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You would look to provide more certainty if you had certainty from the Westminster Government, particularly for active travel. Is that what I am hearing?

I have one further question if there is time, convener.

Yes, but surely the principle is that there must be no detriment and the scheme should not result in profiteering—profit making—by the companies. Although the scheme is encouraging more people to use the bus, it should not cost them. I just do not see how a rate of 81 per cent really ensures that.

Are there any implications for Crown Estate Scotland from the bill that is going through Westminster?

Okay.

You have spoken a bit about a good and evolving relationship with the Scottish Government. When the acting cabinet secretary was in front of us last week, we got the impression that there has been change and that things are more positive. Inevitably, however, there will be policy differences. You have acknowledged that, under the devolution settlement, it is inevitable that there will be differences.

I am interested to know how you might manage those differences. Within the remit of GB Energy, there is a commitment to work with Great British Nuclear. You will understand the Scottish Government’s position on nuclear in national planning framework 4. Does that cause you a problem? We have two different energy policies: one that explicitly rejects nuclear in Scotland, and the policy of your Government, which is about promoting nuclear and using GB Energy and Great British Nuclear to provide support for that. Is that a problem?

In effect, GB Energy will take its direction from the Administration in the jurisdiction that it is working in, and there will not be any kind of mission creep in its work. Therefore, we will not get GB Energy officials in Scotland talking about nuclear. Is that what you are saying? There clearly is not a route to developing nuclear power in Scotland under the current planning legislation, but GB Energy might take a different view.

I will be very brief. Obviously, the public charging network is hugely important, but it is very expensive to use. The cheapest way to charge your EV is at home with a night-time tariff; it is a fraction of the cost of using the public network, and I suspect that that is where the majority of people will want to charge their EVs from day to day. What provision is there in the budget to support householders to introduce EV technology, including ways of allowing them to get across pavements to their vehicles and charging points?

There has been a welcome increase in the road safety budget this year. I want to understand which particular projects will be focused on for local authorities to bid into. I am interested in certainty in investment from that fund for 20 mph zones and some other work that might happen at local council level but is nationwide.

I thank the committee for its scrutiny of the petition on dualling the A9, and I congratulate Laura Hansler on successfully getting her petition through the committee stage and on to the floor of the chamber. I have met Laura. Although it is fair to say that we do not agree on all aspects of the A9 issue, I agree with her on the need for investment to make our roads safer. I agree, too, that delays in such investment continue to result in crashes, tragic injuries and deaths. In tribute to all the victims of road crashes in Scotland, we should strive to make every dangerous road and street safer and work towards the objective, which the Scottish Government has now adopted, of there being zero deaths on our roads.

Over the years that I have served as a member for Mid Scotland and Fife, I have listened carefully to my constituents about the need for safety improvements on the A9. I want to use this opportunity to reflect the views of communities along the section between the Pass of Birnam and the Tay crossing. That stretch of the A9 is unique. The hills surrounding Dunkeld and Birnam constrain the pass and tighten the availability of space for the road, the railway and the surrounding community. The wider community, which includes Inver, is severed by the A9, to the point that access to the railway station is difficult and dangerous. Along that short section, there are eight junctions that serve communities and popular visitor attractions, including the Hermitage, and none of those junctions could be considered safe.

For many years, local people have been fearful of using the A9 for their everyday business. The Dunkeld junction is terrifying, and the aftermath of repeated fatal crashes there has been traumatic for everybody in the community. I am told that Transport Scotland officials have been warned not to use the junction when they head north on to the A9 on business, but the families who live there are expected to just carry on and use the junction every day. That is unacceptable. Solutions for that stretch need to be put in place urgently; we should not wait for the eventual completion of the dualling project in 2032.

A roundabout is proposed at Dunkeld as an integral part of the dualling programme. That is welcome, because saving lives is far more important than a couple of extra minutes being added to the journey from Inverness to Perth. I welcome the fact that orders for the section between the Pass of Birnam and the Tay crossing will be published in spring, but, in the meantime, other options need to be pursued.

I gather that officials are looking at interim improvements, which will be discussed with local communities in the months ahead, and I ask the cabinet secretary to ensure that the process leaves no stone unturned. I welcome the many discussions that we have had about the A9 in recent years. A temporary roundabout at Ballinluig has been introduced in the past. A slip road might also be possible within the constraints of the land that is available to ministers. Speed limit reductions and enforcement measures can be put in place relatively quickly and effectively. Reactivating the A9’s safety cameras would also be an obvious improvement. Improved lighting is the biggest and simplest change that could be introduced quickly at that junction.