Chamber
Plenary, 07 Feb 2002
07 Feb 2002 · S1 · Plenary
Item of business
Scotland's Road Network
I am glad that Kenny MacAskill has found time in his schedule of tireless campaigning to come and join us in Parliament and spend time doing what the taxpayers pay him for. It is a pity that, having begun with Shakespeare, he decided to play it for laughs and showed his complete ignorance of developments in trunk roads maintenance over the past 12 months.
It is also a pity that he did not take a little more time to produce a clear and coherent motion for debate. However, with a little work, I have been able to disentangle the mesh of accusations and allegations and work out that Mr MacAskill is putting five basic propositions before us. Perhaps the most serious is his accusation, ventilated only at the end of his speech, that BEAR and Amey are somehow putting in jeopardy the safety of road users and causing danger to travellers. That is not an accusation that should be made lightly. Of course our roads can be dangerous places, and of course there are extra risks in travelling in severe winter weather—those are facts. However, Mr MacAskill's claim that those dangers have increased as a result of the award of the trunk road maintenance contracts is one that he ought to be able to measure against the evidence.
Let us be clear that the terms of those contracts are in all essential respects identical to those that went before. There is an overriding obligation on the trunk road operating companies—and on councils, which maintain local roads—to ensure the safety of travellers. We expect the operating companies to work with local councils and the police to ensure road safety and we will act vigorously on any evidence of failure to do that or to meet contractual standards.
It is also a pity that he did not take a little more time to produce a clear and coherent motion for debate. However, with a little work, I have been able to disentangle the mesh of accusations and allegations and work out that Mr MacAskill is putting five basic propositions before us. Perhaps the most serious is his accusation, ventilated only at the end of his speech, that BEAR and Amey are somehow putting in jeopardy the safety of road users and causing danger to travellers. That is not an accusation that should be made lightly. Of course our roads can be dangerous places, and of course there are extra risks in travelling in severe winter weather—those are facts. However, Mr MacAskill's claim that those dangers have increased as a result of the award of the trunk road maintenance contracts is one that he ought to be able to measure against the evidence.
Let us be clear that the terms of those contracts are in all essential respects identical to those that went before. There is an overriding obligation on the trunk road operating companies—and on councils, which maintain local roads—to ensure the safety of travellers. We expect the operating companies to work with local councils and the police to ensure road safety and we will act vigorously on any evidence of failure to do that or to meet contractual standards.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Mr George Reid):
SNP
The first item of business is a Scottish National Party debate on motion S1M-2703, in the name of Kenny MacAskill, on Scotland's road network, and two amendm...
Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP):
SNP
I start by quoting briefly from Shakespeare: "Now is the winter of our discontent"—not, I should add,"Made glorious summer by this sun of York"but made a sha...
George Lyon (Argyll and Bute) (LD):
LD
Will Mr MacAskill take an intervention?
Mr MacAskill:
SNP
Not at the moment.Elected representatives have had the opportunity in previous debates to register their vote against the folly of splitting up and hiving of...
George Lyon:
LD
Is it the policy of the SNP to tear up the contract and return to the status quo?
Mr MacAskill:
SNP
If Mr Lyon would listen to my speech, he will hear my suggestions. We should never have got into this situation in the first place. The Executive sold out th...
The Deputy Minister for Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning (Lewis Macdonald):
Lab
I am glad that Kenny MacAskill has found time in his schedule of tireless campaigning to come and join us in Parliament and spend time doing what the taxpaye...
Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP):
SNP
Does the minister recall an occasion, when the councils were responsible for road maintenance, on which sandbags were used to fill gullies as a temporary rem...
Lewis Macdonald:
Lab
I recall many things that have happened during the years that I have lived in the north-east of Scotland. I assure Mrs Ewing that every fault that is identif...
Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP):
SNP
The minister's local council, Aberdeen City Council, wrote to me expressing concern"about the obvious lack of resources that have been attributed to the trun...
Lewis Macdonald:
Lab
No, I do not. Councils may have concerns and complaints, but those—such as Aberdeen City Council and Highland Council—that see a future for themselves in roa...
Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP):
SNP
Will the minister accept an intervention?
Lewis Macdonald:
Lab
Not at the moment. I am aware that I do not have much time left. I do not want to waste too much time on Mr MacAskill's claim that ministers ignored warnings...
Mr John Home Robertson (East Lothian) (Lab):
Lab
Will the minister give way?
Lewis Macdonald:
Lab
No, I will not. I am in my last few moments. The performance audit group audits the companies' records and procedures, deploys its own field engineers to che...
Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP):
SNP
Will the minister give way?
Lewis Macdonald:
Lab
No. I am aware that I am in my final moments.We have imposed those penalties a number of times, and we will do so again whenever the terms of the contract ar...
David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con):
Con
If Kenny MacAskill wants to quote Shakespeare, he should take some advice from the late Sir John Gielgud, who said, "Less is more." Yet again, an SNP-inspire...
Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP):
SNP
Does David Mundell accept that the local problems to which he referred might be the result of the 18 years of underinvestment in which his party indulged dur...
David Mundell:
Con
As ever, that intervention was about the past and did not propose a positive solution, which is what I am about to do.Members who raise with ministers concer...
Mrs Margaret Ewing:
SNP
Will the member give way?
David Mundell:
Con
I must move the amendment, which unfortunately brings me to the end of my speech.I move amendment S1M-2703.2, to leave out from first "notes" to end and inse...
Nora Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD):
LD
There is no doubt that during the recent spells of wintry weather Scotland's road network was dangerous and that individuals and businesses were, at least, i...
Mr MacAskill:
SNP
Nora Radcliffe's colleague Jamie Stone said in a previous debate on the matter:"this process is tragic for rural areas … It means rural job losses"and"Worse ...
Nora Radcliffe:
LD
I agree that he was right to have those apprehensions, but the reality has not been as it might have been. We must start from the present position and move f...
Bruce Crawford:
SNP
Is the minister—sorry, the member, although perhaps she should be a minister—aware that the Clyde Solway Consortium, which was formerly the south-west unit, ...
Nora Radcliffe:
LD
The simple answer is no.There were difficulties in my area when irresponsible drivers ignored "road closed" signs. Did that hamper the road-clearing effort? ...
Mrs Margaret Ewing:
SNP
Is the member aware that the equipment that BEAR was instructed to use was not sufficient for the Glens of Foudland and that drivers were told to keep the pl...
Nora Radcliffe:
LD
That was the result of inexperience. As I say, the experience that has been gained and local advice means that that will not be repeated. Both my constituenc...
The Deputy Presiding Officer:
SNP
We move now to open debate. Speeches will be of four minutes plus time for interventions.