Meeting of the Parliament 16 January 2025
Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer.
There were a number of points in Fergus Ewing’s intervention. As he will know, because he has attended the briefings that I have provided on the A9 project, the work on the sections will not happen one by one. The whole point is that work will happen concurrently across the A9. Work will happen on the south of the A9 at the same time as work on the north of the A9, and the processes for them will happen simultaneously. That is why trying to reorder the current scheduling would have an impact. There would be a danger of concurrent issues that would affect both price and certainty of delivery. Certainty is something that the committee was very keen on.
I believe that the Transport Scotland report demonstrates that the plan that was established and published in December 2023 is robust and represents a practical way to undertake this large programme of works in the years ahead. We remain fully focused on and committed to delivering dualling of 50 per cent of the A9 between Perth and Inverness by the end of 2030, 85 per cent by the end of 2033 and 100 per cent by the end of 2035.
As I noted in my response to the committee, the Government considers that many of the committee’s conclusions and recommendations in its inquiry report relate to two main themes: transparency and certainty. I hope that the various activities that I have outlined in my response demonstrate the action that we are taking on those themes. I am wholly committed to progressing the programme and to listening to Parliament, local residents and businesses, and keeping them informed and engaged. We have regular meetings and publish newsletters and there is a new A9 dualling website.
I also noted the committee’s recommendation regarding the establishment of a new parliamentary committee. The Government is clear that that is a matter for Parliament to determine. The Government will, of course, direct its reporting to the appropriate committee, which is currently the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee. The first of the six-monthly update reports to that committee was issued on 21 November 2024, and I have written to it on six other occasions with updates.
It is essential that there is a sound evidence base for decision making on the use of mutual investment model contracts for the contracts to be procured, in line with the requirements of the Scottish public finance manual and the Treasury green book. The work on that, which has already started, involves updating cost estimates, undertaking further market consultation with contractors and financial investors, updating the outline business case for the programme and undertaking the necessary assurance reviews of that work. There is continuous engagement with contractors, as members might appreciate.
Once those activities have been completed, ministers will be in a position to determine whether the current delivery plan intention to procure two MIM contracts will be confirmed. The Government will then ask to make a statement to Parliament to set out the conclusion of the further decision-making processes. I want to be very clear to Parliament about the Government’s position on that work. If a decision is taken not to make use of MIM contracts on the A9 dualling programme, we will implement an alternative approach such as use of capital-funded design and build contracts, and there is a Cabinet decision to prioritise the completion of the A9 dualling programme within Scottish Government budgets.