That's all from BBC Scotland's coverage of Holyrood on Wednesday 18 December 2019.

Transport stories have dominated the day, with announcements made on trains and ferries.

Transport Secretary Michael Matheson has confirmed the Abellio ScotRail contract is to end early.

The firm was contracted until 2025, but Mr Matheson said a so-called "break clause" would be used to end the franchise in March 2022.

He told MSPs he was looking at other options, including the public sector.

The cost of completing two delayed CalMac ferries has more than doubled, the Scottish government has revealed.

Finance Secretary Derek Mackay revealed the final bill for the two ships is likely to be close to £200m.

And the two vessels will not be ready until the end of 2021 and summer 2022.

Community Safety Minister Ash Denham says the Domestic Abuse Act makes it easier to prosecute non-physical acts of abuse.

Training for police officers increases awareness of financial abuse and how it is interwoven with physical abuse, she tells the chamber.

A public awareness campaign also accompanied the legislation coming into force to highlight any controlling behavour is abuse, she adds.

The minister says there is more to do to protect victims of abuse but points to ongoing work.

Suzanne Bearne
BBC Three

Image source, BBC Three/iStock

"If it continues the way it's going, I will be in debt for the next 16 years," Rebecca tells me. "I am living in poverty and want to give my son the best start in life. Whatever small amount I have left, I have to put it towards the debt."

At the height of her debt, she owed about £26,000. Even now, with interest accruing, she believes she’ll be in debt for at least a decade until her mid-40s, although she doesn't know the exact figure she owes.

What’s frustrating for Rebecca is that she says the debt doesn’t belong to her. She alleges it’s down to her ex, who she claims physically, emotionally and economically abused her.

Read more about those left in debt by financially abusive partners.

It can start innocently enough: Perhaps your partner asks to see a receipt for the supermarket shop, or explains that he or she opened your bank statement by mistake.

But such habits can build into controlling behaviours, which leave you in fear every time you open your wallet.

Financial abuse, as it is called, can involve your partner spending your jointly-earned money, taking out loans in your name, making you pay the utility bills, or scrutinising every penny you spend.

Worse, it can be the fore-runner of even more serious emotional, or physical, abuse.

Read more.

Image source, bbc

SNP MSP James Dornan says it is important to understand financial abuse rarely happens in isolation, with it usually being accompanied by other abusive behaviours.

Mr Dornan says he had a speech prepared but received an excellent briefing from the Daisy Project, external, a charity which provides an integrated domestic abuse advocacy and support service in his constituency.

He says he will refer to it instead during his contribution.

The SNP MSP outlines harrowing cases of financial abuse and says they show there is "much, much more to be done".

Image source, Getty Images

More than 400 crimes have been recorded by Police Scotland in the first three months after a new domestic abuse law was introduced.

The Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act criminalises the "coercive and controlling behaviours" of offenders.

It created a single offence, carrying a maximum 14-year sentence, covering psychological, financial or sexual abuse.

So far, 190 cases have been reported to the Crown Office with 13 convictions.

Read more.

SNP MSP James Dornan is leading this member's debate to highlight financial abuse as part of controlling and coercive behaviour.

Here is his motion...

Image source, Scottish Parliament

Image source, PA media

Transport Secretary Michael Matheson has confirmed the Abellio ScotRail contract is to end early, in 2022.

The Dutch operator has been running the service since 2015 but has faced criticism over cancellations and performance levels.

The firm was contracted until 2025, but Mr Matheson said a so-called "break clause" would be used to end the franchise in March 2022.

He told MSPs he was looking at other options, including the public sector.

Image source, Getty Images

The cost of completing two delayed CalMac ferries has more than doubled, the Scottish government has revealed.

A row over the construction of two ferries under a £97m deal saw the Ferguson Marine yard in Inverclyde taken into public hands.

Now a new assessment of the vessels has revealed costs have soared and they will be delayed again.

The first ship, Glen Sannox, destined for the Arran route, will not be ready until the last three months of 2021.

Read more here.

Image source, Getty Images

MSPs unanimously back the general principles of the Female Genital Mutilation (Protection and Guidance) Bill, external.

Read the SPICe briefing on the bill., external

Tory MSP Annie Wells says the practice is far from the norm in Scotland, but it is still important to send a message about how unacceptable it is.

We are firmly behind the principle of the bill to protect women and girls at risk, she says, but she adds more must be done around victim anonymity.

Labour MSP Elaine Smith says it is important not to stigmatise the communities among which FGM is more common, pointing to traumatising impacts of some interventions offered to families opposed to FGM.

She says there is a need for a new strategy on tackling FGM given the fact there have been no prosecutions in Scotland.

Scottish Green co-leader Patrick Harvie highlights barriers to justice for asylum seekers, including but not limited to language.

Lib Dem MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton says the victims of FGM are likely to experience short and long term psychological harm.

Image source, Getty Images

Medics in Scotland's biggest cities have treated victims of female genital mutilation (FGM) on more than 230 occasions in the past two years.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said it had identified women with FGM on at least 138 occasions in 2017 and 2018.

In NHS Lothian, which covers Edinburgh, 93 occasions were noted.

Read more.

Equalities Minister Christina McKelvie says FGM is a manifestation of power, a way to control sexuality and a form of violence against women.

FGM is illegal and this bill adds extra protection to those at risk, she argues.

It creates a new specific protection order to ensure courts can focus on the need to protect people at risk or those who have already had FGM carried out on them, Ms McKelvie states.

The minister says the orders will be made by court and will be unique to each case.

Statutory guidance will be issued by ministers on both the protection orders and FGM more generally, Ms McKelvie states.

She rejects the assertion that this bill racially profiles communities but she accepts there is a need to be careful with language.

Guidance will be shaped with and by communities and stakeholders, she confirms, with engagement to begin immediately after Royal Assent.

Image source, PA media

Transport Secretary Michael Matheson has confirmed the Abellio ScotRail contract is to end early, in 2022.

The Dutch operator has been running the service since 2015 but has faced criticism over cancellations and performance levels.

The firm was contracted until 2025, but Mr Matheson said a so-called "break clause" would be used to end the franchise in March 2022.

He told MSPs he was looking at other options, including the public sector.