To ask the Scottish Government how much it spent in 2023-24 on safety improvements to trunk roads in the North East Scotland region. (S6O-03469)

Transport Scotland does not record information by local authority or parliamentary regions. It records using four operating company units, for the north-west, north-east, south-west and south-east. Transport Scotland has spent £18.6 million on structural maintenance schemes in the north-east unit in the past 12 months. Some £2.7 million was spent on construction of casualty-reduction safety improvements to trunk roads in the north-east operating company unit in 2023-24.

One of the best ways to improve safety would be to dual the A96, as promised by the Scottish National Party in 2011. However, now we need a review, seemingly. In November 2022, Jenny Gilruth told us that the corridor review would be out at the end of the year. In June 2023, she said that the review would be out in the summer. In November 2023, Shona Robison said that the review would be out at the end of the year. In February 2024, the Cabinet secretary told us that the review would be out in the coming months. In April, the cabinet secretary told us that the review would be out in the coming months. This is now embarrassing and insulting to the people of the north-east. Can the cabinet secretary tell us whether there will be any construction on the project before 2026?

There are clearly different aspects to the A96. Progress has been made on the Inverness to Nairn route and the dualling of that section. I will be reporting on that to Parliament, as I have been doing regularly.

In relation to the review, I can understand the frustration. Some of us in Government would also like to see that review published sooner rather than later. We might be restricted as to what we can do, depending on what current rules dictate over the next few weeks and months. It will be important to share all the information that is in the review, whether good, bad or indifferent, depending on people’s point of view.

Clearly, the Scottish Government’s commitment has been and is to dual the A96. We are making progress on those improvements that we can make, particularly on the points of the A96 that I have just referred to.

I have received a request from Clare Haughey to ask a supplementary. I am happy to take it, but I remind the member that the question concerns spend on safety improvements to trunk roads in the North East Scotland region.

Will the Cabinet secretary set out some of the impacts to Scotland’s trunk roads, including in the north-east, of the budget cuts that Mr Lumsden’s party has imposed on Scotland?

When responding, Cabinet secretary, please deal with the bit of the question that relates to the North East Scotland region trunk roads.

North East Scotland region trunk roads rely on investment—particularly, capital investment—from the Scottish Government. The issue that the Scottish Government is facing is that, because of the United Kingdom Conservative Government’s mismanagement of the economy, there has been a reduction of almost 9 per cent to our capital budget, which has consequences.

The issues of infrastructure inflation and availability of spend for capital investment clearly cause difficulties. That is why it is quite remarkable that, even within those constraints, I have managed to ensure, as Cabinet secretary, that the much-needed asset investment in our trunk roads has been not just maintained but increased. However, I do not think that the Conservatives can criticise when there is not enough capital for our budgets, whether it is on north-east trunk roads, the rest of the trunk road network or other infrastructure projects.