Furious MSP Fergus Ewing has slammed the “sleekit” Scottish Government and taken aim at transport secretary Fiona Hyslop over the response to the petitions committee A9 inquiry.
The probe took more than a year with evidence coming from former First Ministers Alex Salmond, Nicola Sturgeon, and Humza Yousaf after the government reneged on a promise to dual the whole of the Inverness to Perth road by this year.
It concluded that Scottish Government secrecy and indecision led to that created not just “distrust” but also a “sense among people living in northern Scotland” that they have not received their fair share of investment.
More than two months after the inquiry reported its findings and 13 months on from issuing a new timetable for the dualling, transport secretary Fiona Hyslop sought to offer assurance about transparency and certainty regarding the programme.
However, she failed entirely to convince Mr Ewing who lambasted what he said was “Ducking and diving is fine for a boxer but just makes a politician look sleekit,” adding: “This is not what the public wants”.
Fergus Ewing with transport secretary Fiona Hyslop at another troubled dualling event, this time the A96. Picture: James Mackenzie
He took particular issue with the presentation of Transport Scotland’s case about some of the reasons – or lack of them – for the projected decade-long delay in dualling the road.
He said: “This is a deeply disappointing response and one would almost think Ms Hyslop is trying to argue that the Scottish Government’s record on the A9 is something to boast about.
“She sidesteps the key recommendations that a new parliamentary committee scrutinise and oversee the execution of the project. She says that’s up to parliament. Well, yes, but will the SNP government support parliament doing so?
“If so, it will happen. If not, it may not. Ducking and diving is fine for a boxer but just makes a politician look sleekit. This is not what the public wants.
“She refused to accept the charge of undue secrecy; refuses point blank to agree a memorial to those who lost their lives on or because of road incidents; and even appears to deny the delays – for at least 14 years now – were because of failures by anyone in government or that uber-quango Transport Scotland”.
He underlined what has been a large part of the augment that he has put forward for some time now that the lack of political will to finish the project was key to the missed 2025 deadline.
He said: “This report will be debated next Thursday afternoon January 16 and, believe it or not, this will be the first ever such full plenary Holyrood debate on the A9 dualling.
“All the parliamentary time in the world was given over for gender issues, none for the biggest project in Scotland’s history nor for saving further tragic loss of life by accelerating the project as the cross party delegation of MSPs (all but the Greens) pleaded at our meeting the the First Minister and cabinet secretary last June.
“It’s ironic that it’s a committee of parliament that’s dragging the cabinet secretary to the chamber and not a debate led by her. I will, you can be sure, be making these and several other points then.”
Fergus Ewing MSP and Laura Hansler at The Inverness Courier’s A9 summit. Picture: Callum Mackay..
Concluding he pointed to the efforts of the Kincraig-based campaigner Laura Hansler who brought the petition in the first place that triggered the inquiry.
“Lastly thanks to the petitioner, Laura Hansler,” he said. “Her petition and the coruscating evidence from the civil engineers contractors CEO and spokesman, Grahame Barn, embarrassed Transport Scotland into revising its contract terms.
“They had before been so punitive that the first attempt to tender Tomatin to Moy attracted only one bidder whose bid was adjudged too high. We eventually forced the Scottish Government to admit the actual figure that was then deemed excessive – £170million.
“Yet the re-tendered bid accepted about a year later was £184.7 million and therefore about £15 million more than the figure previously adjudged too high! Somehow the cabinet secretary failed to mention any of this in her response.
“But this does show a parliamentary committee prepared to take on the government and repeatedly ask tough questions that can make a difference”.