Seòmar agus comataidhean

There are two sides to that question, and I will try to take them both. I might briefly pass to officials to explain some of the work that was done on developing an alternative private financing model.

You are right, five years is a long time. As I said, Scottish Futures Trust was involved. MIM was developed by the Welsh Government and has been adapted for use in Scotland. I do not just identify the ONS reclassification as the key issue; I also see that there were delays in statutory processes. I am happy to come on to why I think that that may have saved us some time in the end, by meaning that we had only one public inquiry, albeit I would prefer that those processes been quicker.

The new point that I want to make is that there was not a vacuum of work during that time. Work was progressing. The statutory processes work has been progressing to the point where we now have 92 per cent ministerial decisions in hand for those. We brought forward work on the Kincraig to Dalraddy route, which was completed in 2017. The additional section of Luncarty to the Pass of Birnam began in 2019 and was completed in 2021. Of course, work was on-going in the background to develop a new private finance model.

I do not know whether any of the team want to say something about that five-year period and why such work takes so long.

With all respect, I think that I have answered that question. I said that there has not been a formal internal review, but we review on an on-going basis what we think the reasons for delay are, as they emerge, and I have identified the two key ones that we attribute the delay to.

Sorry, Mr Golden, can you elaborate on that slightly? Is this the statutory—

I will try to clarify this. Late 2022 was the point at which a submission came to ministers advising that there was now no possible route through to completion by 2025. That would have been received by Ms Gilruth and Mr Matheson, and Ms Gilruth updated Parliament after the Christmas recess in respect of the timetable and the Tomatin to Moy procurement problems that we had faced. Late 2022 was the point at which the advice arrived that said that 2025 was no longer doable. However, I recognise that there was a diminishing likelihood of it in the months leading up to that, and I think that that would have been reflected in advice as well.

I apologise to the committee. I want to clarify that, when Mr Golden asked that question before, he meant the statutory processes. I know that Mr Barn spoke about his view that that had slowed down the process. I understand that view. Mr Barn’s objective is to get projects moving and moving well, and I appreciate his perspective.

I go back to the point that statutory processes are laborious—there is no doubt about that—but, as we all know from representing our constituents’ interests when major infrastructure projects are happening on their doorstep, they are really important in ensuring that the right processes are gone through, that thorough consultation happens, and that people are really engaged in the development. That pertains to roads just as it does to a whole suite of other infrastructure projects, not least energy projects. The issue is being grappled with just now, and it will increasingly be grappled with as we seek to upgrade the grid.

I have been clear that I think that the statutory processes took a little longer in the case of the A9 than we expected. They are a very important part of democratising infrastructure development, and I would not like to suggest that there should be any shortcuts around them. I say again that, to date, we have had only one public inquiry in a major and complex project. In some ways, that is a success of the deep engagement that there has been. I do not know whether there are any technical reviews.

I will briefly add to that for the committee’s awareness, although it may already be aware of this. I hope that the committee will be comforted to know that MIM has managed out some of the worst excesses of private sector profiteering that were apparent in historical private finance initiative deals. The way that it works has been designed to not allow for that.

Thank you, convener—you are quite right.

It is certainly my intention that there will be ample opportunity for recharging along the route. That sits closely alongside the work that I am doing in another part of the portfolio on the roll-out of electric vehicle chargers and our ambitions to go from around the 2,400 mark—that might not be the right figure—up to 6,000. There is a lot of interest in the availability of service stations and other rest opportunities along the A9 and I understand that. I know myself when I am driving it that I would welcome the opportunity to stop safely. There are also issues for women and other vulnerability issues in being able to do so.

The provision of service stations and so on is not directly Transport Scotland’s responsibility. It is funded to deliver its statutory obligations, and the delivery of service stations is not one of them. However, that issue is raised with Ms Hyslop and me a lot, and it is certainly my intention to do what we can to encourage the development of such facilities along the route, because I acknowledge their importance.

I was very open minded, convener, about what we might cover, so I will not add anything. I just thank you all very much.

Yes, of course, convener.

Good morning, and thank you for inviting me to give evidence on my portfolio budget for 2024-25. As you will have heard from a number of my colleagues, the budget has been developed in extremely difficult financial circumstances. The spending decisions of the United Kingdom Government mean that our block grant has fallen in real terms by 1.2 per cent since 2022-23, despite record inflation.

Capital funding is due to contract by almost 10 per cent in real terms, which is of particular concern to me, given that my portfolio carries roughly 40 per cent of the Scottish Government’s capital programme. That has required very difficult choices and reprioritisation towards programmes that most effectively deliver on the Government’s key outcomes. To give the committee an overview, that includes spending of nearly £2.5 billion on our public transport system, including investment of more than £1.6 billion to maintain, improve and decarbonise Scotland’s rail network and extend the peak fares removal pilot.

We will also invest £430 million to support bus services and their users, providing access to free bus travel for more than 2 million people, including all under-22s, with more than 100 million free journeys having been made since the scheme was launched.

We will continue to invest in walking, wheeling and cycling by allocating it £220 million in 2024-25, as well as spending £435 million to support our lifeline ferry services.

The safety of our road network has also remained a significant priority, and we are investing record amounts to maintain, adapt and improve our roads and make them safe for all users. That includes critical work on the A83 Rest and Be Thankful, as well as the A9 dualling programme, with work to commence on the Tomatin to Moy section and procurement of the remaining southern sections.

We are delivering on our commitment to protect our natural environment and halt biodiversity loss through our £65 million nature restoration fund and Scotland’s biodiversity strategy delivery plan, with a further £29 million investment to halt biodiversity loss being provided in the coming year.

We have ensured that our environmental regulators are well equipped to deliver the pivotal role that they play in maintaining a healthy and safe environment, and we are investing almost £40 million in 2024-25 to drive Scotland’s circular economy, to reduce reliance on scarce resources and to reduce waste.

That is an overview. Ultimately, despite the real and very trying funding constraints that have borne down on this year’s budget, this broad and diverse portfolio prioritises tackling the climate emergency and supporting biodiversity while delivering a safe, accessible and resilient transport network for the people of Scotland.

That is the conclusion of my opening statement. If you do not mind, convener, I will hand over very briefly to my colleague Philip Raines, who has a technical update for the committee’s awareness.