I am almost surprised at the brevity of the responses given to members asking questions on the toll regime—

Just ask your question, please.

To elicit a more detailed response, I will do so.

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of total Skye bridge toll income goes towards (a) repayment of debt; (b) interest charges on the capital cost of the project; (c) annual maintenance costs; (d) toll collection costs; (e) administration; and (f) profit. (S1O-2379)

The information requested relates to the concessionaire's private financial arrangements and is therefore not readily available. However, those figures can be calculated, in the main, by examining Skye Bridge Ltd's annual directors report and financial statements, which are publicly available at Companies House.

That was, again, a brief response. The minister will be aware that this weekend marks the fifth anniversary of the toll regime on the Skye bridge. Will she explain to the Parliament how a bridge that was originally estimated to cost less than £25 million will cost the bridge users and the Scottish Executive a minimum of £128 million by the end of the toll concession period?

I will certainly not answer for the decisions taken or the contracts signed to start the bridge off, which happened before the Labour Government was elected in 1997 and before this Parliament was established.

The Executive has fulfilled its commitment to freeze the tolls on the Skye bridge. We have never said that we would buy out the contract, which would involve a major amount of money. As we know from the DTZ Pieda Consulting report, which is available in the Scottish Parliament information centre, the benefits of our commitment to freeze the tolls and to ensure that people have cheaper access to the bridge are now being delivered and are being welcomed.

In view of the fact that the Executive has frozen the tolls, is it not time to stop date-stamping the books of concessionary tickets?

I am happy to say that we are currently considering that matter. I will report back to the Parliament when we have taken a decision on it.

If the minister is unable to tell us the percentage of the bridge income that goes on debt repayment, can she now tell us the total outstanding debt on the Skye bridge project, a question that was asked as far back as October 1999? Will she also comment on the National Audit Office report? It said:

"But we note the contract does not guarantee either that the bridge will be toll-free within the Department's 20 year target period, or that tolls will remain lower than their target level".

Is that acceptable? Exactly when will the Skye bridge be free of tolls?

The concessionaire indicated in its 1997 report that it expects the concession to end by 2013. The actual date depends on future traffic levels. I repeat that we have delivered a freeze on tolls, which means that the toll does not rise every year and impact on local communities. That is a delivered commitment, which this Parliament should welcome.