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Local Government and Transport Committee, 01 Nov 2005

01 Nov 2005 · S2 · Local Government and Transport Committee

Item of business

Budget Process 2006-07

Scott, Tavish LD Shetland Watch on SPTV

It is a delight to be here this afternoon to consider the transport elements of the draft budget for 2006-07. I have some brief comments to make, which I hope will be of assistance to the committee in its assessment of the transport portfolio.The draft budget document for 2006-07 has been presented with some minor changes. The rationale behind most of those changes has been to highlight the key programme spending plans that will become the responsibility of the new transport agency. We have sought to provide as much clarity around that as we can. We have also taken into consideration some of the recommendations that the committee noted when the then Minister for Transport appeared before the committee to discuss stage 2 of last year's draft budget. Efficient government savings have been identified in the transport portfolio, and my team has been working with delivery partners to ensure that those savings are realised and delivered during the 2004 spending review period.The spending review process will enable us to look forward to future years of spending and to focus on priorities and key spending areas in transport. In simplistic terms, I want to ensure that I get everything that I can from the use of public money. Therefore, our priorities for delivery during the 2006-07 financial year are as follows. We wish to invest to maintain the momentum of our 10-year transport investment plan and our commitment to spend around £3 billion on transport capital infrastructure projects and service improvements over that period. As you know, I will also complete a review of transport capital projects in the next few weeks.We wish to maintain and improve Scotland's existing rail and trunk road networks. We wish to invest in public transport service improvements by, for example, promoting integrated ticketing, delivering a better deal for rail passengers in the new franchise and introducing a new bus route development fund—all better outputs for passengers across Scotland. We wish to extend the benefits of concessionary travel by introducing national schemes—one for older and disabled people, the other for younger people—and we need to ensure the delivery of our partnership agreement commitments to create the new transport agency for Scotland and a network of new regional transport partnerships.We want to ensure that, as one of the cross-cutting themes in Government, sustainable development and the environment are considered as part of transport spending. There is, in short, a two-part process. The first part is the work that my department is currently undertaking in relation to the national transport strategy. A draft strategy will be ready shortly, and a formal consultation on it will then take place. Within that will be a strategic environmental assessment of transport and the choices that are available to us, and to Parliament in scrutinising us, in that regard. The second element of the process is the Scottish transport appraisal guidance—STAG—which provides advice to planners and decision makers on the appraisal of transport projects where our support is necessary for those spends. The key criterion of STAG is the impact of the proposed transport interventions on the environment. The national transport strategy provides an opportunity—and will provide an opportunity during 2006—to launch a wider debate on the issues, to which I attach considerable importance.I also bring to the committee's attention some of the changes that we have introduced in the transport budget. The changes were raised by committee members in previous Local Government and Transport Committee discussions. Some of the changes are fairly technical.I want to raise four specific issues. First, table 8.01 in the draft budget for 2006-07 has been presented to reflect the level 2 spending plans that will be the responsibility of the new transport agency. I suspect that colleagues would expect us to provide that clarity, and I hope that the table goes some way towards helping you with that. The transport agency will be directly accountable for level 2 spending plans for rail services, concessionary fares, motorways and trunk roads. Some further level 3 programme expenditure within the other public transport line will also be the agency's responsibility.The second point is on the integrated transport fund. Its budget line in the draft budget for 2006-07 has been unbundled to reflect the expenditure for which the transport agency will be accountable and that for which the Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department will be accountable. That is intended to give the committee as much clarity as we can.The third point relates to other public transport funding, which will increase by £7.5 million in 2006-07 and in 2007-08, to reflect the transfer from the Department for Transport of additional resources to undertake the new rail functions.The fourth and final point is on the additional funding of about £330 million for the additional rail powers for which the Scottish ministers have taken responsibility. That is not reflected in the draft budget but will be included in the budget bill for 2006-07 when it is introduced in January next year.All those aspects are part of the start of our major programme of structural reform. We are developing a new transport agency along with a new network of regional transport partnerships. I am confident that those structures will enable the right people, skills and experience to be brought to bear on our undoubtedly ambitious programme of infrastructure projects and service improvements that lie ahead of the department in the coming financial year.With those brief points, I hope that I have given a flavour of where we are. I am happy to answer questions.

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Local Government and Transport Committee, 01 Nov 2005

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