1. To ask the Scottish Government what its policy is for the maintenance and rebuilding of road infrastructure. (S6O-02974)

The Scottish Government is committed to maintaining and safely operating our transport assets, as set out in the national transport strategy. Our motorway and trunk road network is continually inspected, and the information is used to inform investment decisions.

Investment in safely operating and maintaining the network will increase from more than £510 million this year to more than £668 million in 2024-25, which is an increase of 31 per cent. That will be focused on the highest-priority safety-critical maintenance, as well as on supporting our wider commitments on road safety, air quality, climate change adaptation and resilience to severe weather events.

Given the fact that spending on roads has reduced from £502 million to £26 million in eight years—that is a reduction of 4,000 per cent—is it not time for the Scottish Government to be honest and to tell the people of Scotland that it does not really care one jot about roads and that it thinks that car use is somehow malevolent? That is certainly what the Scottish Green Party, which seems to be in charge of the Government, thinks. How else would the minister explain those catastrophic reductions in spending on roads? Will the Scottish National Party-Green Government ever commit to properly funding road infrastructure?

I would explain Stephen Kerr’s comments by pointing to the failure of the Conservative Party to even barely do its homework. He should read the budget and the budget statement, and he should have listened to my answer. There has been a 31 per cent increase in road maintenance investment.

I think that Stephen Kerr might have been referring to a press release from the Scottish Conservatives that was about major developments, not major road infrastructure, which he asked about. They omitted £450 million for the work on the A9 that must happen. The cabinet secretary came to the chamber and announced that. If members of the Conservative Party cannot even get a basic understanding of the difference between the budget for road maintenance, which is up by 31 per cent, and the budget for road project development, they really have to get back to studying and doing their homework before they come to the chamber.

I welcome what I read on page 62 of the budget document, which is a 41 per cent increase on trunk road critical safety, maintenance and infrastructure spend to £524.7 million.

Mr Kerr previously blustered that the budget is about priorities. Has he indicated to the minister where he or any other Tory MSP would deprioritise expenditure in order to fund the Tories’ myriad demands for additional spending? Is the minister astonished that Mr Kerr, who clearly needs to go back to school, is not aware that we cannot reduce any figure by more than 100 per cent? Therefore, a 4,000 per cent decrease does not exist mathematically.

The

Parliament is very lucky to have a talented and able convener of the Finance and Public Administration Committee who can work his way through the budget document.

The Conservative Party and Mr Kerr do not put forward proposals on what they would deprioritise to fund their myriad demands for additional expenditure. Kenneth Gibson is quite right to identify the increase in critical safety, maintenance and infrastructure spending on the trunk road network. That element has increased by 41 per cent because we must—and this Government always will—keep our roads safe.