On Tuesday, CalMac Ferries announced that the return of Arran’s resident ferry, the MV Caledonian Isles, was to be delayed again. Since it was taken out of service for its annual overhaul in January, the timescale for the vessel’s return has gone from early March to June, to August, to September, to October and to mid-November. That has greatly impacted Arran’s long-suffering people, businesses and visitors.

With no obvious progress as yet on the redevelopment of Ardrossan harbour, how will the Scottish Government and its agencies ensure that the ferry service to Arran—which is the busiest in the network—is reliable, robust and resilient, and one that islanders and visitors can have confidence in?

I accept the points that Mr Gibson has made on behalf of his constituents in Arran. The position with the MV Caledonian Isles has been difficult. We thought that the vessel would come back into service several weeks ago—indeed, it returned from significant repairs in Birkenhead and we expected it to go back into service—but the issue that Mr Gibson raises has caused a delay to that.

The Cabinet Secretary for Transport is in active dialogue with CalMac to ensure that there is continuity of service. There has been extensive, protracted and very difficult dialogue about Ardrossan harbour—given the close attention that Mr Gibson has paid to the issue, he will know how difficult it has been. No lack of effort has been put into the dialogue—we have just not managed to reach agreement. We have managed to sustain a two-vessel service on the Ardrossan and Troon to Brodick routes over the period, and CalMac will endeavour to ensure that that remains the case in order to service Mr Gibson’s constituents. The Cabinet Secretary for Transport will keep him updated on developments.