 D itua, wrth gwrs. A yna cael ei wneud i ddamulwyr hwn eich bwysig, amaiddai'n cael gyfeirio i gyfweld â'r Gwlaun Smith a'r eich bwysig, am ddysgu chi'r trwyddoedd o'r gwrs yn gweithio yn y gweithgull yma o'r netwer o unedig. Mae'r Gwliadol Gwliadol Gwlaun Smith a'r gwrs yn gweithgull sydd yn credu gweld â'r reilwys i ddim ond eu cyllid â'u cy склад, ac tyddu chi'n gweld â'u cyllid, wrth gwrs, trwcwyl trwcwyl Scotland to serve a contractual notice on ScotRail that it must prepare and submit a remedial plan to reduce cancellations and improve reliability to contract requirements. Expect ScotRail to set out in the remedial plan how they plan to address these performance issues to ensure that they can be realised and the full benefits of the Scottish Government's record investment into a rail network is then received by those service users. Over the festive period, I have been in regular contact with senior officials at ScotRail, ScotRail Alliance, where I have left them in no doubt that appropriate and swift action was required. There has been a marked improvement since and on Monday 7 January and on Tuesday 8 January 2019, ScotRail had appropriately trained train crew available for all services. I will continue to monitor this daily to ensure that ScotRail meets their training programme to remove train crew cancellations over the coming weeks. However, more than 50 per cent of delays to ScotRail trains last year were caused by network rail, so fixing ScotRail's train crew problem will not be enough. It is essential that network rail in Scotland should be fully aligned with the Scottish Government's priorities and fully accountable to this Parliament. Only then will it be possible for Scotland's rail system to be managed properly as one system. Indeed, members will be aware that in December 2018, the Office of the Road and Rail found that network rail had weaknesses in its planning and capability to recover services following instance. The ORR has issued a provisional order against network rail, which requires it to take urgent action to address those findings. Therefore, both ScotRail and Network Rail need to address those issues that impact on performance to ensure that the public receives the services that they expect and deserve. Colin Smyth. Presiding Officer, months ago, in September, ScotRail's performance plummeted to a level that breached the franchise. Instead of taking decisive action to demand improvements, the cabinet secretary issued a waiver to ScotRail, giving it a licence to continue to fail. Not surprisingly, performance got worse. Last month, I challenged the cabinet secretary to stop bailing out ScotRail and to stand up for passengers by at least issuing a remedial notice against ScotRail and demanding a clear remedial plan. Again, the cabinet secretary refused to take action and even told Parliament on 18 December that there are early signs of improvement. Truth performance was continuing to get worse. Does the cabinet secretary not accept that he should have taken action long before now, and will he start to take responsibility for his inaction and apologise to Scotland's hard-pressed rail passengers for the miserable service that they are still receiving? I very much regret the poor service that customers have experienced from ScotRail over recent months. There is no doubt that further action is required in order to make sure that the contract that the bellio has for the ScotRail lines is one that they are meeting on a contractual basis. The member will be aware that a remedial plan is something that requires a breach of the contractual nature of the franchise agreement. That was identified on 21 December, and that is when I instructed officials to make sure that a notice was issued to ScotRail. That is exactly what I have done to make sure that they are being called to account for the contract that they are taking forward. In relation to the waiver that has been provided, as the member will be aware, and as I have stated in the chamber on a number of occasions, the full powers of the franchise and the requirements of the franchise remain in place. What the waiver takes account of are the very factors that the ORR report highlighted just before Christmas that have had an impact on ScotRail's performance that it is not able to manage itself—for example, the beast from the east of the weather during the summer—and the impact that it has had from the network's performance. All those factors have an impact on its ability to meet the requirements, and the ORR recognised in that report in December that that has had a significant impact on performance overall, and that is why it was given the 1 per cent waiver to take account of that. What I can assure the member of is that there is absolutely no lack of determination in my part to make sure that ScotRail keeps up to the standards that we expect of them as they are set out within the contract. What I am determined to do is to make sure that we address that, and that is the remedial plan that will assist us in making sure that we deal with that. However, what I also think is important is that we are honest with the travelling public, is that you can address the issues in ScotRail, but you also need to address the other half of a rail network. That is an infrastructure element when it comes to our railway infrastructure. In some months, up to 70 per cent of delays are being caused by network rail. That is unacceptable and why action also needs to be taken to improve its performance, so that we can get performance improvements right across the board within a rail network in Scotland. Cabinet Secretary knows that, had he not issued the waiver, he could have issued a remedial notice far earlier than he did. Eventually, he said that he issued a remedial notice on Christmas eve to ScotRail, due to a franchise breach in relation to cancellations, as everyone knows, because of a fall in punctuality, which means that they will breach even the new level that is set by the Government when it comes to performance. Given that appalling failure, does the cabinet secretary honestly believe, as he said there, that the franchise will meet its performance targets as set out in the franchise? Yes or no? If the answer is yes, can he tell us when, but if the answer is no, when will he finally bring an end to the failing franchise? That is exactly what we have set out within the franchise. The commitments that we expect to the franchise to meet, and we will continue to press them in order to do that, is that we will not be meeting it in recent times and there is a need for them to take action in order to make sure that it is going in the right direction. That is exactly what we will continue to remain focused on doing. What I am committed to doing is making sure that ScotRail has a healthy account for their response to dealing with the standards that they set, and I have to meet them within the contract, within the franchise. I am also determined to make sure that we do everything that we can to improve the infrastructure and management of the rail network here in Scotland. I would hope that, if the member is really committed to making sure that we deliver the best possible railway system here in Scotland for the travelling public, that he would support the devolution of the network rail to this Parliament to allow us to do exactly that in a way that allows us to have an integrated network that makes sure that we are able to deliver the services that passengers deserve. I have four more members who would like to ask a supplementary question. If we can make progress that would be good. Jamie Greene, before by James Dornan. I would also like to pay tribute to the ScotRail staff that actually worked over the festive period to try and keep Scotland moving, but clearly performance at the moment is still unacceptable. The cabinet secretary referred to quite helpfully the remedial plan that he has put in place with ScotRail. If long-term improvements are not forthcoming as a result of this plan, what specific sanctions are available to him, financial or otherwise, as is currently outlined in the existing franchise arrangement, so that his threats to ScotRail actually have some real teeth and real consequences? Can I say that the member has asked a helpful question? A key part to the franchise approach that we have for the rail network in the UK is to make sure that the contract is utilised in a way that holds the contractor to account. That is exactly why I have issued the order for the remedial notice. That now requires ScotRail to bring forward a remedial plan setting out how they intend to get the services back in line with what is set out within the contract. They will have to set that detail out, and they are given eight weeks in which to do so, so they will have to submit that plan by around the 18th of February. If they fail to do that, they are in breach of the contract. Ultimately, for any organisation when they are in breach of the contract, they could be fined or at the same time costs could be increased for certain services that they provide to the taxpayer or we could remove the contract from them. That has got very serious implications for the contract holder. A remedial plan is not something that we would issue just on the basis of a whim of some individual problems on our limited occasions. That is because there has been a series of problems over a period of time that I do not believe is acceptable. In discussions that I have had with ScotRail, they are very clear about how serious that is for them, but they have also assured me that they are determined to do everything that they can to make sure that they get the services back in line with what is expected within the contract. James Dornan, to be followed by John Finnie. Cabinet Secretary, you have mentioned some of the improvements that ScotRail has made, but could you give us a bit more detail about that that has made over the festive period? The impact has had, but more importantly, what more ScotRail is doing to help those passengers who have been inconvenienced? One of the main challenges that we have had in recent times has been the ability for ScotRail to be able to train their staff for the new Hitachi trains, for the new routes that have been introduced as part of a timetable change in December 9 and the later arrival of the refurbished high-speed trains, all of which have their impact on their ability to train staff. As it stands, just under 900 members of staff need to be trained. They are now at a point where around 20 per cent or so of those staff are still to be trained. As we go forward, ScotRail has given me an assurance that the number of cancellations that will come about as a result of a shortage of trained crew will continue to decline and they will continue to try and work that number down as we go forward in the coming weeks. What they will continue to do is to be focused on training their staff in order to make sure that the level of confidence that allows us to make sure that we minimise the number of cancellations that occur as a result of a lack of available crew. John Finnie, to be followed by Mike Rumbles. Cabinet Secretary, we seem to be here repeatedly. We are hearing all the same stuff. I have lost count of the number of plans and improvement plans. This one is now a remedial plan. Plans are of no interest to constituents in the far north line who finish a hard day's work to find that the train that they hope to take them home has been cancelled. What is the level of mismanagement that is required of a bellio before you will take control of this situation? The way in which the provisions are set out within the franchise agreement gives us the power to be able to direct ScotRail in order to bring forward plans in order to address issues where they have failed in order to deliver proper services. What we are doing is holding them to account for that particular contract. The remedial plan is one of the most serious actions that we can take and require them to make sure that they start to address those issues in an effective, systematic way. They are very clear about how serious that is for them as a franchise holder. What we now need to do is see the detail of their plan, which we will receive in February, in order to consider that. There will then be a period of time that allows them to take that forward in order to make sure that it is delivering the agreement, the agreed improvements that they have set out within the remedial plan. Once that has been taken forward, we as a Government will then be in a position to assess their performance and whether they are actually delivering on the remedial plan that they have submitted to us. Should they fail to do that and meet those necessary standards, as I have just said to Jamie Greene, that could ultimately result in them losing the franchise. They are aware of the potential implications that it has for them if they fail to deliver on what is set out within their remedial plan. Presiding Officer, I would like to know in what way does Michael Matheson's remedial plan of January 2019 differ from Humza Yousaf's performance improvement plan of January 2017? The ultimate sanction, if they fail to meet the requirements that are set out within their remedial plan and to deliver on it, is that they could lose the franchise. I ask the Scottish Government what action it will take regarding the cessation of trading in managing medical waste contracts by healthcare environmental services limited, including supporting the 150 workers who have been made redundant. Minister Jamie Hepburn. The Scottish Government is concerned about the situation at healthcare environmental services limited and is taking a number of steps to respond. The company advised the NHS boards in Scotland on 7 December that it was unable to continue to provide clinical waste collection services. NHS Scotland then implemented interim contingency arrangements to ensure clinical waste is appropriately stored, collected and disposed in line with industry regulations. There has been no impact on patient services. CEPA is monitoring the situation on a daily basis and is continuing to seek regulatory compliance. We will work with CEPA to ensure that the sites are cleared safely and always disposed of appropriately should this become necessary. There is at present no significant environmental risk and no risk to the wellbeing of local communities. There is obvious and clear concern for the workforce and the impact on them. The company took up the offer of pay support on 27 December 2018, when it made its employees redundant. PACE partners attended a support event held in shots on 3 January and provided support to 125 individuals in attendance. We have also been in contact with representatives of the redundancy payment service, who are awaiting information from the company regarding employee details in order to progress redundancy payments. We are monitoring the situation and providing further support and taking any further action as may be required. Alex Neil Can I thank the minister for his reply and also the assistance that he and his department provided over the festive period in relation to PACE? As well as finding the HES workers' jobs, the other top priority is for them to be paid the wages and other payments that they are due. The company's bank, HSBC, has refused to release any funds since 5 December, which is why the workers did not get paid. Will the minister now urgently contact the bank and demand that the necessary funds be released urgently to pay the workers all the wages that they are due? Will he look at whether the Scottish Government, in the meantime, can provide urgent cash help to the workers who are owed their wages? On that point, can he urgently contact again the insolvency service, who this morning have advised workers that they are not entitled to redundancy payments due to the business not currently being declared insolvent? In relation to the first point, I am certainly aware that the company has set out the difficulties that it has had in accessing finance from its bank through the usual banking services. I will undertake to contact the bank in co-ordination with the company to see if we can move that matter further along. Clearly, if we can do so, my primary expectation with that would then result in payment to the workforce. That would be the basis in which I would seek to intervene. In relation to the issue about the contact from the insolvency service, I think that I would need to get more details of that. Certainly, there are difficulties where a company in the process of administration has not declared itself insolvent in terms of workers being able to secure redundancy payments through that process. The information that we have had is that there is another process under way. If they have been advised otherwise, I will need to get the information and look at that. If I can get that from Mr Neil, of course, I will commit to doing so. I will supply the minister with the necessary information this afternoon, having just received it within the last half hour. I also ask the minister in terms of the causes of the company going down, because Princess Anne opened the new facility in April. In September, the UK Cabinet Office intervened in relation to the management of waste south of the border initially. It appears that there are allegations that the UK Cabinet Office—in particular, a senior official called Colleen Kaiser Andrews—has been involved in an exercise in September to deliberately and systematically destroy this company healthcare international. Will the minister raise that urgently with David Livington, the minister for the cabinet office in London, because those are serious allegations? I have seen some indication that there is a degree of justification in at least making the allegation. For the minister's reply, I hope that Mr Neil thinks seriously before naming officials who cannot answer back in this Parliament in such a way to take advantage of parliamentary privilege. Again, I would be cautious about commenting on allegations in the full detail of which I have not seen. Again, I can be provided with information. We can have a look at it, and if it is felt necessary to contact the cabinet office, in light of the information received, then, of course, I would commit to looking to do so. What assurances can the minister personally give to the communities in and around shots that the waste currently stockpiled on the site in shots is being properly stored according to the highest health and safety and public health regulatory standards? I can give that assurance, because what we have done through NSS, Scotland National Health Service Scotland, has put in interim arrangements with a range of companies. Three licensed waste carriers covering the whole of Scotland for priority sites, such as large hospitals, and other contracts are in place with specialist companies to provide community collections from smaller sites. That will deal with waste and on-going basis. I have already set out the steps that SIPA is taking. There is no indication that there is any substantial risk to the communities now, but that is why SIPA is involved. They are there on a daily basis, and we will continue to be informed by them. Thank you, Presiding Officer. To ask the Scottish Government how it will support the Kayam Europe limited employees who were made redundant without notice and were not paid before Christmas. The Scottish Government and its agencies have been working to support the former Kayam employees in Livingston, with PACE partnership support available from 24 December, two days after the company appointed administrator. That support will continue, with, for example, a jobs fair scheduled to take place on 70 January in Bathgate. Our shared goal is to help those made redundant to get back into work as quickly as possible. Earlier today, I spoke with administrators at KPMG about how we can support those who have been made redundant and secure their redundancy payments that they will be entitled to. Angela Constance. The minister can outright those responsible for the actions or inactions that led to more than 300 workers being informed on Christmas Eve that they were being made redundant without notice and without pay. By contrast, will he commend the warm and generous response of the wider West Lothian community and, in particular, community volunteers and council staff for organising a community hub, collecting and distributing donations of toys, food and gift vouchers, in addition to raising more than £22,000 for those affected? Let me say that I recognise that any administration or redundant situation is going to be particularly upsetting and challenging for the individuals involved, for their families and communities. There is no good time of year for that to happen. That was a particularly bad time of year for it to happen. On that basis, I regret that the chief executive of the company did not inform the workforce in person, as has been well reported, and that this was the juncture at which the company determined to go into administration. However, I do think that we can all commend the response from the local community. It has been very clear that the community has rallied round to raise funds to help on the ground with volunteers alongside donations of toys and food. It has shown the real strength of community spirit in the area, and those who have been involved deserve the highest commendation from us all. Angela Constance The minister will be aware that the economy committee this morning has begun to get its teeth into questions of transparency and due diligence that have to be answered about the Scottish enterprise investment of £850,000 into Cayam. Will he instruct Scottish Enterprise to co-operate fully and frankly with committee, but also confirm that that does not preclude any further investment to secure highly skilled jobs in West Lothian, if a suitable buyer for the business can be found? Can he provide Parliament with an update on the efforts to find a suitable buyer for the business? Let me say that I will not rehearse the points that I made earlier to the committee about the expectation of due diligence being followed in each and every circumstance where public funds are awarded. Of course, when that process is followed, it does not always result in the company that has been awarded those funds and has been able to sustain itself over the longer term, as has been the case very sadly here with Cayam. I do not think that I would need to instruct Scottish Enterprise to respond to any call from the committee. It would be my expectation that it would do so, and I believe that it would respond to any request from the committee. In terms of an update on efforts to sell the business, this is a matter that I discussed with KPMG earlier today. It has informed me that it has received an excessive 20 expressions of interest from various interested parties. I can also say that, in relation to on-going support from our public agency, Scottish Enterprise have already, through the administrator, set out what support they may be able to offer any potential buyer. Gordon Lindhurst Against the background of the bad mistreatment of the workers at Cayam, what is the Scottish Government doing to ensure that companies in Scotland, in receipt of regional select assistance, or who are Scottish Enterprise account managed companies, do not treat their workers similarly in future circumstances? Murrys. Clearly, any company is ultimately responsible for the manner in which it conducts itself with its workforce. The Scottish Government's perspective on fair work is well known, and I think that part of fair work should be proper dialogue with employees about the circumstances that any company finds itself in. That would be one of my expectations. We have set out some of the work that we plan to take forward in terms of conditionality around regional selective assistance and other forms of public support through the fair work first principle, and we will set out more detail around that in due course. Can I endorse Angela Constance's comments on the response to the community and, indeed, Westlothian Council and other partners in providing advice and support to employees affected by redundancy at Cayam? However, the responsibility for the closure lies with the owner, Bardia Pezesci. However, on five separate occasions prior to 24 December, ministers were warned about major problems, threatening pay and jobs at Cayam, a situation that ended up with 300 workers with no pay and no job. Can the minister answer that directly? Did he, at any point over the period between 22 November and 24 December ask the company to inform workers that their jobs and pay were at risk? There was an ongoing process of engagement between Scottish Enterprise and the company. The difficult we had in the circumstances around this particular situation is that it was never one similar situation at any given time. It would change when we were first notified that it was not about the company closing us about finding a buyer. That was the first instance that we were contacted and then, thereafter, it was around actions to secure funding and pursue a sale proposal. It was only much later on that it became apparent that there would be the possibility of administration. We have done everything in that intervening period of time to try and support the company and ultimately to support its workforce, and that is something that we continue to do. I thank you, and that concludes the topical questions.