To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to reported concerns that the United Kingdom Labour Administration has not affirmed the commitment, which was signed in March 2021 by the UK and Scottish Governments under the Borderlands growth deal, to allocate £5 million towards a feasibility study to extend the Borders railway to Carlisle. (S6F-03457)

We recognise that extending the Borders railway to Carlisle is a regional priority. The Borderlands deal includes a commitment of up to £5 million each from the United Kingdom and Scottish Governments to develop a shared understanding of the benefits and challenges of extending the line. We recently advised Scottish Borders Council that we are content with its proposal to recruit a project manager to lead that work. The release of our funding is, however, contingent on the UK Government approving its share of project costs, as the growth deal is a partnership programme and the project will deliver a cross-border assessment.

I encourage UK Government ministers to reaffirm their commitment as soon as possible.

I note that the position is that the incoming Labour Government has apparently not reaffirmed its 50 per cent share of funding. Thankfully, Scottish Borders Council has agreed to progress with the appointment of a senior project manager to lead the delivery of the business case and feasibility work for the extension of the very successful Borders railway beyond Tweedbank to Carlisle, using the 50 per cent funding commitment that was announced by the Scottish Government in June this year—I note the caveat that the First Minister gave in that regard—in advance of receiving full approval to proceed from the UK Government.

Is it not of concern that Labour may be short changing Scotland in this very modest investment, which could have a positive impact on communities, particularly across Midlothian and the Borders?

Christine Grahame puts a case to me in relation to the Borders, but I am aware of a number of cases in which questions have been raised and pauses announced around funding that we and local partnerships believed had been agreed under the city and growth deals that were negotiated in the past. Those funds are being paused essentially for review during the spending review period. I understand, from the information that has been made available to me, that some of that will not be clarified in the budget at the end of October but may have to wait for the spending review that comes in the spring. Obviously, that causes a significant delay to some of the projects that we would ideally wish to take forward and which communities are expecting.

I assure Christine Grahame that those issues are the subject of active discussion and dialogue with the UK Government, and we will continue to engage in that.

I thank Christine Grahame for bringing up this important issue. Thankfully, passenger numbers on the Tweedbank line have returned to pre-pandemic levels, but people in Hawick and Newcastleton feel left out by the issues with the connectivity to their areas.

The Conservative Government pioneered the Borderlands growth deal, which we all welcomed. When does the First Minister plan to meet the Labour minister, Lord Hendy, to discuss that very important issue and to reiterate the benefits of the Borderlands growth deal and the extension to Carlisle?

I am glad to hear the enthusiasm of Rachael Hamilton and the Conservatives for the Borders railway, because I have been around here for so long that I remember that that was not always the case when the proposal was going through the Parliament. However, we will all move on.

I am delighted that the Conservatives value the Borders railway. I think that it is super and that the level of passenger numbers that has been achieved is tremendous. I know that there is quite often quite a lot of congestion on the Borders railway, and we are doing our best to address that. The Cabinet Secretary for Transport takes forward all those issues with her counterparts in the UK Government. She was actively involved in discussions on those questions just last week with the UK Government, and that approach will be maintained.

The Borders railway was, of course, the longest new railway to be built in the UK for more than 100 years.

On cross-border rail travel, will the First Minister acknowledge the recent announcement this week that the Labour Government is looking to extend HS2 into London but has no plans to do what was originally intended and bring it into Scotland, even though the project has cost billions of pounds more than it was meant to cost, and may cost more than £100 billion? The wastage is enormous, and yet there is no commitment to Scotland. Will the First Minister raise that with the UK Government?

I am interested—

First Minister, if I may. It is important that supplementary questions refer to the substantive question in the Business Bulletin . Therefore, we will move to constituency and general supplementary questions.