Chamber and committees

Active dairy and outdoor pig producers are currently eligible for the Basic Payment Scheme provided they meet the eligibility criteria and Scottish Government is intent on pursuing all options to maintain Scotland's EU status to help support all our farmers.

The European Commission announced a 500 package of support to the livestock sector at the Agriculture and Fisheries Council on 18 July 2016. The United Kingdom's share of this allocation is around 30 million and the government will seek to ensure that Scotland receives its fair share of this allocation and are discussing with stakeholders how the funding should be used to boost resilience in the sector.

The Scottish Government and our partners are delivering a number of national mobile and broadband projects that will benefit the north east.

The Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband Programme will extend fibre broadband access to at least 95% of premises in Scotland by the end of 2017. In parallel, Community Broadband Scotland is supporting community-led broadband projects, including the Mearns Internet Initiative which has connected 160 premises in the Marykirk area with plans to connect a further 120 premises. The Scottish Government is committed to building on the success of these programmes and achieving 100% superfast broadband coverage by 2021.

Digital infrastructure projects will also form part of the £250 million Aberdeen City Region Deal that was agreed between the Scottish Government, UK Government and regional partners earlier this year. The Scottish Government is providing an additional £254 million, over and above the City Deal, to help deliver a more significant step change to the economy of the north east.

Although reserved to Westminster, the Scottish Government is committed to doing everything we can, with the powers and funding available to us, to improve mobile coverage across Scotland. We recently agreed an action plan with mobile operators, which sets out a range of actions aimed at extending coverage. We are also working with UK Government to maximise the impact of the Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme, which will deliver a number of new mobile masts across Scotland in the coming years, including in the north east.

Underpinning all of this is our commitment to developing a world class digital infrastructure that will deliver high quality connectivity across Scotland. The Scottish Government, along with Scottish Futures Trust, is assessing how government can best incentivise industry to invest in a world class infrastructure that will support the future evolution of digital technologies beyond 2021.

The Scottish Government is committed to using the tax powers devolved to the Scottish Parliament, including those devolved by the Scotland Act 2016, to grow Scotland's economy and to provide additional investment in public services.

Mobile and broadband investment is made by both commercial suppliers and through publicly funded programmes. There are a number of publicly funded programmes being delivered that will extend the availability of mobile and broadband services in the north east. These include the Scottish Government’s Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband and Community Broadband Scotland programmes, the Aberdeen City Region Deal and the Home Office-led Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme. As these are national programmes, it is not possible to separate investment levels on a regional basis.

During the course of this parliamentary session we will invest further in mobile and broadband services. The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring 100% superfast broadband access by 2021 and, although reserved to Westminster, doing everything we can, with the powers and funding available to us, to improve mobile coverage across Scotland.

The Scottish Government is committed to delivering 100% superfast broadband by 2021 and further details will be available in due course. The current focus is on finalising the coverage footprints that will be delivered by the two Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband (DSSB) projects, and then undertaking an open market review(s) to confirm a new intervention area for the next phase.

All telecoms suppliers capable of delivering projects within the intervention area will be eligible to bid for the contracts, and any decisions to break the programme down by region will be determined after the DSSB coverage footprint has been finalised and the open market review(s) has been completed. This process will help to determine the need for investment in the north east and indeed, in other parts of Scotland.

Telecommunications, including mobile telephony, is a reserved matter for which the UK Government has responsibility to ensure adequate coverage and to fund improvements and developments. The Scottish Government is committed to using devolved levers where appropriate to improve the commercial case for investment. We recently agreed an action plan with the mobile network operators (MNOs), which sets out a range of actions aimed at extending coverage. As part of this work, the MNOs have agreed to share with us their future network plans which will help us identify areas in the north east, and across Scotland, where further investment in mobile may be required.

Major projects in the north east which will be in progress or which are planned to be in progress during the current parliamentary session and which are funded or part funded by the Scottish Government, include the following:

Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route/Balmedie-Tipperty road scheme;

Aberdeen to Inverness Rail Improvements;

A90/A96 Haudagain Junction Improvement;

A9 Dualling programme Perth to Inverness;

A96 Dualling programme Inverness to Aberdeen;

Aberdeen Baird Family Hospital and ANCHOR Centre;

New elective treatment centres at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and Ninewells Hospital, Dundee;

NHS Scotland’s Pharmaceutical Specials Service;

Inverurie Health Care Hub and Foresterhill Health Centre;

Scotland’s Schools for the Future Programme (including South of the City Secondary and Stoneywood Primary in Aberdeen, Inverurie Academy in Aberdeenshire, Harris Academy, Baldragon Academy and a Dundee Joint Campus in Dundee, Forfar Academy, Hayshead Primary, Muirfield Primary and Ladyloan Primary in Angus);

Aberdeen City Region Deal (including a new energy innovation centre and expansion of Aberdeen harbour);

V&A Museum of Design, Dundee; and Dundee Waterfront (including Dundee Railway Station concourse and wider station development, further support for developing the V&A Dundee and redeveloping two civic spaces at Discovery Plaza and Waterfront Place).

The Scottish Government’s proposals for the north east include a number of significant projects. Investment and delivery in future years will depend on budget availability. There is currently an approved budget for 2016-7 and budgets for future years will be determined by the spending review process.

Road:

The major road investment plans which will benefit the north east of Scotland include: the £745 million Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR)/Balmedie-Tipperty Project; the £24 million new grade-separated junction at Laurencekirk as part of a package of additional investment alongside Aberdeen City Region Deal; the commitment to starting improvements to the A90/A96 Haudagain roundabout once the AWPR is completed; and the commitment to dualling of the A96 between Inverness and Aberdeen.

Work is well underway on the AWPR and this will be completed within the currently parliamentary session with new roads on programme to be open to traffic in winter 2017-18. A commitment has been given to dual the A96 by 2030. Actions to progress Laurencekirk and Haudagain Roundabout are ongoing.

Rail:

The rail infrastructure programme for Scotland includes a full programme of major enhancement projects, which includes the first phases of the Aberdeen to Inverness and Aberdeen to Central Belt projects. Despite recent challenges the Scottish Government expects Network Rail to deliver all of these projects within the current regulatory control period to March 2019. By 2018 ScotRail will also deliver the additional seats and new and faster services for the north east that were committed to as part of the Revolution in Rail timetable change announced by the Scottish Government in March.

A further £254 million was committed to support key infrastructure in the north east, alongside the Aberdeen City Region Deal, which includes the £200 million investment in rail to improve journey times and increase capacity on the strategic rail route to Aberdeen. This investment will be delivered over a period of up to 10 years with clear benefits over and above those that will be realised from the current rail enhancements programme.

Decisions in rail investment beyond 2019 are still to be made. By summer 2017, the Scottish Government will set out its rail investment priorities for the period of 2019 to 2024 in line with the timetable set out by the rail regulator, the Office of Rail and Road. We expect to consult with all relevant stakeholders on those priorities later in 2016.

Project investment and delivery in future years will depend on budget availability. There is currently an approved budget for 2016-17 and budgets for future years will be determined by the spending review process.

Table 12.01 of Scotland’s Spending Plans and Draft Budget 2016-17:

http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0049/00491140.pdf sets out the overall investment in transport including road and rail for the current parliamentary year compared to the previous parliamentary year.

The road budget includes: progressing construction of the Aberdeen western peripheral route/Balmedie to Tipperty project; progressing design and development work on dualling the A96; and progressing design and development work on the A90 Haudagain roundabout.

The Scottish Government’s investment to support Network Rail’s operation, maintenance, renewal and enhancement of the rail infrastructure in Scotland, and to deliver the economic and social benefits of the ScotRail and Caledonian Sleeper franchise contracts, is not split by region. As part of the broader five-year £5 billion programme of investment in rail infrastructure in services to 2019, investment during 2016-17 will support improved rail services across the north east, including progress towards the delivery of the first phases of the Aberdeen to Inverness and Aberdeen to central belt rail improvement projects.

This investment will help to better connect our communities and support sustainable economic growth and jobs across the country.

The recommendations of the Strategic Transport Projects Review sets out 29 investment priorities across the country over the period to 2032 which will be delivered subject to the transport allocation within future spending reviews and affordability. The interventions included improvements to the Aberdeen to Inverness and Aberdeen to Central Belt rail services and route management on road corridors including the A90 north of Aberdeen. These interventions are in addition to the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR)/Balmeddie to Tipperty project and the clear commitment to dual the A96 between Inverness and Aberdeen by 2030.

As part of the Aberdeen City Region Deal the UK and Scottish Government have committed a total of £5 million towards a transport appraisal and the two councils have committed a further £1 million each. The appraisal will take a long-term strategic view of the transport implications of the investment unlocked by this deal across modes including road and rail. This work has now commenced and will scope out transport requirements for the next 20 years, building on the completion of the AWPR and other planned investments.