The Clyde and HebridesFerry Services Public Service Contract requires CalMac Ferries Ltd to submit regularreports on performance (including reliability and punctuality) to the Scottish Government,to make summary information available to those attending the half-yearly consultationmeetings to be facilitated by the Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership (HITRANS)and to publish the summary information in their annual report. CalMac Ferries willalso display monthly information on punctuality and reliability on each of theirroutes in the port offices and vessels as part of their Customer Services Undertaking.

The Public ServiceContract between the Scottish ministers and CalMac Ferries Ltd for the deliveryof the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services includes a PerformanceRegime which penalises the operator if it does not operate services to the prescribedtimetables. However, the contract recognises that there will be situations wherecancellations or delays will be unavoidable or where they may be justified becauseof particular circumstances that can arise. In such cases, the penalty system isnot triggered. These circumstances are described as “Performance Relief Events”and include “Relief Events”, “Lifeline Service Relief” and “Upgrade Relief Events”.

The list ofperformance relief events is extensive and includes, for example, adverse weatherand tidal conditions, safety factors beyond the operator’s control and the holdingback of a sailing to await the arrival of a late running public transport servicethat is scheduled to connect with the sailing. However, it is intended that thestatistics that will be collected on punctuality and reliability will show boththe actual performance and the performance after the application of theperformance relief events.

Information onaverage primary class size is collected and published each year in “Pupils in Scotland” and, prior to 2003, in the “Summary Results of theSchool Census”. These are available in the Scottish Parliament InformationCentre (Bib. numbers 20194, 20197, 22064 and 29040). Information publishedsince 2003 can be accessed on the Scottish Government website by using thefollowing hyperlink:http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/PubPupilCensus

Information onclass sizes in secondary schools is not routinely collected as part of theSchool Census.

There is nodefinition, in statute, of “lifeline ferry service”. However, the previousadministration noted that, in subsidising ferry services, its objective was “toensure the provision of a suitable standard of transport connection, in termsof quality, frequency and capacity, to island (or, in some cases, remotepeninsular) communities which would otherwise suffer social and economicdisadvantage”. I would not dissent from that definition.

CalMac FerriesLtd has provided the following figures relating to the year ending 31 August2007:

(a) sailingscancelled but excluded from the route’s reliability figures – 113

(b) sailingscancelled and included in the route’s reliability figures – 2

(c) sailingsdelayed but excluded from the route’s punctuality figures – 425

(d) sailingsdelayed and included in the route’s punctuality figures – 174.

The sailingswhich are excluded from the reliability and punctuality figures are those wherea legitimate “relief event” prevented or delayed the sailing. Relief eventsrelate to factors that are beyond the operator’s control, such as adverseweather.

The Scottish Governmenthas identified the needs of people with dementia as a priority. We are discussingwith key stakeholders how we respond in a co-ordinated way to the needs of the growingnumbers of people with dementia.

It is the responsibilityof local agencies to plan and commission the appropriate mix of residential andhome-based care services to meet the current and future needs of people in theirareas. Following from the work of the Range and Capacity Review into future carerequirements for older people, the Scottish Government’s Joint Improvement Teampublished guidance in June 2007 to assist local agencies in capacity planning andcommissioning services to meet local needs.

We are also fundinga dementia improvement programme with NHS Forth Valley and the Dementia Services Development Centreto explore ways of better managing the care of people with dementia and preventunnecessary admissions to care homes and acute wards. The programme will be evaluatedin 2008.

I understand thatCalMac Ferries has accepted a block booking for a tanker on its 7am sailing fromArdrossan to Brodick on every weekday throughout the winter, returning on the 11amsailing each day. This should provide sufficient capacity to meet Arran’s needsfor gas oil, derv and kerosene over the winter months and should not have any impacton other ferry users. In terms of petrol supplies, I understand that there is currentlya significant stock of petrol held on the island. However, top-ups can be delivered,as required, using CalMac’s winter service between Tarbert on the mainland and Lochranzaon Arran.

Prior to finalisingthe service specification for the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services contract, theformer administration undertook a consultation exercise in 2004-05 that sought viewson a range of issues, including“further changes to timetables and services which may benefit users”.

In considering the responses to that consultation exerciseI understand that the previous administration concluded that enhancements to thewinter timetable for Ardrossan to Brodick should be included in the final servicespecification. As a consequence, an additional return sailing on the route duringthe winter was added to the service specification included in the tender documentationfor the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services issued in December 2006.

In addition, in responseto requests from the local community, CalMac Ferries Ltd announced on 4 October 2007 that they will continue to provide a double vessel servicefor the summer timetable. Taken together these will provide enhanced summer andwinter timetables.

The categories ofpeople who qualify for concessionary travel on CalMac Ferries Limited’sservices are as follows:

blind people;

children, and

disabled people.

people holding:

Some categories of British Rail Identity andTravel Facility Cards;

Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar travel schemeconcession cards;

former Scottish Transport Group privilegepasses;

some categories of former British Railactive and retired employee passes;

Highland Council Travel Scheme Cards;

National Entitlement Cards who areresident in designated island areas;

Strathclyde Partnership for Transportconcessionary travel scheme cards;

people purchasingreturn tickets for journeys originating at certain island ports;

young peopleeligible for the Scottish Government Young Persons Travel Scheme, and

Staff of CalMacFerries Ltd and some associated companies and their dependents.

A number of theconcessions apply only to specified routes and/or to particular ticket types (e.g.passenger only, not vehicles). In addition, some concessions are restricted toa designated number of journeys in the course of a year.

In additionCalMac Ferries Ltd offers discounted rates on Island Hopscotch, Island Rover,multi-journey, Freedom of Scotland and group tickets, as well as on throughtickets for rail and ferry journeys. These are available to all travellers.

The information requested is given in the table Births by maternity unit, Scotland, 1987 –2006 a copy of which is availablein the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 43824).