Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 06 November 2013
06 Nov 2013 · S4 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Glasgow Airport Rail Link
It is more than four years since John Swinney came to Parliament to explain the reasons why we cancelled the GARL project. That was the right decision then and it is the right decision now, yet here we are again going over the same old ground with the Labour Party.
We knew that the costs associated with the cancellation would be around £30 million—we made that clear to Parliament at the time. However, we had to balance that cost against the £176 million in savings from not going ahead with the project. Let us not forget that the project was one in which the costs and risks had been massively underestimated by SPT, the original promoter.
I have just heard in the background a comment on the trams. I wonder what the people of Edinburgh would say if we could go back in time and not spend £776 million on that project.
Labour’s motion conveniently ignores the fact that, in the intervening four years, there has been a massive investment in the rail network that serves Glasgow, Paisley and Inverclyde. More than £660 million has been provided, with £230 million being spent on upgrades to the track and the stations and new platforms at Glasgow Central, and £430 million being committed over 16 years to the new fleet of class 380 electric trains, which are now running. That underlines our focus on delivery for the people of the west of Scotland, and our determination to prioritise the right investments and not to flinch from taking hard decisions to drop projects that simply do not deliver value.
I turn to the context in which the decision to cancel GARL was made. It was taken in a period when maintaining capital expenditure was vital to Scotland’s economy. Action was required to ensure that the impacts of the exceptional cuts that Westminster had imposed were kept to a minimum. We can all remember the words that the Chief Secretary to the Treasury wrote as Labour departed from office in 2010:
“There is no money left.”
In those circumstances, we faced some extremely tough decisions. The cuts had started well before that, when Labour drove the economy into a ditch.
This Government was prepared to take the resulting difficult decisions. A contributing factor in our decision to cancel GARL was the fact that the costs associated with accommodation work within the campus of Glasgow Airport Ltd were escalating. Let us look at some of the facts. Work by Transport Scotland in the first half of 2009 identified a fourfold increase in the scope and capital compensation costs that we had inherited from SPT.
We knew that the costs associated with the cancellation would be around £30 million—we made that clear to Parliament at the time. However, we had to balance that cost against the £176 million in savings from not going ahead with the project. Let us not forget that the project was one in which the costs and risks had been massively underestimated by SPT, the original promoter.
I have just heard in the background a comment on the trams. I wonder what the people of Edinburgh would say if we could go back in time and not spend £776 million on that project.
Labour’s motion conveniently ignores the fact that, in the intervening four years, there has been a massive investment in the rail network that serves Glasgow, Paisley and Inverclyde. More than £660 million has been provided, with £230 million being spent on upgrades to the track and the stations and new platforms at Glasgow Central, and £430 million being committed over 16 years to the new fleet of class 380 electric trains, which are now running. That underlines our focus on delivery for the people of the west of Scotland, and our determination to prioritise the right investments and not to flinch from taking hard decisions to drop projects that simply do not deliver value.
I turn to the context in which the decision to cancel GARL was made. It was taken in a period when maintaining capital expenditure was vital to Scotland’s economy. Action was required to ensure that the impacts of the exceptional cuts that Westminster had imposed were kept to a minimum. We can all remember the words that the Chief Secretary to the Treasury wrote as Labour departed from office in 2010:
“There is no money left.”
In those circumstances, we faced some extremely tough decisions. The cuts had started well before that, when Labour drove the economy into a ditch.
This Government was prepared to take the resulting difficult decisions. A contributing factor in our decision to cancel GARL was the fact that the costs associated with accommodation work within the campus of Glasgow Airport Ltd were escalating. Let us look at some of the facts. Work by Transport Scotland in the first half of 2009 identified a fourfold increase in the scope and capital compensation costs that we had inherited from SPT.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (John Scott)
Con
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James Kelly (Rutherglen) (Lab)
Lab
I welcome the opportunity to open the debate on behalf of the Scottish Labour Party and to move the motion in my name.This is an important debate because it ...
Stewart Stevenson (Banffshire and Buchan Coast) (SNP)
SNP
Money has been saved.
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Con
Mr Stevenson.
James Kelly
Lab
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Annabelle Ewing (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP)
SNP
Will the member take an intervention?
James Kelly
Lab
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Annabelle Ewing
SNP
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James Kelly
Lab
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Stewart Stevenson
SNP
Will the member take an intervention?
James Kelly
Lab
I am sorry, but I am running out of time.Next year, the people who arrive for the Commonwealth games will do so at an airport with no rail link. However, sim...
The Minister for Transport and Veterans (Keith Brown)
SNP
It is more than four years since John Swinney came to Parliament to explain the reasons why we cancelled the GARL project. That was the right decision then a...
James Kelly
Lab
Will the minister take an intervention?
Keith Brown
SNP
In a second.In January 2007, SPT estimated that work in the airport campus would cost £7.8 million. In May 2008, when the project was handed over from SPT to...
James Kelly
Lab
The minister mentioned Transport Scotland. Was he aware that, earlier this year, Transport Scotland participated in an airport study group that was looking a...
Keith Brown
SNP
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Drew Smith (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lab
Will the minister give way?
Keith Brown
SNP
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James Kelly
Lab
Will the minister give way?
Keith Brown
SNP
No, I have already taken an intervention. I have less time than the member had.
Jackson Carlaw (West Scotland) (Con)
Con
Will the minister take an intervention?
Keith Brown
SNP
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Neil Findlay (Lothian) (Lab)
Lab
Will the minister give way?
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Con
The minister is in his last minute.
Keith Brown
SNP
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The Deputy Presiding Officer
Con
You must close now, minister.
Keith Brown
SNP
The Government is not afraid to make difficult decisions when it has to and, once we have made a decision, we move on from it. Our focus is to prioritise inv...
Alex Johnstone (North East Scotland) (Con)
Con
I have no particular desire to become involved in this unsightly spat between the Labour Party and the SNP. However, as the opportunity to speak in the debat...
Elaine Murray (Dumfriesshire) (Lab)
Lab
Will the member give way?
Alex Johnstone
Con
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