 Felly mae'r gymaint gwahanol iawn, y dechrau i gynnigum y gallwn i arddangos i dd Persiad Gwysiniaeth mewn gwneud i gael i gael i'ch gabarau iawn i'r gwleidio Gwysiniaeth Mernard Dreadger, lefnod, i'r SPEED characteriddant Iedgwyr i Manitoba. Rwy'n amlwg ddysgrifennu i'ch geshawdd wirio i'r Ffittenig Rwyf Ffittenig Jo Fitzpatrick mewn gyda Llyfrgell dros y bysaf hefyd. Diechrau'r amlwg i drwsio'n beth i ddim yn Llywodraeth, mwyaf i ni, eich dymтора bryd i ni gael ei fod i ni ni, i ddylai gweithio'r ddwyllwyr phabrydol. Ieitho'r ddwylai gweithio am y cwm oedd eich ddwylai gyda'r ddwylau yn ni. Ieithi'r ddwylai gyda'n ddwylai gyda'r ddwylaiog yr eich ddwylaiog yr busnes oeddiadau tyffoedigol ychydig. Ieithi'r ddwylai gyda trwy Iaddiad y To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the cost of the Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement programme. Minister Hamzaeusef. Thank you, Presiding Officer. As I indicated in my letter to the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee on 5 July, the Office of Road and Rail, the ORR, published a report on 5 July that identified risks around network rails' increased cost estimates in many cases across the UK, including the Egypt programme. I remain deeply frustrated by Network Rail's inability to deliver Egypt within their estimated budget. I have therefore written to chief executive of Network Rail, Mark Karn, to make it clear that the Scottish Government simply does not accept and is not prepared to accept the long-term cost implications, and to that end I have instructed Transport Scotland to undertake an intensive review of the entire programme. That review is expected to conclude later this month. Reports of this project is now behind schedule and over budget due to some fundamental errors that are extremely concerning to passengers and tax payers alike. Further to what the minister has just said, can he confirm that overhead wires were indeed installed at wrong heights, that bridges were built too low to meet basic safety standards, and that last year alone an extra £32 million was spent on this project and the total bill is set to rise even further? Can the minister tell us exactly how that was allowed to happen and when will Egypt finally be completed? I thank the member for the question, and I will try to strike a note of consensus. I agree with him that it is utterly unacceptable, and the point of the review is to put Network Rail through the mill to make sure that every single penny that they insist that they say has to be spent, in addition to what their estimates originally were. We will account for every single penny, and we expect the Parliament, and of course the committees in this Parliament, to hold them to account. In that end, when I spoke to Mark Carney, I made it very clear that I expect Network Rail officials to appear in front of the Parliament and its committees. It would be unsurprising to the member, if I was to say that sometimes our press does have a tendency to over-egg and sensationalise some aspects of transport policy. In terms of the overhead wires, no, the Network Rail dispute that the figure that the member mentions was the case for the increases. In terms of the cost increases, they are principally due to poor performance and productivity of the contractor, Network Rail's ineffective management of that contractor, and majorly because of compliance issues that have affected projects not just in Scotland, but have a devastating effect on projects that have had to be cancelled south of the border. I agree with the member that it is utterly unacceptable. Let's see what the review says at the end of the month, let's pull them in front of this Parliament and let's get answers from Network Rail. Neil Bibby. This is not the only issue that has affected passengers this summer. Passengers have had to endure a summer of disruption on Scotland's railways. We have seen the Queen Street tunnel closure, major delays on the border's railway and other routes, 12 days of industrial action over staff safety concerns, and now Egypt is delayed and over-budget. Passengers have been very patient, but that patience has been put to the limit. I would say to the Government if they are willing to take the credit for rail infrastructure projects, they have to take responsibility as well. Can the travelling public therefore now expect an apology from the Government for the level of disruption and the delays that they have experienced over the past few months, disruption and delays that seem set to continue? It may be a new parliamentary session, but it is the same old Scottish Labour Party, Presiding Officer. To be accused of a summer of chaos from Scottish Labour is quite ironic, may I just say. In terms of the projects that he outlines, let's just take a few of them that he quoted. He mentioned Queen Street. That was opened, of course, the tunnel ahead of schedule and under budget. In terms of border's railway, of course, it is the anniversary of border's railway and passenger numbers have exceeded those forecasts. We should be celebrating that. Yes, there are still some improvements to be made. In terms of the issues around network rail, what I would say to the member is that we have instructed a review. That review will report back the causes and what the estimates are in terms of the budget and the timescale. I will certainly ask questions of network rail. I expect every member to do that. I would gently make the point to the member that these overestimates were made the matter of public record on 5 July. I have not had a single piece of correspondence from the member who is the shadow transport secretary until two months, conveniently on the first day that Parliament comes back. Colin John Mason I understand that the Queen Street tunnel project is a distinct project but overlaps with Egypt. Can he confirm that that goes smoothly, that the closure was acceptable and that some of the work that lengthening the platforms has already happened in preparation for Egypt? I am pleased to say that the Queen Street tunnel closure and the improvements that have been made to Queen Street tunnel have been successful. That is not to take away from the fact that we are still disappointed about the potential delays and the overestimates in terms of the cost associated with Egypt. We will instruct a review that is already on-going and then we will put network rail under scrutiny for that. Jackson Carlaw One of the hallmarks of the upgrade of the railway line so far has been the engagement with the public well in advance of each of the potential disruptions or delays. I think that many people however were astonished to find that with just a few days notice that there was to be no train service between Glasgow and Edinburgh after 8.30 in the evenings from Sunday through to Thursday and late start on Sundays itself. Does he feel that the public information and awareness of this very considerable change was adequate? I think that the member raises a very fair point indeed. I think that the Queen Street tunnel closure went very well because of the front-footed nature of the communications and thanks to my predecessor for that. I would agree that I have had a number of members write to me, email me and get in touch with me about the fact that these disruptions weren't communicated in advance. I think that that's something that Scotland should reflect on. I'll certainly have a conversation with them. Indeed, with my own officials in Transport Scotland in terms of communication on how that should be handled better. Presiding Officer, to ask the Scottish Government what action it will take in response to the findings of the Audit Scotland report Scotland's Colleges 2016. The Audit Scotland report Scotland's Colleges 2016 is a helpful in confirming that Scotland's college sector is financially stable overall and that colleges continue to exceed their targets for the amount of student learning to be delivered. More generally, the report highlights what is working well and where improvements can be made. We will work closely with the Scottish Funding Council and Colleges to consider the findings and recommendations and to ensure that we continue to deliver on the successes that we have had, such as full-time students under 25, increasing by 13 per cent since 0607. The minister will know that the 2015 Audit Scotland report said that it was unclear what savings from college mergers have been achieved and what the full costs of the merger process are. Audit Scotland delivered this indictment last year and again delivered it just last week. Today, more than 2,000 college support staff are demonstrating over pay. Will the Government publish the real costs of college mergers so that staff taking industrial action and Parliament know the truth, as Audit Scotland recommended? Thank you. I am sure that Tavish Scott will have read in detail the Scottish Funding Council's report on the impact and successes of mergers, which already goes into this in great detail. It does estimate the costs for mergers to be at £69.6 million—that is a one-off cost—but the savings each year to be £52.2 million. I know from the summer visits that I have had from campuses across the country that we are already seeing success in better outcomes for students, decreased duplication and a high-quality learning environment for the students. I think that the Scottish Funding Council report, which I have mentioned, already details the work that Tavish Scott has asked for. Tavish Scott. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Which begs, of course, the question why Audit Scotland made the same recommendation twice, but the Minister might just simply want to reflect on that. Audit Scotland says that there has been rather a 41 per cent decrease in college students and a 48 per cent decrease in the number of part-time places at colleges, which has particularly affected women. Does the Minister now wish to say what steps she and her Government are going to take to recognise the impact of college mergers on part-time students and what she is planning to do to reverse the cull of those college places that are so essential, particularly for women? The member will be very well aware that we laid out in our manifesto our commitment to 116,000 full-time equivalent places. We have kept that commitment within the college sector. The entire basis for the college policy that we have is to ensure that we are providing the adequate and the correct courses that are required for the employers in that area. That is what we are seeing full-time courses leading to employment. That is not to say that short-term courses are not being funded—of course they are—those that are leading to employment are still being funded. For example, we are seeing 97 per cent of learning hours in 2014-15 being delivered on courses that lead to recognised qualifications. That is a direct impact that it will have to the economy in the local area. The member also refers to the place of women in our college sector, which is something that is extremely important. That is why I am delighted that the gender imbalance within courses is still showing that women are within the majority of the college population. That is 52 per cent in 2014-15, but we are not resting there. We are also making sure that the gender action plan that the Scottish Funding Council has taken out is that we are taking action on specific courses where gender imbalance exists. There is also the member who should bear in mind that the number of women in full-time courses has increased by 16 per cent since 2006-07. You mentioned the Scottish Funding Council. In Audit Scotland's report on colleges and universities, questions have been raised about whether there has been a lack of clarity in the role of the Scottish Funding Council and whether it comes to outcome agreements and the discussions with individual colleges and universities, whether that is in any way particularly clear. Can I ask what the Scottish Government is doing to respond to that criticism? As I said in my initial answer to Tavish Scott, we are working with the funding council and with the colleges to take on board the recommendations that are within the college report and within the university report that has been mentioned. There are lessons for the Government to learn. We will do so in partnership with the funding council and the colleges and universities.