Chamber and committees

The other issues around—

Yes, it is about emissions. It is possible to have the same number of cars and to increase car use while—if they are all EVs—seeing a reduction in emissions. We need to ensure that whatever is produced in our plans reflects what Scotland’s needs are likely to be. We need a shift towards, and encouragement of, the use of public transport. That is one reason why we removed peak fares for good. It will take some time to deliver that full modal shift and for people to make that decision.

In the climate change plan, we will set out what is required. In June, in the policy statement that accompanies carbon budgets, we indicated some of the areas of transport that we will be working on. There will be a transport chapter in the plan when it is published.

When I made it clear that we would have to change our targets in that area, we issued a policy statement with COSLA, setting out the different actions that would be taken. One of the proposals, which I think is right and appropriate, is for regional transport partnerships to set out what they will be doing locally to tackle emissions and car use, and to encourage the use of public transport. We also said that we would carry out a regulatory check on the legislation, introduced by the then Labour Government, which made provision for road user charging—it is up to local authorities whether they want to use that—so we are establishing a group that will look at whether that legislation, the Transport (Scotland) Act 2001, is still fit for purpose, if anybody wanted to use it.

I am sorry—did you refer to ferries?

I am just about to explain how we get to the total.

Yes—it is.

That would put pressure on the capital budget, but we have always said that we would need to revert to capital in that scenario. That is why we are looking closely at value for money from the business plan, what it delivers for the public purse and what is affordable under the Scottish Government’s budget. We are having exactly those discussions about the A9, and such considerations were always going to be a part of that.

We are not underspending on active travel this year. As I have set out, we are spending the full amount. There is only one tiny element that has not been set out this year.

On the project that you mention, we have had submissions in recent months on the steps that need to take place to ensure progress on it. That is a keenly anticipated active travel route and is one of the benefits of the work on the A9. I am happy to provide a briefing in writing to the committee on that active travel segment.

As I said that I would do, I will publish the consultation on that issue very quickly, as it was a request from the round-table meeting that I had with MSPs. We must look at the A96 as a whole. As you know, there are different sections of it: Inshes to Smithton, Inverness to Nairn, including the Nairn bypass where we have taken title to land in April, and the rest of the corridor, on which we got feedback.

One of the things that we are considering following the consultation is prioritisation. The consultation feedback was in favour of full dualling of the A96, but anybody with an understanding of the current financial situation will know that that will not happen immediately. Our plans will need to set out the priorities. For example, the feedback was that an Elgin bypass is a priority. On what prioritisation will make most sense, that goes back to the point about the impact of transport on the economy. Chambers of commerce and others have an interest in that.

In relation to funding that work, it was always my view that we would need to identify what will be the infrastructure investment plan. As the committee will know, the capital forward look, the spending review and the infrastructure investment plan will be affected by the timing of the budget—I am sure that the committee is aware that the Scottish Government budget will be introduced later as a result of the UK budget being later than we thought that it would be, which will impact on other aspects.

I thought that we would be in a better position to identify when the infrastructure investment plan would be published, but it is not in my gift to say when that will be. However, I know that people will be looking at the A96.

That is our current position, but we will need to prioritise the ordering of that. There is a clear order, because parts of the A96 are further along in the process than others. Indeed, one is undergoing a full public inquiry. As I have said, we have also taken title to some land. On the ordering, as part of our market review and our interest in using MIM, we made sure that we included parts of the A96 in those discussions when we were looking at the A9.

The challenge for the A96 is whether we bundle it into one project or whether it would be more sensible, better value for money and better for delivery to do the project in smaller sections. I know that there is real appetite to focus on the Nairn bypass, which could possibly be done as a single project to get the ball rolling, for example. However, I am not in a position to give you the detail on what will happen when with that. I can just say that work is on-going to assess what that project might look like.