That level of detail on the traffic management and engineering is not within my capabilities, but I will ask officials to respond.

I am circumspect about the draft orders and public inquiry, because we are in a live situation, and I ask you to respect that.

Part of that is about the momentum and making sure that things keep moving. To reassure you, there is £18.5 million for this financial year as part of the medium and long-term solutions.

You will remember the protest.

The project has short, medium and long-term aspects. The option that will be proceeded with has been chosen and we are now embarking on its initial design, which is going through the processes that are set out in the design manual that we talked about earlier.

Some of the short-term improvements relate to the catchment area. Funnily enough, we were in Inveraray at an A83 task force meeting—I think that Jackie Baillie was one of the MSPs who dialled into that meeting—that took place just before Storm Babet, so we were hearing directly from Amey about what was going to happen with the rainfall that was expected, and, a couple of days later, we saw the consequences. There have been some landslides in areas beyond the areas that were initially identified, so, in the short term, there has been investment in those areas.

Significant work has been done on the medium-term aspects, which involves strengthening the old military road and improving bends on it. Quite a lot has been invested in the old military road to help with the current diversions and in relation to what will be required for the final design as part of the long-term project, which involves the covering that will ensure the long-term sustainable future of the A83.

In terms of capital budgets, the committee will be aware that we do not keep pots of money aside and say, “That’s marked for the A83 and is only to be opened at such a time as it will be invested.” We are only starting with the initial aspects of the DMRB. We have just issued the draft orders—perhaps my colleagues can remind me when that took place.

Clearly, this proposal has completed certain of the phases. There are still issues as to whether, in the next phase, there will be any objections or, indeed, a public inquiry. There are strong feelings about the proposal, but there are strong feelings about most roads in most places. The issue probably relates to the landscaping and the loch’s natural environment.

As part of the process, environmental and economic issues have to be addressed not only at the strategic outline business case stage, but at all five stages. One of the key things to relay is that, although the petitioners do not like the route that has been chosen, consideration is being given to the feasibility and attractiveness of combining with adjacent schemes to make sure that the tree line and other environmental aspects are considered. There is still time left in the process to address that point.

There is an important point to be up front and candid about, which is that, because of the interaction between the A82 and the A83—in particular, the A82 being used when there are problems with the A83—we do not think that it would be appropriate to do work on the A83 and the A82 at the same time. Because of the safety issues and the road’s importance to the economy and the people of Argyll in particular, we would prioritise the A83 over the A82. It is probably important to put that on the record.

That was for the north consortium.

You mentioned Perth and, to be fair, I talked about the Highlands and Islands and the north allocation.

I recognise your point, however. In addition to the £30 million that is being spent this year, there is additional money in the 2025-26 budget specifically for rural and islands connectivity. That might not leverage in the same level of private funding, because cities such as Inverness and Aberdeen might be more attractive in that respect. Certainly, we need to make sure that there is provision for areas north of Inverness and in our islands. That is why there is additional funding for next year that is specifically for rural and islands connectivity.

The initial spending was about some of the planning activity. On the actual deployment, I referred to the £18 million—my officials will correct me if I am wrong. That has gone to, for example, the Highland and north consortium, which is bringing local authorities together as a package, and to the Glasgow and Ayrshire consortium. That was around November, so they have those funds.

As I have explained, there is £30 million going out this year, with an initial £5 million for rural and islands connectivity next year. As for what the phrase “appropriate measures” means, I think that you are right to pursue that question. We will identify how charging measures are being deployed, but I am afraid to say that, as far as the financial provisions are concerned, that is a level of detail that I do not have to hand today.