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The Ferguson Marine shipyard has been formally taken into public ownership, the Scottish government announced at the start of December.

Ferguson went into administration following a dispute with Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd - which buys and leases CalMac ships on behalf of the Scottish government - over the construction of two ferries under a £97m fixed price contract.

At the time of the administration being announced, Deloitte described the contract as being "materially behind schedule and over budget".

It remains unclear when the ferries will eventually enter service.

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Finance Secretary Derek Mackay is updating MSPs on Ferguson Marine shipyard and the construction of two ferries.

"This is very good news indeed and I very much welcome the decision to end Abellio's contract," begins Mike Rumbles.

He argues this is the first opportunity the government has had to make this call and he praises the minister.

What action will the government take to ensure there is stronger protection for customers in the new contract with more break points, asks the Lib Dem MSP.

Mr Matheson hopes the Williams Review could mean this could be the end of franchising, allowing fundamental change in the way rail services are looked at.

The transport secretary says the regulatory function of the ORR is too slow in addressing issues and should be more passenger focused.

He calls for more alignment between infrastructure and passenger services.

He hopes the UK government takes forward the Williams Review recommendations to allow the service to be much more passenger focused and he says he will work with the parliament to achieve this if the powers necessary are devolved to Holyrood.

The man tasked with working out how to improve UK railways says a "Fat Controller" type figure, independent from government, should be in charge of day-to-day operations.

The former boss of British Airways, Keith Williams, said government involvement should be limited to overall policy and budget decisions.

But he said the Department for Transport should not manage the system.

His review of the rail system will be published this autumn.

The Fat Controller is a fictional character who manages the railways in Thomas the Tank Engine, the children's television series based on The Railway Series books.

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Green MSP John Finnie says trade unions must be involved going forward.

He seeks confirmation a strong public sector bid will be made, with no extension of driver-only operations.

Mr Matheson says the best way to deal with industrial relations matters is to nurture relationships.

Of course there will be a public sector bids he says, but he highlights the £10m cost of this and the fact there is no guarantee it will win.

He reiterates calls for rail powers to be devolved.

The cabinet secretary says the decision was based purely on the rebasing process.

Our hands are tied at the present moment regarding nationalisation he explains, with a public sector body only able to bid for the franchise.

I want to get rid of franchising to ensure we have a service which delivers to the needs of Scotland, he adds.

"All powers over rail should be devolved to this parliament."

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Labour MSP Colin Smyth says: "Since the start of this franchise Abellio have failed to deliver for Scotland's hard pressed passengers."

They've failed to meet their contractual requirements, breaching targets on punctuality, cancellations and passenger satisfaction, elucidates Mr Smyth.

"They've let down the hard working ScotRail staff."

He's glad the Scottish government are finally heeding his party's calls to end the franchise.

He calls for a public sector operator to be be in place to take on the contract and put passengers, not profit, first.

In rsesponse to Jamie Greene, the transport secretary says parliament must be kept informed of these matters before public statements are made.

The rebasing exercise has to be undertaken according to the contract and this analysis has been thorough and detailed, he adds.

As it stands the contract will continue for the next two years and staff will transfer to any new operator after that, the minister states.

Mr Matheson says the UK government has been sitting on a review and once the outcome is known, we will have a better idea of the scope there is to shape the railways.

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Tory MSP Jamie Greene asks what engagement the government had with Abellio in advance to this decision.

Mr Greene asks what analysis has been undertaken to examine the impact of the decision, particularly in terms of job losses and investment plans.

Who will be running the railway post 2022, he asks.

Surely you should have examined options before terminating the contract, Mr Greene insists.

Mr Matheson confirms work has already been undertaken to examine the options open to ministers when the current contract comes to an end.

Those options include the public sector running the franchise the transport secretary adds.

The minister says for now services will of course continue to operate with Abellio ScotRail committed to delivering quality rail services.

He insists the government will ensure the maximisation of investment into the rail service.

Transport Secretary Michael Matheson says over £8bn has been spent since 2007 on rail and a further £5bn between 2019 and 2024.

This will improve capacity and reliability, he states.

A decision on whether to continue the Abellio contract until March 2025 is now due.

Scottish ministers have decided not to rebase the contract, which means the current franchise agreement will come to an end in March 2022 the transport secretary confirms.

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Some opposition parties have been calling for an end to the ScotRail franchise currently held by Abellio.

In October the motion and amendments from a Labour debate calling for the Scottish government not to extend franchise beyond its expiry date in 2022 were all rejected.

Labour MSP Colin Smyth said passengers were being let down and his party's vision was to put the travelling public first, not profits or private companies.

Transport Secretary Michael Matheson's amendment said the government had "already started the careful and necessary assessment specified in the franchise contract to determine the ScotRail contract end date".

Abellio has insisted "significant progress" has been achieve since it took over the franchise.

However earlier this year it was forced to agree an improvement plan, external following being served a remedial notice after major problems on the network.

Image source, PA Media

Transport Secretary Michael Matheson will now deliver a statement on statement on the ScotRail franchise and Abellio.

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Housing Minister Kevin Stewart says there are no plans to introduce the fire safety certification that Mr Rumbles describes.

Fire safety information leaflets have been produced for all homes in high rise buildings, Mr Stewart adds.

Why is the minister so reluctant to use the powers he has at his disposal, asks Mr Rumbles.

This is very complicated replies Mr Stewart, offering to sit down with Mr Rumbles alongside building standards officials on this issue.

The Scottish government is not complacent about building standards, hence the expert panel put in place to look at fire safety he adds.

Lib Dem MSP Mike Rumbles asks about plans to require privately owned flats in tower blocks over 11 meters high to have fire safety certification.

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Every resident in a high-rise property in Scotland is to be given fire safety advice based on practices introduced since the Grenfell Tower disaster.

Leaflets on how to prevent fires in the home and what to do if one starts in the building are being distributed.

The guidance, external comes more than two years since the Grenfell blaze, which claimed the lives of 72 people.

Changes were introduced in Scotland three months ago to building and safety standards for high-rises.

The new laws include a stipulation that all new buildings in Scotland that are taller than 11 metres will have to be fitted with cladding that slows and controls the spread of fire.

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