Chamber and committees

There was a small—anyway, okay.

You have already said that there are some quite small areas elsewhere. What would be the difference between Edinburgh being on its own compared to Argyll and Bute, for example, which is small in terms of numbers?

But you have got a Glasgow region, so I am saying that you could have had an Edinburgh region.

How do you minimise that politicisation?

Organisations that we have spoken to feel that having lay members involved in the consideration of complaints against MSPs could be beneficial. Do you think that there is a place for lay members in considering complaints against MSPs and possible sanctions?

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the finance secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding the allocation of any additional funding to meet the cost increases for MV Glen Rosa that were recently announced by Ferguson Marine. (S6O-04781)

Ferguson Marine has stated that it needs an additional £35 million to complete the late and massively over-budget MV Glen Rosa, the total cost of which is now estimated to be a staggering £185 million—nearly four times the original contract price. Will the cabinet secretary guarantee that that will be the final payment that taxpayers will have to make to complete the vessel? What discussions have she and her ministerial colleagues had with Ferguson Marine to ensure that Scottish taxpayers are not, again, placed on the hook to deliver the vessel?

Do you believe, cabinet secretary, that it is fair that the Green Party has hijacked that process?

You caught me unawares, Deputy Presiding Officer. I was clapping vociferously, not for Ms Grahame’s retirement, but for wanting to get a decision on Sheriffhall.

I thank my colleague, Miles Briggs, for bringing the debate to the chamber. Sheriffhall roundabout has been a long-standing problem, yet it remains neglected by SNP ministers, after more than 15 years and millions of pounds spent on planning.

The Sheriffhall roundabout has cost Lothian residents countless hours in traffic and millions of pounds. A much-needed upgrade to the notorious junction has been discussed since 2008, but there has been no tangible progress in that time, despite the £6 million that has been spent on consultants.

More than 75,000 vehicles use the bypass every day, and that figure is set to increase, given that Lothian has the fastest-growing population in Scotland and is forecast to account for 84 per cent of Scotland’s predicted population growth over the period to 2033. That includes Midlothian, East Lothian and all the local authority areas surrounding Edinburgh.

Under the SNP-Green Scottish Government, the project totally stalled. The fact is that this key piece of infrastructure brings the Edinburgh bypass to a standstill every rush hour, and if the junction were to be successfully upgraded, it would hugely benefit people across Edinburgh and the Lothian region.

It is only seven years since the Edinburgh city region deal was signed, with the support of all the local authorities and the Scottish and UK Governments. That deal is worth £1.6 billion, and the agreement should really accelerate economic growth and prosperity, but the one element that has been missing is the upgrading of the Sheriffhall junction.

As we have heard, a flyover solution was proposed by Transport Scotland, and it should be progressing. Designs for that much-needed flyover are available and funding has been put in place but, seven years on, we are no further forward, because the Scottish Government and the City of Edinburgh Council have been in thrall to the Green Party’s anti-car agenda.

A review of the project was ordered in 2020, when Edinburgh’s SNP-Labour administration was, frankly, drunk with power during lockdown and was blocking streets and narrowing roads in a hidden agenda to make driving as difficult as possible. Having already accepted the need for improvement in the city deal, the SNP Scottish Government then bent to the Green Party’s will by agreeing to the public inquiry in 2023.

Earlier this year, the Sheriffhall overarching objectors group—ShOO—got the Scottish Government to hold a public local inquiry, following the submission of 2,771 objections to the scheme’s draft orders. It has come to light that, according to Transport Scotland, a high proportion of those objections, which sparked the hearing, were submitted through the Scottish Green Party website. The resulting report was delivered to SNP ministers a year ago, and since then, there has been nothing, apart from the fact that we now know that £6.4 million has been spent on consultants to produce designs. We are no further forward.

In fact, Transport Scotland failed to appear at last week’s city region deal committee meeting to provide an essential update on the continued delay in progressing the Sheriffhall upgrade.

They might well be watching online, working from home or something—I am not sure—but they should be here, because, frankly, they are at fault for causing the delay.

The delay is having a massive impact on the south-east of Scotland’s economy. It is impacting on 42,000 vehicles a day, with commuters being delayed an average of 30 minutes a day. As Christine Grahame rightly said, having cars spurting out those fumes is hardly green. After successive delays caused by the opposition of the Greens and the complacency of the SNP, it is time for the Government to commit to a deadline and a budget for the project before costs spiral further out of control.

My colleague Miles Briggs has launched an online petition calling for work to start without further delay, and I hope that it persuades the cabinet secretary to really get a move on. There is only one year left in this parliamentary session, Ms Hyslop, and I would be delighted if we were able to sign off by delivering something of genuine benefit to Edinburgh, the Lothians and the Borders.