Question reference: S6W-26770
- Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 10 April 2024
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Current status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 29 April 2024
Question
To ask the Scottish Government where the reported unspent money, which was originally allocated to the Bus Partnership Fund, will be spent.
Answer
The £500 million investment in bus priority infrastructure to tackle the negative impacts of congestion on bus services is over the longer term.
The Bus Partnership Fund is the first step towards delivering this investment which will extend beyond the term of this parliament.
Following the United Kingdom autumn statement delivering the worst-case scenario for Scotland and a nearly 9 per cent real-terms cut in our capital budget from the UK Government, the Scottish Government had to take difficult decisions to deliver a balanced and sustainable spending plan for 2024-25. As such, regrettably, the Bus Partnership Fund has been paused for 2024-25. However, future funding availability will be considered as part of our annual budget-setting process and prioritisation exercises.