 The next item of business is a statement from Michael Matheson on publication of the second strategic transport project review. The cabinet secretary will take questions at the end of the statement, so there should be no interruptions or interventions. I call on the cabinet secretary for around 10 minutes, Mr Matheson. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I am very pleased today to announce the publication of the second strategic transport project review. We will set out some of the significant recommendations that it makes that will provide real and lasting benefits for people and businesses in Scotland. The report will inform the Scottish Government's transport investment programme over the next 20 years and will help to deliver the vision, priorities and outcomes that are set out in the national transport strategy, where we are committed to reducing inequalities, taking climate action, delivering inclusive economic growth and improving our health and wellbeing. The review's recommendations represent a repositioning of our transport investment priorities. The focus is firmly on how transport can help us to protect our climate and improve lives. It applies a balanced approach covering all modes of transport and all areas of Scotland. It considers which measures can be best deployed to improve the greatest number of people's lives and make the biggest improvements to communities and our environment. I want to highlight four key areas of investment that we have identified to help us to make truly transformational change to how we travel in Scotland. Those are mass transit in our biggest city regions, improve connectivity for transport in rural and island communities, decarbonisation of public transport and improving active travel infrastructure. On mass transit, the Clyde metro project represents a multi-billion-pound investment which, when completed, could better connect more than 1.5 million people from Clydebank to Canberra Slam and from Easterhouse to East Colbride to improve employment, education and health services in the Glasgow city region. For many people in our city regions, having better access to affordable and reliable public transport has the potential to significantly reduce inequalities and enhance opportunities for many who live and work in some of our most deprived areas of Scotland. Clearly, the project will make a substantial contribution to tackling climate change, reducing car-based trips and associated emissions. The difference it could make to people's and communities' lives in the Clyde area is huge. On rural transport, as well as significant investment in port infrastructure, we are recommending the further investigation of potential fixed links—bridges or tunnels—at the sound of Harris and Barra and between Mull and the Scottish mainland that could improve communities access to goods and services, making those islands more attractive for people to live and work in and visit. The review also recognises our strategic connections, including investing in cross-border rail, as well as enhancing the safety, resilience and reliability by making improvements to the A75 and the A77 strategic road corridors that connect into the port of Cairn Rhine. We are already making real progress in decarbonising public transport. STPR-2 takes this to the next level. We plan to renew and replace lifeline ferries and progressively decarbonise the fleet. We will also invest in more rail electrification and ensure more low-carbon buses operate on the network. We will work to ensure that more freight is taken off the road and support delivery of infrastructure to support the transition to zero-emission vehicles. We also want to see improvements of infrastructure that encourage more people to walk, wheel and cycle more often, not just for short journeys. That would have a huge range of benefits for the climate, the natural environment, the economy and for people, neighbourhoods, communities and businesses. In particular, we want children and young people to benefit and we will invest in measures to promote active travel for them and encourage safe and sustainable travel to schools. STPR-2 sits at the heart of our plans and efforts to ensure a green recovery from Covid-19, and a fair and just transition to net zero. The pandemic has shown that there is huge appetite for people to change travel patterns if we get the policy and support right to help them to do so. We want to support more people to continue to make the sustainable travel choices seen during the pandemic so that people can return to public transport and our economic recovery does not overly rely on road-based travel. Transport policy has moved on since the first STPR in 2008, and there have been big economic and social changes in that time. Importantly, this set of recommendations reflects more rounded, sustainable and environmentally focused approach to transport as set out in the national transport strategy. The core of this way of thinking is to support two key policy pillars. The first being, for most journeys, the natural and easiest choice should be active travel or then public transport. Even when it is a car, carpooling or sharing should be easier. Secondly, the sustainable investment hierarchy focuses firstly on measures designed to reduce the need to travel. Secondly, effectively maintaining and safely operating existing assets, then on making better use of existing capacity and finally on targeted infrastructure improvements where that appears to be the only feasible solution. We will no longer predict and provide road infrastructure for unconstrained growth in private car use. In short, the recommendations will contribute to the fairer, greener Scotland that we are seeking and that we all want to live in. STPR 2 has been a collaborative undertaking from the very start. Early on, 11 regional transport working groups were established to inform development of the proposals. We have involved communities and transport users across Scotland. The online consultation in the Borders and South West received several thousand responses, as did the national feedback to phase 1 last February. I want to thank the wide range of people and organisations involved, whose contributions have added invaluable insight, as well as vital local knowledge and experience at every stage of the process. That has been a significant undertaking. We have distilled 14,000 initial ideas or suggestions from across Scotland into a long list of 2,800 options. That was then consolidated into 1,400 stand-alone proposals, which were collated into 80 similar groups. The detailed appraisal process resulted in 45 recommendations for transport investment, which we are now sharing with stakeholders and the public for their views. As I have been speaking, the review and its 45 recommendations have been published on the Transport Scotland website. That marks the start of 12 weeks of public consultation with the survey now live on citizen space. Now, people all over Scotland get to have their say, and we will do our best to promote the consultation and encourage people to get involved. STPR2 has a crucial role to play as we lead a green recovery from the pandemic and as we seek to deliver on our net zero ambitions. We know that change will not be easy for people to make. That is why the review focuses on creating infrastructure connectivity and on delivering the transport modes that will help people to change how, why and when they travel. Transforming Scotland's transport requires a cohesive national effort and a repositioning of the type of transport investment that the Government makes. The 45 recommendations seek to achieve this, and some of the most important ones are the most local ones. All of them are focused on delivering outcomes that will make lives better for all of us. As we embark on the next steps of this journey to transform how Scotland travels, by working and taking the crucial decisions together, we can create a Scotland that is fairer and greener for all. The cabinet secretary will now take questions on issues raised in his statement. I intend to allow around 20 minutes after which we will move to the next item of business. It is very helpful if members who wish to ask a question could indicate by pressing the request-to-speak buttons or placing an R on the chat function. I call Fosley Graham Simpson. I thank the cabinet secretary for advance sight of his statement, but, a bit like last week's statement on cutting car miles, that this statement and the accompanying document raise more questions than they provide answers. We can see the direction of travel, but we just do not know how we are going to get there. The minister cheekily mentions East Kilbride when referring to the Clyde metro project. He has a bit of a nerve given that investment on the East Kilbride line is being cut, but perhaps the situation has changed since he was last there wearing a hard hat for a photo call. I like the sound of city metro systems, but there is zero in this to say how and when they will be achieved or how long it will take or how much it will take. Perhaps the cabinet secretary could clear things up there. Sticking with rail, why is there still no timescale for a smart ticketing system in this? Why is there only mention of talks not action on cross-border high-speed rail and what are the plans to improve things in the north? Will the far north line be dwyld? No mention of that. STPR2 was an opportunity to set out a different route for our failing ferry system. There is nothing there. There is no multi-million pound investment set out. Where is it? Islanders are crying out for it. If we want our buses to be at zero, we need to spend more. The statement says nothing about how we will achieve that. Deputy Presiding Officer, this is a series of missed opportunities and there are a lot of questions. Cabinet Secretary. I am grateful for the members' comments, although I obviously do not agree with the sentiment of them. As ever is the case with Mr Simpson, the glass is very often half empty rather than half full when it comes to important measures of transforming our country. This is a blueprint that will transform the way in which transport infrastructure is delivered in Scotland. Something like the Clyde metro system is a very good example of mass transit, which will transform areas along the Clyde in a way that will make a real meaningful difference to those communities to 1.5 million people that will benefit from that programme. I am sure that you will recognise that it is a multi-billion pound, multi-year project. The SPTR2 is a 20-year programme and all that Clyde metro programme is part of that vision for the next 20 years to deliver it and to drive it forward in a way that really makes a significant difference to people who live in that particular area. Let me pick up on the issue about what I think must be the real brass neck of the Tories to come in here and start talking about high-speed rail. Given the way in which not only is high-speed rail financially out of control in England, it is being cut right back so that it does not even go as far north as it was intended in England. To come in here and start demanding that we take action on high-speed rail is not even a bit rich for Mr Simpson when it comes to those issues. My final point that I will make to Mr Simpson is on bus investment. If there is one thing that this Government has done, it has been to invest in our bus infrastructure to decarbonise it in a way that has been an utter failure of the UK Government, helping to support crucial industries like ADL in order to help them through what is a really difficult paid. That is why, in STPR2, we have set out how we will make sure that we continue to invest in our bus infrastructure to ensure that it delivers to the people of Scotland. I am just disappointed. No, I am not, Presiding Officer. It is not unusual for Mr Simpson to be disappointing, and yet again he has proven me right. Colin Smyth. It has been a long time coming, Presiding Officer, but when it comes to transport projects, we now have the very late publication of STPR2. Given the Government's record on transport, few communities will believe that the very vague commitments that have been made in the review will be delivered. Having cancelled not one but two Glasgow airport rail links in the past 14 years, why should communities believe the cabinet secretary when he says that, at some time in the next 20 years, we might build a Glasgow metro? In the meantime, the public can continue to use the train services that were cut in at the ticket offices that were accessed. After years of being in the forgotten region in the south-west, why should communities in Dumfries and Galloway and Ayrshire believe the cabinet secretary when all that is being offered is vague commitments of possible improvements to the A75 and A77 that give no commitment to really recognising the strategic importance of Cairnryan to Scotland's economy? On smart ticketing, the review says that the Government will continue the on-going development of fully integrated smart ticketing. I wonder where that on-going development is, because, cabinet secretary, I have certainly not seen it. When will we see for communities the detailed timescale of when those projects will be delivered and budget and order? Will they be delivered, cabinet secretary? Let me grateful to Mr Smith for his comments. In his reference to the delay in STPR2, he will be well aware of the reasons as to why it has been delayed during the course of the pandemic. In order to help the process, we had Phase 1 published last February to try to help to bed in some of the gains that we have saw during the course of the pandemic, particularly around active travel. Let me pick up specifically in some of the points that he has made. He will recognise that this is the start of the consultation process for the 12 weeks period in STPR2. At the end of that process, a delivery plan will be published, setting out how we will take forward the recommendations that are set out within STPR2. That includes in areas that I know he is particularly interested in, in A75 and A77, which we have committed to improvements on in specific areas, which is in line with what was the pre-appraisal work that was carried out into South West Scotland transport corridor. One of the real challenges in taking forward a smart ticketing system across the whole of Scotland is the number of operators of different scale that we have, where we have alone over 200 bus operators all utilising different systems for ticketing purposes. One of the real challenges that we have is in aligning all that work alongside the shift that the public have in using tap and go technology. How we align all of that to ensure that we can have an integrated system right across the country, but he can be absolutely assured of this Government's on-going commitment to ensure that we take forward that work in a way that delivers the type of smart ticketing system that he is looking for. The A737 is a major arterial route through North Ayrshire and Renfisher. The cabinet secretary previously reassured me in the chamber that the A737 will be considered for inclusion in the strategic transport projects review 2. With more than 8 million vehicles travelling on this increasingly congested road each year, is that still the case? Can we look forward to significant investment, not least for reasons of safety, in the A737 during this Parliament and beyond? I can confirm that the A737 has been considered within STBR2, and that work has identified problems and opportunities to address issues of congestion, particularly in the area of kill-winning, which the member is making reference to. The recommendations recommend that we should look at taking forward renewal and improvements in reliability, including on the A737, and improvements are anticipated will be part of the on-going work, which will take forward following the delivery plan for STBR2. That being said, we have already invested a significant amount in this particular road, some £36 million in the construction of two new road schemes and the construction of the Dailride at my pass, and the den realignment have also helped to improve safety and better journey times in those areas. However, I can assure the member that it has been considered and that it continues to be one of the priority areas for future investment. The document provides warm words but no specifics around rail in the north-east. Will the programme of enhancements deliver the full 20-minute reduction in journey times to the central belt, the SNP has promised since the first STPR in 2008? Will the much-trumpeted 200 million be spent on this, and if so when? I have seen no mention of relaying dice to Ellen. Is the cabinet secretary telling the people of the north-east that this Government will not be relaying any rail lines in the north-east? The member clearly does not understand STPR2 because it is for strategic investment purposes, which are national projects and national programmes, not rail enhancement programmes, which are dealt with through the rail enhancement programme, which is published on a five-year basis, where it is presently in control period six, which sets out the visions and measures that will take forward. The second thing to point out to him is that the STPR2 also recognises that enhancements and improvements in the seven cities programme is a key part of future investment going forward, which includes into the north-east of Scotland, such as into Aberdeen. An investment that he made reference to is still committed in order to help to reduce journey times across that route. The challenge is where that investment should go in order to deliver that investment, that improvement in journey times. That investment might not necessarily be on areas within Aberdeen directly in order to reduce journey times to Aberdeen. In relation to Ellen, he will be aware of the commitment to the rapid bus transport programme for Aberdeen, which is a very ambitious programme. I will write out to Ellen in order to help to take forward the vision that is being developed by Nestrans, which we are helping to fund at the present moment, which will be transformative for the north-east of Scotland. Yet again, a clear example of how this SNP Scottish Government is investing in the north-east in order to make sure that it delivers for all of the people of Scotland. I encourage members to ask their questions and then not provide a running commentary on the answers that they are being given. Emma Harper to be followed by Pauline McNeill. I have continually lobbied for the strategically important A75 and A77, which connect Scotland to Europe and the rest of the UK to be upgraded in the grounds of safety and efficiency. I have called for improved rail and bus frequency and improved rail connectivity, such as reopening BTEC stations to attract people and businesses to the south-west. Can the minister give examples, or the cabinet secretary, to give examples of how the STP R2 will improve transport infrastructure across the south-west? Can he reiterate how it will improve the attractiveness of public transport? I very much recognise Emma Harper's long-standing issue in this matter, in the way in which she has pursued the issue diligently over many years. I recognise the importance of strengthening our connections. It is one of the 45 recommendations of the review for improving access to Stranraer and the port of Cairnryan, which includes a package of proposed targeted road improvements on both south-west routes that the member mentions. On the A75, we have looked at issues around realignment of the route and the villages of Springham in Crockford. We are also targeting excellent locations to help to improve further road safety in that area. On the A77, it is focused on improvements around resilience, including providing overtaking opportunities and expanding and developing areas around Turnbury, Gervyn, Ballantry and Cairnryan. On the public transport aspect, we are also looking at the existing railway station to consider whether it should look at the option of upgrading or relocating the railway station at Stranraer in order to improve greater connectivity. Before I invite Pauline McNeill to ask a question, I am conscious of the number of questions that we still have to get through. If I could plead again for concise questions, and if possible, as concise answers as possible. Pauline McNeill, to be followed by Evelyn Tweed. Glasgow City Region has not had a serious transport project under the SNP administration since 2007, but we desperately need one. The proposal for the Clyde metro has no timescale and no serious funding is allocated. It appears more of a concept in a document than a real tangible transport project. When is the project likely to start? When will it be a reality? Five years? Ten years? Or is he saying that it is 20 years? I think that the people of Glasgow and the wider city region have a right to know. I recognise the concerns that the members had about investment in transport infrastructure in Glasgow. The good news is that the STPR2 will deliver on that type of vision by delivering the Clyde metro programme, which will cover about 15 kilometres from the city centre. It builds on the work that was carried out by the Glasgow connectivity commission, which is very helpful in detailing the improvements that could be made here. We will now look to build on that to put in place the programme work that will be necessary to develop that whole programme. That involves us looking at working with all the local authorities that are involved, not just Glasgow, but a whole range of local authorities and other partners, to look at how we can take that forward as a strategic investment programme over a number of years. In terms of timescale, I cannot give you a specific timescale other than within the STPR2 period. The reason for that is because a detailed work plan has to be taken forward in developing the whole proposal. However, what I can absolutely assure the member is that I believe that something that the Clyde metro could be absolutely transformational for communities in Glasgow in the wider Clyde area if we get it right and we are absolutely determined to drive that forward and we will be engaging with all stakeholders to do exactly that. My plea appears to be falling on deaf ears, but I will repeat it. I invite Evelyn Tweed and then Beatrice Wishart. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. To ask the Cabinet Secretary how the STPR2 seeks to promote sustainable transport in Stirling. The member may be aware that in STPR2 there is a very strong commitment to active travel and in building on our active travel commitment. We are presently investing some £115 million a year in active travel, which is a significant increase, and we have committed by 2024-25 to increase that to over £300 million a year, 10 per cent of our transport budget, and communities such as our own constituency will benefit from that, and they are presently benefiting from some £7 million that we committed to helping to improve active travel through the Stirling and Clackmannanshire city region deal. Class 3 new and decarbonised lifeline ferries are welcome. In the last FMQ's Questions of 2021, the First Minister recognised the national strategic importance of the unschedged spaceport. Unsidus dependent on ferry travel, fixed link infrastructure could transform communities like guns in the North Isles, along with the spaceport. With concerns about depopulation in the outer Isles, will the minister add fixed links between islands to the Scottish Government's recommendations? It is not part of STPR2 in its present form. As we have set out, we have given a commitment to explore the provision of fixed links in the western islands and the island of mill from the mainland. No doubt, during the course of the consultation, we will see representation from communities across the country about other issues, but it is not contained within the existing STPR2 document. The proposed Clyde metro is an exciting prospect for Glasgow and Glasgow-Kelvin and the surrounding areas. It could prove key to Scotland hitting its net zero targets. Could the cabinet secretary set out some of the envisaged economic, environmental and social benefits of the project? From an environmental point of view, it has the potential to remove a significant amount of cars off their roads and to increase use of public transport, which is clear environmental benefits. From an economic point of view, a multi-billion-pound project of this nature will, of course, drive economic benefit, but it also helps to improve connectivity, which can help to improve economic output. From a social point of view, there are some of the most deprived communities in Scotland that have very poor transport connectivity, which we need to address in order to help to improve opportunities and access to key services and to employment. That is one of the real benefits that could come through the Clyde metro scheme that is connecting into some of the communities that currently have very poor levels of public transport and, in doing so, transforming those communities by providing greater opportunity to employment and also to key public services across the city region. I warmly welcome the review. It is a clear shift in priorities towards public transport and active travel, and it is ultimately going to move millions of people out of car dependency in Scotland. Can I ask the cabinet secretary to provide as reassurance that the door will remain open for investment in smaller rail projects, which is not specifically mentioned in the strategy, for example, at Newborough rail station, if strong business cases emerge for those projects? STPR2's recommendations are in real focus very much on decarbonisation of the remaining network and maintenance, upgrading and the safe operation of the existing network. However, there remains a path for regional and local rail projects to come forward, which are subject to a strong business case being developed. I understand the merits of local campaigns in these matters. I recognise the member's involvement in some of those campaigns. A good example of a reopening of a railway line is a leaving mouth line, which came about through a local campaign that I had the pleasure of agreeing the funding for. There are other routes at a regional and local level for schemes to be developed and for business cases to be brought forward for investment in the future. Despite the south-west transport study being completed two years ago, which detailed dozens of viable options for long overdue improvements to transport infrastructure on the south-west, the document that is published today does not take us forward, and it may take us backwards, given its lack of any mention of bypassing towns or villages on the 77 and 75. It does not even reference the bottleneck at the Belford Interchange. Does the cabinet secretary accept that this continued lack of commitment to any specific improvements in the south-west will come as a profound disappointment to long-suffering residents and businesses along those routes? What STPR2 does is it builds upon the south-west Scotland transport corridor study that identified a whole range of potential interventions and those that are viewed as being the most viable and appropriate to take forward, which is investment into the A75, investment into the A77, looking at how we can also improve rail connectivity into south-west of Scotland, active travel infrastructure, bus infrastructure and all those things that the south-west of Scotland will benefit from through STPR2. I know that the member might not like the fact that we are taking action to address those issues, but I get no doubt that people in the south-west of Scotland will welcome the action that has been taken by the Government and what has been set out in STPR2. I am finally Eleanor Whitham. Can I ask the cabinet secretary if he can provide an update on how the recommendations support shifting freight from road to rail and particularly how that will benefit the south-west? As I mentioned, one of the key areas that we are focused on in terms of improvement in our rail infrastructure is to enhance and improve rail infrastructure through greater electrification and improving reliability. A key part of the reason for doing that is that it allows us to increase the potential for freight capacity on the rail network, which is why we have set out in STPR2 one of the key recommendations to improve and increase the level of freight that we see on our rail network across the country, including in the south-west of Scotland. I get no doubt that those in the freight industry in Scotland will very much welcome our commitment to drive forward further improvements in rail freight right across the country, including in the south-west of Scotland. That concludes the item of business. There will be a brief pause before we move to the next item of business.