Hansard

I welcome the opportunity to provide an update to Parliament on the A9 dualling programme.

The A9 cuts through the heart of Scotland—some call it the spine of Scotland—linking lowland with highland. It is a vital route for the people and businesses of the north of the country and it is a road on which we have witnessed a devastating increase in fatalities in recent times.

Before Christmas, I committed additional investment of £5 million from the Government to improve short-term safety measures on the A9, but I am very clear that the main route to improving road safety will be in the full completion of the dualling programme between Perth and Inverness. That has been a long-standing commitment of this Government, and we remain absolutely committed to fulfilling it.

I recognise the significant public and parliamentary interest in the progress of the route, championed by organisations such as the A9 dual action group, representatives of which I met very recently, and by members of the Parliament, whom I have met on a number of occasions in recent times to discuss the A9.

As MSPs will know, we have recently been actively progressing the procurement of the next section of the programme, between Tomatin and Moy. That process has now concluded, and I take the opportunity today to advise members of the outcome and to provide an update on the remaining sections of the programme.

Before I turn to those matters, it might be helpful to reflect on both the scale of the programme and the progress that has been made thus far. The programme comprises 11 projects, which together will provide approximately 80 miles of new dual carriageway between Perth and Inverness. With an estimated cost of £3 billion at 2008 prices, it is one of the largest infrastructure programmes ever undertaken in Scotland.

Two of the 11 projects, providing more than 10 miles of new dual carriageway, are complete and open to use. Those are the Kincraig to Dalraddy and Luncarty to Pass of Birnam sections, which opened in September 2017 and August 2021 respectively.

Ministerial decisions to complete the statutory process have been confirmed for eight of the nine remaining projects. That covers more than 92 per cent of the length to be dualled. For the one remaining section, we are continuing to progress the Pass of Birnam to Tay crossing project and to identify a preferred route option following an innovative co-creative process with the local community. An announcement on the preferred route there will be made this spring.

Our investment of more than £430 million to date has meant that much has already been achieved. All of that has been done alongside the successful delivery of a number of other significant investments by the Government, including the Queensferry crossing, the Aberdeen western peripheral route and the M8 motorway improvements, delivering tangible benefits to lives across the country on a daily basis. Although much is still to be done, this Government is absolutely committed to completing the A9 dualling programme.

Separately, as was previously mentioned, in recognition of the immediate road safety concerns following fatal accidents that occurred on the route in the second half of 2022, I announced an investment of approximately £5 million in additional road safety measures for the A9 back in December. I am pleased to confirm that those safety measures have now commenced and are progressing well, as was confirmed to me by Bear Scotland at the A9 safety group meeting that was held last week in Inverness.

That work includes enhancements to signing and road markings, initially between Birnam and Dalguise, and the installation of electronic signs to display safety messages between Perth and Inverness. Furthermore, a road safety campaign targeting driver fatigue will begin next week, on 13 February, and preparations for a “drive on the left” campaign are well under way ahead of a launch this Easter. Next month, I will convene a stakeholder summit with the car hire companies that serve our main airports, to discuss further work that we can undertake with the sector to improve foreign drivers’ understanding of the A9.

My sympathies continue to be with everyone who has lost a loved one on Scotland’s roads. One life lost on any of Scotland’s roads is, of course, one too many. As a Government, it was imperative that we responded to the devastating increase in fatalities on the A9, and I am hopeful that those more immediate measures will help to support a reduction in road traffic accidents.

On the outcome of the procurement of the Tomatin to Moy project, three bidders were invited to participate in a procurement exercise back in December 2021, with final tenders required to be submitted by October of last year. That coincided with external factors including the pandemic, disruption caused by Brexit, and the war in Ukraine. The inflationary impacts of all of those factors impacted significantly on the construction market.

Unfortunately, the final return yielded only one tender submission. The anticipated cost of the construction contract was £115 million. Following careful consideration of the tender, the price of which was significantly higher than expected, even allowing for the real-world impacts of the volatile economy, ministers have concluded that an award of the contract at this time would not represent best value for the taxpayer. At any time, but particularly in the current climate, protecting public finances is an essential part of responsible government.

Members will appreciate that, due to commercial confidentiality, it would be inappropriate for me to provide any further details of that bid, but I make clear our firm intention to retender for Tomatin to Moy at pace and with some urgency. I can confirm that the tenderer concerned has been informed of the decision in respect of the procurement.

I fully appreciate that this will be disappointing news for many people. However, I want to make it absolutely clear to members in the chamber, and to the communities and businesses served by the A9 between Perth and Inverness, that the Scottish Government’s commitment to dualling the section between Tomatin and Moy remains absolute.

It has been a difficult decision to make, but we believe that it is the only responsible one to take, given the circumstances. I reassure members that Transport Scotland is already taking the necessary preparatory steps for the retendering of the Tomatin to Moy project. Work has begun to update the contract terms, and work will continue on preparations for the new procurement for Tomatin to Moy with the firm aim of achieving a contract award before the end of this year.

At the end of last year, I invited members of the Scottish Parliament to meet Transport Scotland and wider stakeholders to discuss the range of short-term proposals for investment in the A9, specifically in relation to the increase in fatalities that we have seen on the route in recent times. To that end, and in a similar spirit, I propose that, soon after the retendering process commences, I will convene a meeting with interested MSPs, Transport Scotland and relevant stakeholders to discuss the next steps. MSPs should have a letter from me this afternoon about that.

It is imperative that MSPs are engaged in that work, and I recognise the rightful strength of constituency interest in that regard. As part of the retendering process, Transport Scotland will engage with representatives of the construction industry, including the Civil Engineering Contractors Association, on how elements of its standard terms and conditions for such projects might be modified to encourage more bidders to participate in future. We also need to recognise, however, that the construction market has changed substantially in recent years. We very much want to work with the supply chain while securing a good deal for the Scottish taxpayer.

Undoubtedly, the delivery of the overall A9 dualling programme has been impacted by a number of external factors. Although good progress has been made in securing the statutory consents, as for many other construction projects across the world, progress has been significantly disrupted by the pandemic. In addition, I do not need to remind members that the United Kingdom economic climate has been extremely volatile in recent times, particularly in the immediate aftermath of the UK Government’s mini-budget in September 2022.

Members will also be aware that Transport Scotland has been assessing the most suitable procurement options for the remaining sections of the A9 dualling programme. Following the principles of the Scottish public finance manual, that work has included consideration of whether procurement should be on the basis of a series of capital-funded design and build contracts similar to those used for the recently completed Luncarty to Pass of Birnam project or whether a smaller number of larger-scale, resource-funded public-private partnership contracts similar to those used on the Aberdeen western peripheral route should be used instead.

Due to the recent economic volatility, including the impact on borrowing costs of the UK Government’s mini-budget, it has been necessary to look at the impact of market changes on the available procurement options. In the light of the outcome of the Tomatin to Moy procurement process, that assessment must now consider the potential cost implications of any changes to the terms and conditions in our roads contracts.

Members will know that the original completion date for the dualling of the A9 was scheduled to be 2025. As MSPs will now understand, that timescale is simply no longer achievable. However, I will set out a revised timescale as soon as possible, seeking to minimise delay as far as possible. It is true that the target date that was originally set was always an ambitious challenge. It was also reliant on the timely and positive outcome of a range of factors such as the completion of public and stakeholder consultation, statutory approval processes, market capacity, supply chain availability and the availability of funding—all of which have been significantly impacted by the events that I outlined earlier. That has made the 2025 deadline simply unachievable.

I appreciate that members will want to know what the new target date for the completion of the A9 dualling programme might be, as do I. As I previously stated, Transport Scotland is urgently considering a range of different options, to provide ministers with advice on the most efficient way to dual the remaining sections. I expect to have that advice by the autumn of this year, at which time I will update Parliament and put forward a renewed timescale for completion.

I reiterate the Government’s unwavering commitment to delivering the benefits of the completed A9 dualling programme to the people of Scotland. We will support that commitment by continuing the work to obtain the outstanding statutory consent for the Pass of Birnam to Tay crossing project and by completing the required land acquisition as soon as possible. We will also urgently engage with industry partners, working together to progress the Tomatin to Moy project in a way that offers a good deal for Scottish taxpayers.

The Government committed to dualling the A9 for a good reason. Dualling of the route will improve connectivity between the central belt and the Highlands of Scotland, deliver better opportunities for tourism and business and fundamentally improve road safety on the A9, as well as the lives of people who live in communities alongside the route. The Scottish Government’s resolute commitment to full dualling of the A9 remains absolute. I look forward to continued engagement with members as we refocus our efforts to deliver the outstanding sections of the road in as timely and efficient a manner as possible.