To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in developing an effective, modern, 21st century public transport system for Edinburgh.

We have already part-funded the work of the City of Edinburgh Council in developing its Integrated Transport Initiative and committed £15 million for the development work on three tram-lines. We are now able to guarantee the availability of £375 million of central Government funding which the preliminary business case for the Integrated Transport Initiative requires.

Our commitment ensures that funding for at least the first tram-line will be available as soon as the council produces a robust final business case. That support is not conditional on the introduction of congestion charging, which the council is considering in order to reduce traffic levels in and around the city.