Scottish Economy

Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at 11:32 am on 26 March 2003.

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Photo of Bristow Muldoon Bristow Muldoon Labour 11:32, 26 March 2003

Not at the moment, thank you. I have only five minutes.

The SNP needs to explain what cuts it would make to public services and what higher taxes it would impose to pay for the costs of independence.

I have addressed the two Opposition parties and I now wish to concentrate on one area where the Parliament can have a major impact on our economic prospects, which is transport. On "Good Morning Scotland" this morning, I heard John Downie of the Federation of Small Businesses in Scotland talking about the FSB's manifesto launch. When he was talking about issues that he believed the Parliament should be addressing, the first item that he mentioned was investment in transport infrastructure. That backs up evidence that the Scottish Council for Development and Industry gave to the Transport and the Environment Committee last year, when it identified transport as one of the key issues in surveys of its members. The business sector recognises transport as an important contributor to the Scottish growth rate.

On the actions that we have taken, I will concentrate on the key drivers of the Scottish economy—the city regions around Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen. I apologise to the Highlands and Islands, because I will not have time to talk about that area in detail in the limited time that I have.

In Edinburgh and the Lothians, we have had the introduction of the cross-rail project. We have seen the successful introduction of park-and-ride projects, including the Ferrytoll project. This year, we will see enhanced rail capacity in Fife and West Lothian. We have dedicated resources to invest in the tram network and links to our airports.

In Glasgow and the west, we have been completing several key parts of our motorway network, including the M8 and the M74, and we are committed to a rail link to Glasgow airport. Extra resources are being provided for Strathclyde Passenger Transport. Moreover, new rail lines, such as the Larkhall to Milngavie link, and extra capacity on the East Kilbride line are forthcoming.

In Aberdeen, the Executive has given a commitment on the peripheral bypass road and has given development funding to the cross-rail project. Scotland-wide, we have made a commitment to £3 billion of transport investment over the next 10 years. As the minister said, under the Executive's plans, £1 billion a year will be spent on transport by 2006.

The economy must be central to the political debate in Scotland over the next five years and transport is an important aspect of that debate. The Executive and the Labour party, in the election campaign, will recognise that. My appeal to the other parties is that, if they are going to engage maturely in the economic debate, they should be honest about the cost of their plans.