Good morning. The first item of business is general question time.
Roads (A75 Improvements)
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the improvements to the A75. (S6O-04720)
The Scottish Government recognises the strategic importance of the A75 and we are committed to improving safety, resilience and reliability for everyone who uses that key route.
A number of improvements are being delivered on the A75, including the introduction of signalisation at the Cuckoo Bridge roundabout, which is expected to get under way this year. Design and assessment work to consider options for realigning the A75 trunk road with bypasses at the villages of Springholm and Crocketford is also under way and is proceeding at pace. That work will culminate in the identification of a preferred route option for the scheme in early 2027.
The honest truth is that the Scottish National Party has failed to invest in the road—what we have heard about is a traffic lights upgrade. In reality, the bypasses at Crocketford and Springholm are being funded by the United Kingdom Government, so it is quite incredible that the cabinet secretary has refused to meet the local MP to discuss the matter.
In the light of yet another accident on the A75, this time near Gatehouse, which forced another closure, following the tragic fatal crash earlier this month near Castle Douglas, on top of the daily near misses because of poorly designed junctions at the Haugh of Urr and Twynholm, how can the Scottish Government continue to justify its chronic underinvestment in this vital arterial route through Dumfries and Galloway? After a decade of inaction, is now not the time to commit to a fully costed, time-bound upgrade plan for the A75 to ensure the safety and economic viability of the local communities, and the wider UK, that it serves?
I am aware of recent incidents, most recently just yesterday in the Ardwall area. I have asked my Transport Scotland officials to work with local communities along the A75 to identify other improvements that can be made. However, on the issue of investment that the member raises, I reiterate that, since 2007, we have completed six major road improvement projects along the A75, with a value of more than £50 million, and we have invested more than £152 million to ensure its safe and efficient operation.
The reality is that the only investment on the table for meaningful upgrade work is from the UK Government for the bypasses at Crocketford and Springholm. How much does the Scottish Government plan to invest in upgrade work going forward, given that roads are ultimately the responsibility of this Government?
Recommendation 40 of the second strategic transport projects review identifies the importance of continued investment and improvement in that area. We are almost damned if we do and damned if we don’t. If we co-operate with the UK Government, we will be attacked for doing so. Do members want co-operation or do they not want co-operation?
The A75 is strategically important, in particular to traffic to Northern Ireland and onwards to the Republic of Ireland. That is why I raised it with other UK ministers, including the Northern Ireland transport minister, when I met them very recently at the British-Irish Council transport ministers meeting in Belfast.
I take the issue very seriously, and I am engaging on it. Members will have to decide whether they want co-operation or not.
Road Safety (Highlands and Islands)
To ask the Scottish Government what measures it has introduced in the last year to improve road safety across the Highlands and Islands. (S6O-04721)
Over the past year, the Scottish Government has implemented a range of measures to improve road safety across the Highlands and Islands. Those include £1.7 million for targeted engineering improvements on the A9, and £14 million for local authorities to improve road safety and introduce 20mph limits where appropriate.
In 2025-26, a further £48 million will support a further range of measures, including national driver behaviour campaigns, targeted infrastructure improvements and safety camera deployments. That includes £20 million for local authorities to make local roads safer and to complete the roll-out of 20mph limits.
Collectively, those efforts are designed to reduce the number of people being killed or seriously injured on roads across Scotland, including in the Highlands and Islands.
Those of us who use the A9, or any of the other major or smaller roads across the Highlands and Islands, will be well aware that visitor numbers are already increasing ahead of the summer. This time last year, I asked the cabinet secretary about some of the specific issues that are caused by camper van drivers, those using e-bikes and other visitors who are unfamiliar with roads that are often challenging and, too often, are in a poor state of repair.
Is the cabinet secretary confident that the Scottish Government is doing enough to improve road safety across the Highlands and Islands in particular? Will she reassure me that she believes that my constituents are safer on our roads this year than they were last year?
In relation to the member’s concern about visitors, I thank him for the opportunity to announce that we launched our drive on the left campaign this week. It provides clear, practical advice for overseas drivers, including how to use passing places and navigate junctions, and states the importance of staying alert and keeping left, particularly when roads are quiet. Those resources are available on the Road Safety Scotland website.
We are working with the tourism and hospitality sectors, including vehicle-rental companies, to help visitors to remain safe. I encourage Jamie Halcro Johnston and all MSPs who have visitors in their constituency or region to share that campaign material.
One of the challenges in the Highlands and Islands is that many people who drive on single-track roads are not used to doing so. Frustration builds when there is a mix of people who are travelling too slowly and driving too fast. As we head towards another busy summer season, what advice would the cabinet secretary offer drivers in the Highlands and Islands and elsewhere in rural Scotland?
I would ask the member to share the materials that I just talked about. All road users—those who live here as well as visitors—need to be safe. We recognise that rural and island routes, especially single-track roads, can be challenging for those who are unfamiliar with driving them. Rapid weather changes, quiet stretches, driver frustration—as the member talked about—and unfamiliarity add to risk. That is why driver behaviour and the communications that we are working on are important. I encourage everyone to promote the materials to which I referred.
Road Works (M8 Glasgow)
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the road works on the M8 in Glasgow will be completed by 2026. (S6O-04722)
The M8 Woodside viaducts project is a complex one that involves constructing temporary propping in a constrained urban environment to enable repairs to the half-joints that support the motorway. Transport Scotland and its contractor, Amey, have been examining each and every activity that is required to complete the works to ensure completion as soon as possible.
However, there have been delays to the piling work around the subway tunnel, which has to be carried out very carefully. That information was explained to elected members, including Ms McNeill, when they attended a site visit and were briefed by the Transport Scotland project team. Uncharted obstructions have recently been discovered, and officials are assessing them to determine whether they might impact on the current estimated completion dates.
I will notify the public of any changes to the project timeline when they are known. I acknowledge the disruption that is being experienced by the travelling public and the local community, and I appreciate the patience of road users. However, the work is essential to ensure the safety and longevity of that section of the M8 for the approximately 150,000 road users who travel on that section of the motorway daily.
The M8 project in Glasgow was due for completion in late 2023. Since 2021, those using the M8 have had constant delays as part of their daily commute, which is impacting on the west of Scotland economy. We know that the project is complex, and I am glad that the cabinet secretary has acknowledged the impact on the public.
However, the works are being advertised as
“to be completed in early 2026”
on the Transport Scotland website. Is the cabinet secretary at all concerned that Transport Scotland wrote to me on 21 May to say that it now cannot confirm that completion date—which is what I think the cabinet secretary is saying today—but that the website still says that the work will be completed in “early 2026”? It is unacceptable that the public, who are putting up with these delays, are not getting up-to-date, accurate information. In fact, as far as I can see, the website is just a showcase for Amey. Will the cabinet secretary tell Parliament and the public what is being done to bring the project in on the timescale that is scheduled, or as soon as possible?
Thank you, Ms McNeill.
Obviously, that would take into account overtime and anything else.
I am more than happy to ask officials to ensure that the website is up to date. I have explained the recent issues, particularly in relation to unanticipated concerns. What is unacceptable is to question the work that is required to ensure that the works are carried out safely. As of May 2025, props have been installed at 13 of a total of 23 locations and 10 locations have been fully jacked, meaning that the load from the bridge deck is being transferred away from the existing supports and on to the newly installed propping system. I understand members’ requests and interest in the work; that is why I personally asked for MSPs and councillors to be updated. I am more than happy to arrange a further briefing for Ms McNeill from officials, as she has had previously.
I ask members for concise questions and responses.
Protecting Vulnerable Groups Scheme
Presiding Officer, I apologise that I arrived in the chamber slightly late today.
To ask the Scottish Government what feedback it has received from organisations, including sport and social clubs, regarding changes in the protecting vulnerable groups scheme as a result of the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020. (S6O-04723)
Disclosure Scotland engages regularly with sectors that use its services. Feedback received covers a range of areas related to the PVG scheme, highlighting needs and questions and addressing what works well.
The PVG scheme covers a diverse base of stakeholders, some of which have unique needs and concerns, but feedback is continuously addressed and has led to the provision of additional guidance for certain sectors, alongside training workshops and a dedicated stakeholder engagement function.
I thank the minister for an early discussion on that. A number of clubs have contacted me about a potentially unintended consequence of the changes to the PVG rules. We are fortunate to have many young people who support sports and social clubs before they are 16, but, as soon as they turn 16, they must have a PVG certificate, and there is some confusion about when they can apply for that, with clubs worried that they will have to ask young people to stop volunteering, potentially for months, before a PVG certificate application is approved. Does the minister agree that we do not want to discourage young people from volunteering, and can she clarify the latest information from Disclosure Scotland with regard to when 16-year-olds can apply for a PVG certificate and how that is being communicated to clubs?
Yes, absolutely, and I would like to provide clarity today. In response to feedback, Disclosure Scotland has developed an exceptions process to allow children to apply for PVG scheme membership from the age of 15 years and eight months, so that it is active from their 16th birthday in order to prevent what Mr Eagle has referred to from happening. The exceptions process is available across all sectors, including sports, and it was put in place to support young people who leave school and move into a regulated role as their chosen career or to a further education pathway that can include training or work in sports coaching.
The process requires the child to make a paper application, which will be processed to commence from their 16th birthday. However, as a result of what Mr Eagle raised with me, we will look at the guidance and work with Disclosure Scotland on the information that is being provided to ensure that it reflects an accurate position.
Honouring Prominent Figures
To ask the Scottish Government how its policies to support Scottish culture and heritage ensure that the contribution of prominent figures, such as trade unionist, Michael McGahey, can be honoured. (S6O-04724)
The 2023 culture strategy for Scotland aims to extend the view of culture to include the everyday and the emerging, the established and the more formal, recognising each community’s own local cultures and encouraging collaboration across partners to realise the transformational power of culture. It is by recognising that culture and heritage helps to bring us together, celebrates our achievements and reminds us of our shared past that communities can also examine the contribution of key figures at the centre of our history, such as Michael McGahey, who was an early champion of this Parliament.
The Scottish Government has demonstrated our commitment to the culture sector and the heritage sector, with an increase of more than £34 million in 2025-26. That takes us to more than £50 million more in culture funding than in 2023-2024.
Today marks the centenary of the birth of Mick McGahey, born in Shotts on this day in 1925. He described himself as a product of his movement and his class. Self-educated, internationalist in outlook and never afraid to hide his politics. Is that not a life to be celebrated? Are these not values to be revered? What is the Scottish Government going to do to nurture future generations of trade unionists and to ensure that working-class history is properly recognised in our cultural heritage and properly taught in our education system? And would our politics today not benefit from a bit more of the principle, the honesty and the integrity that Mick McGahey stood for all of his life?
I thank the member for his tribute to Michael McGahey on the anniversary of his birth. I recognise his role. Indeed, as a young nationalist, I engaged personally with Mick McGahey through dialogue and debate—he took time to listen and to debate. Our politics would be far better if there was more listening, engagement and understanding of people from different persuasions.
I also recognise the existing monuments. I was struck by the one in King George V park in Bonnyrigg that was unveiled in 2006. It is a simple, rough-hewn block of stone with a low-relief profile of Michael McGahey, which includes a dedication that reads:
“We are a movement, not a monument.”
The member has recognised that trade unions, education and all those aspects are part of our culture and heritage. I encourage everyone to recognise that the Scotland that we want is a Scotland that embraces all of that and that there are ways of articulating that by lots of different means and measures.
Budget (East Kilbride)
To ask the Scottish Government how its budget aims to benefit people in East Kilbride. (S6O-04725)
The Scottish budget delivers against the Government’s priorities to eradicate child poverty, grow the economy, tackle the climate emergency and ensure high-quality and sustainable public services across the whole of Scotland. For people in East Kilbride, that will include more than £820 million of funding for South Lanarkshire Council.
From national insurance hikes to cutting winter fuel payments for pensioners, the United Kingdom Labour Government’s reckless decisions are having a huge impact on people and businesses in East Kilbride and across the country. I have heard from local community groups that cannot get access to a community space to carry out their valuable work due to local Labour cuts in South Lanarkshire.
Meanwhile, this year, the council is spending around £49 million on private finance initiative repayments—a toxic legacy from the previous Labour Government. Our communities are paying the price. Will the cabinet secretary outline the additional money that is being given to South Lanarkshire Council this year and how the Scottish Government supports grass-roots and community organisations to continue their valuable work?
Collette Stevenson is, of course, quite right to highlight those issues. In addition to the £823.9 million of direct funding to South Lanarkshire Council, there is also £23 million to support the town centre redevelopment through the Glasgow city region deal, and £144 million for the East Kilbride rail enhancement project, which will be completed by December 2025 and will include the newly opened, fully accessible Hairmyres station.
We are also providing £24 million towards the community growth areas projects, including support for works at Jackton primary school, the extension of Our Lady of Lourdes primary school and Hairmyres park-and-ride plans.
Independent School Pupils (Fees for Hospital Teaching Costs)
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the education secretary has had with national health service boards and local authorities regarding the levying of fees for hospital teaching costs for children who routinely attend independent schools. (S6O-04726)
Hospital education services are normally run by the local authority and relevant NHS boards for the area in which the hospital is based, using teachers who are employed by their home local authority. Those services also invite referrals for pupils from independent schools as well as pupils from local authority-run schools in other areas when a pupil is required to stay in hospital for a prolonged period of time.
Decisions about the fees to be charged for hospital education services are therefore a matter for local authorities and NHS boards to consider with independent schools as appropriate.
Sick children who attend independent schools but who are being treated in hospital are being denied access to education unless they pay £115 an hour for teaching that would be free if they went to a state school. Lawrence, the son of two of my constituents, was diagnosed with leukaemia in March and he will not return to the Compass school until the autumn. His parents already pay tax towards state education that they do not use and VAT on school fees. They are required to rent a flat to be near the hospital where their son is being treated.
Lawrence has already had the distress of watching other children in his ward receive education that the City of Edinburgh Council provides, but which he cannot access. That is discrimination that cannot be compliant with the Scottish Government’s policy of getting it right for every child, nor with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Will the cabinet secretary urgently look at the Scottish Government’s guidance to councils on the issue and, if necessary, provide them with additional resources to ensure universal access to education for all sick children, regardless of where they are normally educated?
I thank Craig Hoy for raising an important issue. To give him some assurance, I can say that my officials have engaged directly with the City of Edinburgh Council on the substance of his remarks today. Although I will not comment on the specific issues, I will reflect on my engagement with officials in relation to our guidance.
I should be clear that, at the current time, our national guidance does not make any specific reference to independent schools in relation to charging. It would certainly be my expectation that, when a pupil attends an independent school, there should be a discussion with that school on those matters. However, I am happy to take away the point that the member raises today and to engage further on the substance of it in relation to our national guidance and the role of the City of Edinburgh Council as a local authority.