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30 October 2023
A Holyrood Committee has requested the Scottish Government provide documents on the A9 Dualling Project, prepared by Transport Scotland officials between 2012 and 2023, and has written to several former relevant Ministers requesting written evidence.
The Scottish Parliament’s Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee, who have been undertaking an Inquiry into the A9 Dualling Project have now written to Mairi McAllan, the Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport to request relevant documents are provided to the inquiry.
Previous Scottish Government Ministers, with responsibility for the A9 Dualling Project, including Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf, have also been issued with letters from the Committee requesting written evidence, specifically asking what advice they received during their time in the Transport or Infrastructure portfolios on progress towards dualling.
Following consideration of these responses, along with other evidence in relation to this inquiry, the Committee will review its next steps, including whether further written or oral evidence is needed.
In October the Committee took evidence from Alex Neil, in his capacity as the former Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure and Capital Investment, during which Mr Neil indicated that a detailed plan for the completion of the dualling work was prepared by Transport Scotland officials in 2012.
To support the inquiry, the Committee has now requested a copy of this document, understood to be dated 28 May 2012.
The Committee had previously agreed to invite the current Cabinet Secretary to give evidence at the earliest possible opportunity after they or the Minister for Transport have provided the promised statement to Parliament in the Autumn on the revised timetable for dualling the A9.
The Cabinet Secretary has been invited to provide a written update in advance of this session.
Commenting, Convener of the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee, Jackson Carlaw MSP said:
“Following the evidence from Alex Neil, we’ve already heard that finishing the A9 dualling project 25 years late is 'unacceptable' and it’s clear that lessons need to be learned.
“This is important, not only to support completion of the A9 the earliest possible date, but also to understand what went wrong and how mistakes can be avoided in the future.
“The Committee have now requested the relevant documentation from the Scottish Government setting out what advice was provided by Transport Scotland to Ministers in 2012 regarding the project.
“In addition to this we’ve invited subsequent Ministers who held responsibility for A9 Dualling, including Humza Yousaf and Nicola Sturgeon to provide written evidence, following which we may invite them to appear in front of the Committee if deemed necessary.
“In the meantime, we eagerly anticipate the Cabinet Secretary’s promised update on the A9 Dualling Project to Parliament in the near future.”
In February 2023, the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee began considering a petition which calls on the Scottish Government to fulfil its 2011 promise to dual the A9 between Perth and Inverness, improve road safety on this road, and consider the creation of a national memorial to those who have tragically lost their lives on the road.
PE1992: Dual the A9 and improve road safety
The Committee recognises that the subject of this petition falls within the remit of the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee, which was invited to nominate a reporter to attend and contribute to Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee considerations of PE1992. The Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee nominated its Convener, Edward Mountain MSP, to this role.
In considering this petition, the Committee has taken oral evidence from the Petitioner, Laura Hansler, the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA) Scotland, and Transport Scotland. The Committee has also received written evidence from a range of stakeholders, including businesses, community councils, and road safety organisations. On 14 June 2023, the Committee agreed to invite the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Net Zero and Just Transition to give evidence to the Committee at the earliest possible opportunity after she or the Minister for Transport has made a statement to the Parliament on the revised timetable for dualling the A9.
You can find out more about the Committee’s consideration of the petition here:
CPPPC consideration of petition PE1992: Dual the A9 and improve road safety
The Committee agreed on 14 June 2023 to gather views on issues relating to methods for dualling the A9, road safety measures, and the proposal for a national memorial. This call for views ran from 9 August to 15 September 2023.
Additional responses were also received from:
Transform Scotland (196KB, pdf) posted 26 September 2023
Chris Miller (95KB, pdf) posted 26 September 2023
Killiecrankie, Fincastle and Tummel Community Council (194KB, pdf) posted 29 September 2023
John Mason MSP (142KB, pdf) posted 29 September 2023
A summary of the responses will be made available in the coming weeks.
The Committee agreed on 6 September 2023 to elevate its scrutiny of petition PE1992 to the level of an inquiry and to take evidence from Alex Neil, former Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure and Capital Investment, on the background to the Scottish Government’s decision in 2011 to commit to a 2025 target for dualling the A9 between Perth and Inverness.
Photo Credit: Ralph Tonge (2023)
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