Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Debate: Improving Scotland's Roads

Graham Simpson S6M-13480 That the Parliament acknowledges the importance of a well-maintained road network to Scotland’s economy; believes that Scottish National Party administrations have repeatedly broken promises on major road upgrades and that their underfunding of Scottish local authorities has led to a deterioration in the condition of local roads, and calls upon the Scottish Government to fairly fund Scottish local authorities and make road infrastructure a key priority. Fiona Hyslop S6M-13480.3 As an amendment to motion S6M-13480 in the name of Graham Simpson (Improving Scotland's Roads), leave out from "believes" to end and insert "notes that the procurement process for the construction of the A9 Dualling Tay Crossing to Ballinluig project has now started, and that the contract for the A9 Dualling Tomatin to Moy project is on track to achieve contract award early in summer 2024; further notes that the statutory authorisation process is now complete for the A96 Dualling Inverness to Nairn (including Nairn Bypass) project, which will enable the purchase of land required to build the project; notes that the Scottish Government is delivering a range of measures in the short, medium and long term to reduce the risk of impact of landslides at the A83 Rest and Be Thankful; further notes that the procurement of technical advisors is underway to take forward design work on Springholm and Crocketford Bypasses on the A75; notes that investment in safely operating and maintaining the trunk road network will increase from over £525 million in 2023-24 to over £683 million in 2024-25, which is an increase of over 30%; further notes the ongoing commitment to Scotland's 2030 road safety targets, with a record £36 million earmarked for investment, including £10 million for the local road network through the Road Safety Improvement Fund; agrees that the funding in the UK Spring Budget falls far short of what Scotland needs to deliver improvements to Scotland’s infrastructure, and will result in a reduction in real terms of the Scottish block grant for capital of 8.7% by 2027-28, and calls on the incoming UK administration to bring forward an emergency budget to address this hole in Scotland’s capital budget of over £1.3 billion." Alex Rowley S6M-13480.2 As an amendment to motion S6M-13480 in the name of Graham Simpson (Improving Scotland’s Roads), insert at end "; further calls on the Scottish Government to confirm when the Bus Partnership Fund will be reinstated following the decision to pause this crucial infrastructure investment, and calls for a clear delivery plan for active travel, bus, ferry and rail infrastructure projects, with clear actions to reverse the decline in public transport, which has seen significant cuts to both rail and bus services in Scotland."