Transport Scotland - Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services 3 (CHFS3) information: EIR release

Information requested

Under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004, I request the following information regarding the CHFS3 Direct Award to CalMac Ferries Ltd:

1. Final Socio-Economic Impact Assessments: Any final (non-draft) reports or assessments conducted by or for Transport Scotland regarding the impact of the CHFS3 direct award on island communities, specifically focusing on the Arran and South Uist routes.

2. External Correspondence with CalMac/CFL: All formal correspondence (excluding informal emails) between Transport Scotland and CalMac Ferries Ltd from January 2024 to May 2025 regarding the "Teckal" compliance requirements for the CHFS3 contract.

3. Vessel Replacement Schedule (Final): The definitive timeline and budget allocations finalized for the "renewal of one-third of the fleet by 2029" as cited in public announcements regarding the CHFS3 award.

4. Subsidy Breakdown: A high-level factual breakdown of the projected £3.7 Billion - £3.9 Billion subsidy, categorized by operational costs vs. capital investment (vessels/infrastructure).

5. Technical Reliability Data: The final "Network Reliability Report" for the 2024 calendar year used as "supporting evidence" in the CHFS3 procurement strategy.

6. "In accordance with the transparency objectives of the Lobbying (Scotland) Act 2016, I request a list of all regulated lobbying activities held by Scottish Ministers, Special Advisers (SpAds), and the Permanent Secretary regarding the CHFS3 contract award between January 2024 and May 2025. This request includes the names of all individuals and organizations who engaged in face-to-face or videolink communications with the aforementioned officials, the dates and locations of these meetings, and the specific purpose of the lobbying as recorded. Furthermore, I request the disclosure of any minutes, formal meeting notes, or follow-up action points associated with these registered entries. As these communications were intended to influence public policy and are already subject to the public Lobbying Register, the 'internal communications' exception under Regulation 10(4)(e) of the EIRs should not apply to the factual record of these external engagements."

Response

1. Final Socio-Economic Impact Assessments: Any final (non-draft) reports or assessments conducted by or for Transport Scotland regarding the impact of the CHFS3 direct award on island communities, specifically focusing on the Arran and South Uist routes.

Under the terms of the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs (information not held), the Scottish Government is not required to provide information which it does not have. The Scottish Government does not hold the information you have requested as Impact Assessments were not carried out regarding the impact of the CHFS3 direct award.

2. External Correspondence with CalMac/CFL: All formal correspondence (excluding informal emails) between Transport Scotland and CalMac Ferries Ltd from January 2024 to May 2025 regarding the "Teckal" compliance requirements for the CHFS3 contract.

You requested all formal correspondence between Transport Scotland and CalMac Ferries Ltd. from January 2024 to May 2025 regarding the "Teckal" compliance requirements for the CHFS3 contract.

Attachment 01 with this letter sets out the CHFS3 Governance Arrangements for Teckal Compliance, this provides the formal correspondence you requested. You will also find the suite of CHFS3 Governance documents available on the Transport Scotland website which you may find helpful. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website listed, then please contact me again and I will send you paper copies.

3. Vessel Replacement Schedule (Final): The definitive timeline and budget allocations finalized for the "renewal of one-third of the fleet by 2029" as cited in public announcements regarding the CHFS3 award.

All of the information you have requested is available from The Vessels and Ports Plan for the Clyde and Hebrides and Northern Isles networks (2025 – 2045) - Islands Connectivity Plan | Transport Scotland. Under regulation 6(1)(b) of the EIRs, we do not have to give you information which is already publicly available and easily accessible to you in another form or format. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy. The Scottish budget is set annually and is dependent on the UK Government’s budget. Allocations would therefore be set on an annual basis.

4. Subsidy Breakdown: A high-level factual breakdown of the projected £3.7 Billion - £3.9 Billion subsidy, categorized by operational costs vs. capital investment (vessels/infrastructure).

The £3.7–£3.9 billion subsidy covers operational costs only; capital investment for new vessels and Port and harbour infrastructure is excluded from the contract. We are unable to provide a more detailed breakdown of the operational costs due to commercial sensitivity. However, CalMac Ferries Ltd. publish their annual accounts on the CalMac Website.

5. Technical Reliability Data: The final "Network Reliability Report" for the 2024 calendar year used as "supporting evidence" in the CHFS3 procurement strategy.

Performance information by route is available on the Performance reports section of the CalMac website. This information did not directly drive the procurement route decision but network wide data was considered as supporting evidence for the performance regime.

6. "In accordance with the transparency objectives of the Lobbying (Scotland) Act 2016, I request a list of all regulated lobbying activities held by Scottish Ministers, Special Advisers (SpAds), and the Permanent Secretary regarding the CHFS3 contract award between January 2024 and May 2025. This request includes the names of all individuals and organizations who engaged in face-to-face or video-link communications with the aforementioned officials, the dates and locations of these meetings, and the specific purpose of the lobbying as recorded. Furthermore, I request the disclosure of any minutes, formal meeting notes, or follow-up action points associated with these registered entries. As these communications were intended to influence public policy and are already subject to the public Lobbying Register, the 'internal communications' exception under Regulation 10(4)(e) of the EIRs should not apply to the factual record of these external engagements."

Most of the information you have requested is available from the Lobbying Register on the Scottish Parliaments website:Lobbying Register. Under regulation 6(1)(b) of the EIRs, we do not have to give you information which is already publicly available and easily accessible to you in another form or format. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

Under the terms of the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs (information not held), the Scottish Government is not required to provide information which it does not have. The Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested because it did not record these meetings.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

FOI 202500499619 - Information Released - Attachment 01

File type

PDF

File size

193.8 kB