view to a local improvement plan being put in place, and they have agreed. Can I ask the minister to take a personal interest in that improvement plan for a train line that has suffered more than most? Does he agree that it is vital that Abilio has such local engagement to help to drive change? Yes, I agree with all that. I take a personal interest in performance across all routes. I speak to ScotRail on a daily basis early in the morning. Of course, we transport Scotland follow-up in the evening peak to make sure that services are running to the standards that we expect. I take a personal interest in that, including the Maryhill line, to ensure that ScotRail delivers its performance improvement plans. I am pleased that they have had positive engagement. Of course, I will take that up with ScotRail when I speak to the next to make sure that local engagement continues with the member as well, so I am pleased to hear that he is having a positive experience. That message goes out to all members across the chamber, because they will understandably, when they represent the constituents, see where improvements can be made. I have spoken to many a member before who has had a constructive relationship with ScotRail. I want that to continue. If there is ever any blockage that is getting to ScotRail, getting to senior management, I am more than happy to take that up with him, because I believe that local engagement is vitally important. Maurice Golden is followed by James Kelly. I thank the minister for the advance copy of his statement. If the minister is receiving twice daily updates from ScotRail, it is no wonder for his glum demeanor. An effective and efficient rail network is key to meeting our climate change targets. That is why it is deeply concerning that the ScotRail personal improvement plan identifies 250 individual actions. How many of those 250 individual actions have to be delivered for the minister to be satisfied and what happens if they are not? I am going to leave aside the personal petty attacks. That has characterised much of the opposition's attack, which means that they do not have much in the way to go of substance. Passengers and commuters will not thank them for that, I have to say, as well. When it comes to improvements, I have said to Neil Bibby that improvements are already being made. 89.5 per cent to 89.8 per cent, not where I want it to be and where we are driving that harder where we can. In terms of the actions, we expect all those actions to be completed. I will speak to ScotRail as a couple of members who have suggested to see what out of those 246 actions, how many of them can be made fully public and how they can be made public. Having spoken to ScotRail, I should say that they would be willing to meet any member here, take them to the control room in Atrium Court and talk them through any of those provision measures. Let me be clear. If performance dips, I have been very clear to members in the public that if performance does not improve, if performance dips, there are serious consequences to that. I have confidence that performance can continue in the right trajectory, not with standing disruptions that will happen due to weather events and we know that that can happen and due to mechanical faults and technical failures. Those things can happen, but passengers want a better service. I have instructed the improvement plan. There are a number of actions that will come forward from that and I am happy to keep the member updated on the progress. James Kelly to be followed by John Finnie. It is totally unacceptable that too many trains are overcrowded, particularly at peak times. Can the minister explain why that continues to be the case in a so-called world-leading contract while Ibellio continues to rake in millions of pounds and profits while passengers have got to stand during their train journeys? It is a very fair question from James Kelly. When it comes to the carriages, what I have already said, let us take the overcrowding issue. There has been a huge increase in passenger growth, 33 per cent since 2007. Since 2007, we have introduced 104 texa carriages. On top of that, what I have announced today is additional 200 carriages up to 2019, including starting immediately. We have seven trains coming on to the Glasgow suburban route, the busiest route, I am sure that Mr Kelly's constituents. Six of them are on route and one more train to come. On top of that, I have also just announced from mid-December that additional carriages are coming to the border, so I agree with him that overcrowding is an issue. It is part of the improvement plan and part of our investment. By the time that investment is complete, those 200 additional carriages, the additional 200 services that we are introducing, as I said, lower fares and lower increases in fares, the additional spending on the infrastructure, all of that will lead, I believe, and has the ability to lead to a much better service for passengers. He is right that overcrowding is an issue. It is one that is part of the improvement plan and tackling. I have set out some of actions on how we intend to tackle that. John Finnie, to be followed by Mike Rumbles. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I thank the minister for early sight of the statement and indeed for the invitation to the meeting, which I will be happy to take up. Also the good news about the Inverness Perth commuter services. Now, although minister, it is entirely fair to record that delays will be inevitable in any service, I think that it is important that you have recognised the level of dissatisfaction. With performance is low and it is worse than the far north line, as I think you are aware. There is certainly our view that passengers should automatically receive a form to claim compensation rather than to go looking for one. Would you be able to make sure that that is the case and could you also direct some small capital investment to ensure that the facilities for passengers waiting for connections are warm, secure and safe, please? Minister. I thank the member for the constructive tone in which he asked the question. I think that in terms of the compensation side, he is absolutely right that frustrates passengers when they do not get the service that they expect, that there can be additional obstacles and hoops to go through when it comes to compensation. Recently, my officials have started and instructed ScotRail to look at a review of their compensation processes and procedures. I will make sure and I am sure that it is already being fed in in terms of the idea that it automatically forms a given if performance does not meet the threshold and the expectations that we have. I will keep the member updated on that on his wider point around facilities and the below standards that we see in some stations in terms of investment. He will know about our squire regime, which is the toughest auditing regime on those islands by far. Recently, for example, ScotRail had to pay almost just under half a million pounds because they failed to meet the expectations. Again, when it comes to passenger facilities at stations and so on and so forth, that fund now topping over £2 million gets reinvested back in to ensure that those standards are met. I will ensure that my officials write to him about some of the actions that ScotRail have taken. If he has specific stations he thinks that need-upgraded but the facilities need-upgraded, of course those can be directly passed on to ScotRail and I will be happy to take a look at that in terms of his support for our commitment in terms of a public sector operator putting forward a public sector, but I look forward to discussing that with him next week and hearing the Greens' ideas on that. Mike Rumbles to be followed by John Mason. When will the minister stop causing confusion? At the weekend he said the service was so poor he was setting up a public sector operator. Just now he said it wasn't poor after all. Passengers, I'm afraid, don't want ministerial final. They want to see the plan of action and the timetable for improvements enforced. He's just said in his statement that he published the plan with his 250 actions. He has done no such thing. More confusion from a confused minister. Where is the evidence that the minister has any intention of publishing the full list of 250 actions with their time limits? Minister. It's not what I said. What I said was that a version of the improvement plan was published on 20 October. He's asked me, and a number of other members have asked me, can those 250 actions be published? I'll speak to ScotRail about that and I'll get back to the member on that. I think that as much accountability, as much transparency around those actions should be made as possible. There are sometimes some issues and some reasons why that can't be the case. I'll be fully transparent and fully open with the member and indeed with the passengers and with commuters about why that's the case. When it comes to the level of service, I have been clear that it is simply not good enough. Otherwise, if I thought it was good enough, I wouldn't have instructed an improvement plan. I have instructed an improvement plan because I believe that it's not good enough. Improvements are being made. If we look over that eight-week period, of course, the railway year demands that that improvement is above 90.3 per cent, which is a trigger above the improvement plan. 91.3 per cent, of course, is what is in the contract. That is a very high target and one that we expect the operator to deliver. John Mason to be followed by Annie Wells. Thank you. Minister, I understand this morning that there were delays on the Glasgow central low-level to partic line because of damage to the overhead wires. Can the minister say if he is satisfied with the way that ScotRail dealt with that? Minister. When it comes to the overhanging line equipment, when it comes to the network rail's infrastructure, this is the reason why we are bringing forward £60 million of investment on that infrastructure. I think that commuters hear about points failures and signal failures and failures with the overhead line equipment quite frequently. That is why we are bringing forward that investment. When I said in my statement that lessons had been learnt, last Thursday's disruption caused huge amounts of disruption for passengers and commuters. One of the most frustrating parts of that for commuters that I heard from passengers was the lack of information coming forward. They felt that they were not being told by front-line staff, who front-line staff themselves feel that they were getting the information and communicated them from the centre as well. Lessons have been learnt. Let me give him some examples of that. He is right. In the early hours of this morning, a railhead treatment train operating for the autumn period came into contact with an object that was hanging from the overhead line equipment in the vicinity in the Kelvinhoff tunnel area near Finiston. That caused damage to that overhead line equipment. What was done by ScotRail after that, the first text messages were sent to passengers at 5.59 in the morning. That alert was repeated every 30 minutes, and then at 7.45 was repeated every 15 minutes. They initially updated the website ScotRail at 11 minutes past 6 in the morning. Station announcements were initiated at the beginning of service and repeated every 10 minutes. 20 additional staff were deployed to stations across the network to affected stations. Senior managers were also sent down to the exhibition centre station in the Anderson station to make sure that they could deal with enquiries. I am not saying that it was perfect. Disruption, of course, of any nature causes difficulties for commuters and passengers. I repeat my apology for any disruption that has caused. I do not want the transport minister to see that disruption, but sometimes those things can happen. I do not think that anybody is seriously suggesting that services should have run. That would have put passengers' lives at risk. Running trains through where wires were hanging from an overhead line. I do think that lessons have been learned. I think that things can, of course, get better, should get better. That is why I will continue to hold a bellio to account for that. The minister is accepting that he is struggling on his job to hold a bellio to account. What makes him think that he would be any better running the trains himself? If he is failing as a ticket examiner, why would he be any better as a driver? Minister. Again, it is those pathetic petty personal attacks with no substance in them. What so ever at all. But I must... I must... I must... I must say, Presiding Officer, that it was well read of the script. The personal... What I would say about the public sector bid is that she has said that her transport spokesperson will come. I am very happy to listen to their ideas. What she should not do is be dismissive of open competition. There is a private company that will compete. Why on earth could a public sector company not do that? We already have that with CalMac. CalMac competed with a private operator. He is running a good service. You might not like that and you can shake your head at that. But why could a public sector company, why could an operator run by a public sector, why could it not compete with a private company? It can. Our manifesto commitment is to bring forward as many people as part of that big boffy, part of the big tent to come together to help us to inform that discussion. I am delighted that she will attend and I look forward to hearing her constructive ideas on that. Joe McAlpine to be followed by Elaine Smith. Thank you Presiding Officer. The accident investigations branch report this month into the closure of the Lamington viaduct between Custairs and Lockerby in my region revealed a series of faults by Network Rail which could have led to a serious loss of life had it not been for the actions of a vigilant train driver. The report said that corrosion was identified in 2005 but nothing was done and the chief inspectors expressed a serious concern. What power, if any, does the Scottish Government have to hold Network Rail to account for this appalling neglect? How can we be sure that Network Rail has not been similarly negligent in its maintenance of other stretches of track in Scotland? Clearly the safety of passenger staff in the wider public is the number one priority for all parties involved in Scotland's railway. I do not think that that would differ from any of the political parties around the chamber. The RAIB, the rail accidents investigation branch report raised a number of serious questions and concerns around the circumstances that led to the closure of Lamington viaduct last winter. The Scottish Government has a number of devolved responsibilities but railway safety, as she may know, is a reserve matter. The independent health and safety regulator, the ORR, is undertaking its own review of the incident and we will look to them to determine whether there has been a breach of health and safety obligations by Network Rail and if any and whether any enforcement action is required. I have a constructive relationship with the railway minister and the UK Government Department for Transport, Paul Maynard and, of course, any lessons learnt, I will be happy to share those. Here from him, how they might also take forward some of the findings of that review. However, let me be clear that the Scottish Government has funded Network Rail to fully discharge all of its safety obligations as determined independently by the ORR. The issues identified by the RAIB can in no way be equated to a lack of funding at all from the Scottish Government. Elaine Smith. Presiding Officer, the minister mentioned the signing of the 10-year contract with the Bellio statement and now pursuing a public sector bid. Can he confirm, as outlined in my motion of October 2014 and confirmed by the RMT, that the Government could have delayed the contracts award until the new powers were devolved and the public sector bid permitted and he also mentioned whifflet where 53 per cent of trains arrive late. Can he now tell us exactly how much longer people will have to put up with late overpriced, overcrowded, cancelled trains before the Government steps in to establish a public operator of last resort? Minister. I mean, I would make the point to the member that attacking Bellio, and I agree with her that the performance hasn't been up to scratch, but Labour, of course, and the UK Government also appointed a Bellio to a franchise as well. I mean, it comes to the public sector bid. Can I just remind the member that it was this Government that brought in the legislation to allow a public sector operator to bring forward a public sector bid after an action of her Government for a number of years? In fact, I saw a question from Kenny McCaskill to Lewis Macdonald on this very question in 2002, in which he said that those discussions with the UK Government he was having but clearly didn't materialise in those powers coming to the Scottish Parliament. So it should be recognised that this party brought forward the powers to allow a public sector operator to bring forward the public sector. Bid, clearly there's a lot of work that has to go into that. That's why I'm calling for political party, transport spokespersons, RTPs, unions to come round the table to help us to inform that discussion. I'll look forward to her constructive ideas very much on that, but we are committed to public sector bid and we are the party that brought the legislation forward to allow that to happen. Can I thank members? That brings it to... Yeah, point of order, Mike Rumbles. Presiding Officer, I seek your guidance. The minister in his statement and I read out his statement and I have got a copy of it here. He said, I instructed ScotRail on 23 August to develop a performance improvement plan. That plan was published on 20 October. There are some 250 individual action plans within action points within the plan. I have been unable to locate the publication of these 250 action plans. They haven't been published in the public domain. Spice, more importantly, if members would like to listen to this, they may find this information helpful. Spice does not have that information. I seek your guidance, Presiding Officer, whether spice would have that information available. I thank the member for the point of order. It was the same as the question that he asked the minister, the minister replied. The member is at liberty to ask further questions of the minister or to write to the minister or to make inquiries of Spice seeking the information he seeks, but it's not a point of order for me to rule on this now. That's a further point of order from Elaine Smith. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I wonder if you could advise whether there's any understanding orders about replying to questions. I had laid questions for the Government at the beginning of the month. Some of those questions were addressed in the statement. Today's the last day for the replies and they've not yet been replied to before I came into the chamber. Can you give guidance on when members of this Parliament should expect the questions that they put? Thank the member for his question. There are timescales laid down which offer guidance to members which the member should be aware of and I would expect the Government to respond within those timescales. The member is free to ask questions of the minister if the timescales have not been adhered to. We've gone well over time and we've eaten into a debate which I know is of great interest to members. We'll move on with the future of Social Security in Scotland and Gene Freeman to open.