 The next item of business is a statement by Keith Brown on the Queensbury crossing. The Cabinet Secretary will take questions at the end of his statement, therefore there should be no interventions or interruptions. I would ask members to wish to ask a question however to press their request to speak buttons when the Minister is on his feet. Ie dweud i ddim ni wedi brif Weinfordd creu试ym o respostau sp Americasbynaredd posiblen iawnai gwyd position ty Ancient Bridgeadanr photography actor i ddealadu arladas o gwera Maurice Magdawn hefyd yn treff Starship. Fy fyddwn yn яkglos fydoedd o'r phag mor ty F FX niferner Dorfodaeth a'i ddefnyddol fydd maes i'r canall beidстиniadau, lewan his-刚Хau, i freuen ithawn, a mae fient ti gwaethau ei cwynhau y dyfodol i ll trickyn i d tantachol, ac mae handles y cwn minства normas i llawer o lawer o erbydd sportaur, os yn cyfathau sydd a gan fel y c factories haben fun Werth我跟你 ti os nes eu greu已, ac roedd yn sysswyr ykel modoeig, os finan i mewn f 2024, fon illawer o elwgo hi'r adversoedd, ni'n hyfrym eётio o'r per cent anticipated by the contractor. Until May, FCBC believed that they could mitigate those weather effects, however the impact of the weather in April and May was particularly severe, with 13 days and 12 days lost to weather respectively. As a result, FCBC have advised ministers that, due to the combined effects of the time that is lost in these two months, they can no longer deliver the December 2016 target opening date for the structure. It is important to remind Parliament that the contractual completion date for the bridge is actually June 2017. December 2016, though, was a target date that would have seen the bridge open six months ahead of contract. I advised Parliament of the changes to the expected opening date earlier today. I should also stress that what I am reporting to Parliament today is a very recent development. As recently as March, I visited the construction site and I was assured by FCBC that the project remained on schedule to complete by December 2016. Every possible measure has been taken by the contractor in a sustained effort to meet the December 2016 target. In all of those actions, I think that it is very important to stress that they ensure that health and safety of the workforce has been paramount. In order to mitigate the on-going weather impacts that have arisen over the past few months, FCBC has procured additional physical resource, increased staffing by taking on 100 additional workers, increased working hours, altered construction methodologies again consistent with safety, done that where possible and also challenged critical construction sequences to identify where any programme efficiencies could be found. The contractors have now reached a stage where further additional resources will not bring the delivery date forward due to the complex technical nature of the construction work, which means that the complex sequence of operations must be used to complete this innovative structure. The deck lifting has to be carried out in a balanced sequence on each side of the three towers. You cannot do two on one side and then just one on the other. The balance has got to be kept and one has to follow the other. The loads applied by the various construction activities such as road surfacing and crucially the wind barriers have to be very carefully controlled across the structure to ensure its structural integrity. Under robust challenge from ministers, FCBC has confirmed that they had firmly believed up to May this year that their previous programme, showing that December 2016 target date for opening to traffic, could still be met with the help of the mitigating actions that were being taken, albeit that it was becoming increasingly challenging due to the continuing weather impacts. The subsequently revised FCBC programme, which was submitted on 1 June, has already been the subject of extensive internal challenge by senior management within the FCBC partner companies. The programme includes the effects of weather to date and the impact that it has on pushing future activities into periods of greater weather risks, including particularly weather-sensitive activities such as waterproofing, road surfacing and, as I have mentioned, the installation of wind barriers. The contractor has also built in allowances for future weather based on the experience to date. Over the last week, independent experts employed by Transport Scotland have also provided further robust challenge to FCBC's revised programme, analysing each critical activity to ensure that everything possible is done to ensure an opening date as close to December as possible. This review concluded that all that could be done was being done to open the bridge as soon as it is safe to do so. FCBC has also assured us that it will continue to target the earliest possible date that the structure can be safely open to traffic. However, at this stage, the programme shows that the Queensferry crossing is now expected to be open by mid-May 2017, prior to the actual contractual completion date of mid-June 2017, but, of course, some months after our projected target date of the end of this year. We will continue to work closely with the contractors and I will personally ensure that every pressure and every resource is brought to bear to deliver safely or indeed better than in advance of the date that I have just mentioned of May next year. To date, FCBC has successfully managed every risk to the construction of the project that is within their control. The only risk that the contractor has no control over is weather, although they have made significant efforts to mitigate weather effects where possible. Ministers have always been ambitious about this project, and, in being so, the project has always worked to a deliberately ambitious target of December 2016. Originally, Parliament may recall that this timescale was set to address concerns about the long-term condition of the 4th Roar bridge, where it was originally believed that it would suffer usage restrictions that HGVs had to come off the bridge as early as 2017. Those concerns, notwithstanding the problems that we had in the bridge more recently, have proven to be less immediate, and the recently installed structural health monitoring system on the 4th Roar bridge is providing additional surety on the ability of the existing bridge to sustain traffic loading into the future. However, that had not decreased our determination to complete this once-in-a-generation project at the earliest opportunity, as I say, consistent with safety. It is important to stress that FCBC fully expect the project to be complete well within the timeframe of their contract. We will not meet the December opening target. It remains true that the project itself will be completed by the contractual date, and, additionally, there will be no impact on the public purse. I would like to confirm in that regard that there will be no additional cost of taxpayers, and that our previous projection of a £245 million saving will still be the case after that announcement. The project directly employs more than 1200 people, many of whom have been performing some of the most complex civil engineering ever seen in Scotland, in the highly challenging environment of the 1st of 4th. Over 12 million work hours have gone into the project so far, and we should not lose sight of the hard work and dedication of that workforce. Anyone who looks at the 4th works in the 4th cannot fail to be impressed with their achievements to date. We have been and will continue to be fully transparent about the delivery of the project, both in terms of cost and timescale, providing regular updates to Parliament, communities and the public. With that in mind, I would like to offer the opportunity to any interested MSPs from across the chamber to attend a dedicated technical briefing this Friday, when any questions that members may have—which you do not get the opportunity to ask just now—can be asked and answered. It is important to remember that, in my view, that, in the space of around nine years, remarkable progress has been made in advancing the project, from feasibility study to near completion. As you have also mentioned, it is the expectation of the contractors, their expectation based on the robust timescale that they have laid out, that 94 per cent of the project will be complete by the end of this year. However, it is expected that the project will be largely complete with both the approach roads or the approach roads on both sides ready for traffic and a continuous structure spanning the forth. By the middle of next year, the May date that I have mentioned, traffic will be flowing across it. That is the timescale laid out by the contractor, which we will hold them to and try to improve on. The Scottish Government, for our part, will continue to ensure that its iconic structure brings benefits to the people of Scotland at the earliest opportunity. The cabinet secretary will now take questions. There has been a large number of members who wish to speak, so if members could well keep their questions and their answers, we will get through them all, Mr Fraser. I thank the cabinet secretary for his statement and for the advance copy, indeed, for answering my written parliamentary question earlier this morning. I am sure that all of us in the chamber will wish to applaud the contractors working on this ambitious and challenging infrastructure project, particularly in the difficult weather conditions that the cabinet secretary has outlined. My constituents in Fife and across the east of Scotland will well remember the catastrophe at the end of last year, when the fourth road bridge was closed for weeks, causing huge disruption to people's lives and untold damage to the local economy. At that time, we were assured by the Scottish Government that the long-awaited new crossing would be delivered on time and under budget. On 5 January this year, the First Minister told the chamber, that, by the end of this year, the new Queensferry crossing will be completed. No ifs, no buts, no maybes, no dependent on the weather, a clear promise on one that today has clearly been broken. The people that I represent in Fife and further afield will be dismayed at today's announcement of a delay and worry about the implications. So can the cabinet secretary help them by answering those three questions? Firstly, what guarantee can he now give about the new date for completion of mid-May? Is this also weather dependent? Can we have more confidence in this date than in the First Minister's previous assurance? Secondly, given that the existing road bridge will have to carry heavy traffic for up to six months longer than previously planned, can he assure us that it is up to the task and there is no risk of a further catastrophic closure, either to cars or to HGVs? And finally, is it true that contractors working on the new bridge were aware of this delay some weeks ago and were asked to sign confidentiality agreements, not to disclose this information until after the Scottish Parliament elections on 5 May? A series of questions from Murdo Fraser. The first point that he made was about the weather and I would, in addition to any other spokespersons from other parties, make the offer to say that if they would like to come to the top of the towers of the bridge, because there is a perception—I think that we have to acknowledge the fact—from people that they see— I'll be happy to accompany Murdo Fraser on that visit. I think that there is a point where the public see what they believe to be relatively fine weather, but it can be a completely different environment on top of those towers as I can testify myself. I think that it is important, actually, on the website today of Transport Scotland, if members want to see the video of the two men in the basket pulling the strands for the cables, we get some idea of the pressures that are there. I think that it's also true to say that it's never been the case that we've said no ifs and no buts. I'm not resiling from the target date that we had. I've said that repeatedly, but if you look at the testimony given to the committees of this Parliament by Transport Scotland, by the contractors, they have always talked about whether there is a one variable that, as I've said earlier, they cannot control. In relation to the new date and the conference that surrounds that, I would say that the conference on the part of the contract—and I have to take the words of the contractor, although, of course, we get Transport Scotland to interrogate those things and we, in turn, interrogate Transport Scotland as well as the contractor—their conference is based on the experience right up to date of the weather during the most critical part of this project, which has been over the last few months. As I say, they expect their intention is to have 94 per cent of the project complete by the end of this year, and that will allow sufficient time to make sure that they can finish by the date that they've given me of mid-May. I will do everything that I can to hold them to that project, but yes, to be perfectly blunt to Murdo Fraser whether there is still a factor and that we cannot control. I can also confirm to Murdo Fraser that the existing road bridge is perfectly able to take any traffic, as it has been now for quite a number of months. In addition to the work that was carried out to carry to effect the repairs that were necessary around the bridge, you may remember that those repairs had a further few stages to go to make it permanent repairs. Those are on target and there is no question of the bridge having to close. In addition to that, we had a full health check of the existing bridge and also the crucial point. The reason why we ended up in the first place with the December 2016 target was because we expected, because of the cables that were examined back in the 2000s, which has shown moisture, could necessitate the removal of HGVs from the existing fourth road bridge. Back in 2012, Parliament may remember that we had looked at it again, dehumidification was carried out and we are confident in the ability of the cables to carry the traffic in future that is required to carry. The fourth road bridge in summary will carry traffic for many years to come and we are confident in that. I have no knowledge whatsoever and certainly the Scottish Government has never entered into any confidentiality agreements with contractors saying that they cannot speak about this until I think he said after the election. I repeat the timescale in which I have given him this was in May this year, April and May, with the months when he lost most days, which have necessitated this change. I am happy to provide Murdoffraiser with a timeline on that and I would conclude by once again inviting Murdoffraiser, any other spokespeople, to come up top of the bridge and see what the weather is like for themselves. Alex Rowley Thank you, Presiding Officer. Today's announcement will be greeted with disappointment in five and beyond. As someone who has campaigned for a new crossing for decades, I would say that, although the delay is disappointing, we need to keep it in perspective and make it clear that this new bridge is good news for five, good news for the east of Scotland, indeed good news for the whole economy of Scotland. That is why it is important that ministers do not announce unrealistic deadlines and it is crucial that there is full transparency on this project. Can the minister firstly confirm that there are no further concerns with the existing bridge and that the volume of traffic that it carries every day is not a concern? When did the Government become aware of the delays on the new crossing? Finally, if bad weather in April and May has delayed this project by six months, what steps is the minister taking to ensure that bad weather this winter does not delay the opening even further? Can he therefore commit that June 2017 is absolutely the latest day at which this bridge will open? First of all, I agree with him that this is very good news. I think that sometimes we lose sight of the fact of how unique the structure is. If you think just of the central span, it will be the longest structure of its type in the world, the longest structure ever built in terms of the cables that support that. There are huge challenges. Allot really knows just as well as me. I live on the other side of the forth as well, the challenges that you can have in the forth. That is what is allowed for this disappointment that we are having to express today about the timeline in terms of the end of the year. It is good news for Scotland. To me, that is hugely beneficial. I would love for this decision to have been taken many years ago more further down the road with that, but it is not that we took the decision. I mean, we moved on this very quickly. Alec Rowley, I do not think, was in Parliament at the time, but we actually started the procurement at the same time that you started a legislation in order to try to get this bridge done as quickly as was possible. On his point about fuel transparency, I have already said to any member, including Alec Rowley, that wants to go along on Friday and ask any of the contractors, any of Transport Scotland officials that will be there, any questions that he has, which he feels have not been answered today, will be answered. There is also a great deal of transparency already occurred by the attendance at committees of this Parliament, by Transport Scotland and by the contractor. Alec Rowley also asked about the existing bridge. I think that I have given those assurances that I can to Murdo Fraser. The action that was necessary to get the bridge back into operation was taken. There are still further steps that were not jeopardised the continued use of the bridge but will further ensure that the bridge is made safe for the future, going well into the future. We have a full health check done on the bridge because of the work that was required recently and also the point about the cables. The cables have had a process of dehumidification and that risk has receded from where it was as we expected back in 2005. As to continuing to make sure that we get this at the earliest possible day, I have given the contractor a statement that I will be doing that personally as we have been doing. We will make sure that we are consistent with safety. The contractors are impressed by their approach to safety. The chief contractor, Michael Martin, who is in charge of the whole project, meets every new member of staff coming on. They all ask about the priority and they all say that it is getting the bridge open and he says that it is not at safety. That will be the approach that it has taken, but consistent with that I will be making sure that everything that is possible is being done along with the contractors and Transport Scotland to make sure to be open to this bridge as soon as possible. Alex Cole-Hamilton Thank you to the cabinet secretary for his statement and indeed for the advance copy that we saw before now. Much about the statement now suggests a project in abject distress. How on earth does 25 days lost to weather in April and May equate to a 180-day delay in opening the bridge? Does he take us for fools and does he now expect Parliament to believe that the first that ministers learned of this was just conveniently days after the Scottish election? Will the minister now publish all correspondence pertaining to a potential delay in the opening of this crossing? Michael Martin Cabinet secretary. The idea that this is a project in abject distress will produce, I am sure, some distress in the workforce that are working on this project. They think that they are involved in a fantastic and unique project that will benefit the infrastructure of Scotland, and to hear that kind of statement from Alex Cole-Hamilton does him no credit whatsoever. It is also true to say that he would not find a project in abject distress that had a saving of £254 million attached to it. If he compares that, for example, to the cost of the Lib Dem's favoured trams project in Edinburgh, I think that he will see that was a project in abject distress. I have said already that we will have full transparency. I have said the process by which that will be carried out. Of course, any documents that are required and we can release, there are issues of commercial confidentiality, none of which amount to any statement trying to get anybody to not speak to anybody, not in the part of the Scottish Government. However, we do have, of course, information mechanic available. I commit to making sure that information is made available, but over and above that, any question that is required to be asked by any member of either the contractor Transport Scotland can be done on Friday. I repeat the offer. I do not know whether Alex Cole-Hamilton is his party's spokesperson in relation to the subject. I know that he is a local member, but if he wants to come along either in that capacity or as a spokesperson to the bridge, I will make sure that that happens as well. There is no shepherding of the officials or the contractor by ministers. They are open to answer any question that is required. I think that we have ensured transparency and we will continue to do that. I deplor the comments of Alex Cole-Hamilton in talking about an abject distress. Jenny Gilruth To ask the cabinet secretary what steps have been taken to keep the Queen's Very Crossing project on schedule. As I have mentioned, every possible measure has been taken by the contractor in what has been a sustained effort to meet the December 2016 target. Just to once again repeat, of course I and everyone else, as Alex really says, will be disappointed that we cannot meet that target. However, they have procured additional physical resources. They have increased the staffing, taken on additional 100 workers. They have increased working hours, consistent with safety, and again consistent with safety altered construction methodologies where possible. They have also challenged the critical construction sequences to identify where any programme efficiencies could be found. Somebody, Alex Cole-Hamilton, said, why is it the case that the days that have been lost in April and May are so critical? If you think about the bridge, it has to be completed in a sequential manner. You have as limited as two people working in a very small space at the crucial points where the decks are lifted. That produces constraints that no amount of additional resources can now recover because of the time lost. However, the contractor has confirmed that at this stage further additional resources will not bring the delivery date forward, partly for the reasons that I have mentioned, and partly because of the complex technical nature of the construction work and the sequence of operations that must now be undertaken to complete the structure. However, everything possible is being done, consistent with safety, to make sure that we bring it in as soon as possible. During the period in which the timescale was being reviewed, the project suffered its first and thankfully so far its only casualty. Could the minister tell me if during the period the days were lost in the construction process as a result of that incident? Given the anecdotal suggestions that there may be health and safety compromises taking place, can he guarantee once again that the pressure that he has undertaken to place on the contractors and management of the project will not result in compromises over health and safety? I say first of all that the tragic death of which Alec Johnson refers was Mr John Cusin, who I think everybody on the bridge knew as a very popular person, somebody very committed to the bridge and the project. It is probably hard to convey how devoted to the project those people that are working on it are. It is unique and it has produced a real loyalty to it, and it was of course tragic that Mr Cusin lost his life, and quite rightly that has been investigated by the health and safety executive. Yes, there was a delay. The bridge was closed in respect of Mr Cusin for two days, and I once again for one day think it was on his funeral. I am not going to be applying any pressure which jeopardises safety. I have made that clear to the contractors that, more importantly, the contractors have made clear to me that they will not be doing anything that jeopardises safety. They had, of course, until that tragic accident, a very good record in terms of safety, so I will not be doing anything which jeopardises that. I think that that was all the questions that Alec Johnson asked, but if there is any more, then he can come back to me. Emma Harper Thank you, Presiding Officer. To ask the cabinet secretary, given the weather dependence of the Queensfury crossing construction, what other aspects of work have seen weather-related delays? Cabinet secretary, whether you can have varying impacts on construction activities. However, the critical activities that have been delayed due to wind in particular have been deck lifting and cabling operations. Since that work, that part of the work that commenced in September last year, the downtime due to adverse weather, specifically wind, has been 40 per cent compared to the 25 per cent anticipated by the contractor for this activity. That, in turn, creates an unavoidable knock-on effect for subsequent activities, road surfacing and wind barriers. The wind barrier cannot be put on to the bridge until the bridge is substantially complete, because if it does, it will produce an unacceptable stress on the structure. That will now have to take place in wet and cold conditions during autumn and winter 2016-17. Overall, the contingency built into the construction programme from 2011 was 20 per cent, but much of that was eroded during the weather that we had last year. Emma Harper In the interests of full transparency, will the Government publish all dates from the start of the project that was affected by adverse weather? Has it just been mentioned in terms of safety? We cannot forget that it has just been mentioned death earlier this year of a worker helping to build the bridge. Can the cabinet secretary assure us that he has spoken to the trade unions to assure them that there will be no undue pressure put on as a role of the timescale of the project? On the last point that Neil Bibby raises, that is properly done by the contractor. I conveyed my views to the contractor, the contractor is the employer and they have done that. The idea that we would allow for or pressure the contractor into doing things that were not consistent with safety, we just wouldn't do that. I am sorry, I have just got the first part of Neil Bibby's question. I would say that we already have the data for the crucial periods April to May, which shows day by day when it was not possible, because the wind at the crucial levels exceeded, in one case it is 28mph for the cabling operations and 35mph for the decklifts. We have that information for the crucial period. I will check what further information is available going further back and, of course, we will produce all the information and pass it on to Neil Bibby and to any other member that is interested. Problems with the marine foundations of a new crossing have played any part in this delay? I can say that the contractor has confirmed to us that they firmly believed, up to May, that the previous programme, showing the December 2016 target date for opening to traffic, could still be met with, as I have said, the help of the mitigating actions, albeit that it was becoming increasingly challenging due to the continuing weather impacts. However, in relation to the point that David Torrance raises around the marine foundations, no, they have not played a part in the delay. Jeremy Balfour Thank you, Presiding Officer. I thank the cabinet secretary for his statement and advance copy of it. In his statement, he said that, back in March of this year, when he visited the site, he was guaranteed that it would be completed by December of this year. If that guarantee has now been broken, what confidence can we have that this project will be delivered under budget, now that he has missed his target, what other targets will he miss? Jeremy Balfour's question was about, apart from the other question, the budget that is going to be no impact. We have projected, and it is worth repeating, a saving of £245 million. Just to be clear, this project, when it was first tendered, was for a tender range between £1.75 million and £2.25 million. We expected it to come in at around £1.3 million, but the savings, since the earlier figure came in after the tender, are around £245 million, and they are not impacted by the delay. Any further work having to be done, any further resources having to be applied, are done at the expense of the contractor. He asks again the question about the guarantees. I have tried to be specific in saying that the mid-made date that we have been given by the contractor has been robustly investigated. We have made the same point that Jeremy Balfour just made to me. We do not want to be announcing or applying a date that cannot be met. We are told by the contractor that they can do it in that time. They have, of course, until June for the contract date to end, but we will do what we can in the meantime—everything that we can—to try to work with the contractor through Transport Scotland to make sure that that date of mid-may next year, which is what they have said, they can do and they have given the usual caveat around whether they have said that they can do that. We will do everything that we can do to make sure that they either meet that or indeed improve on that. I will give that personal guarantee. Thank you. The cabinet secretary has said that he aims to be fully transparent. What states will be taken over the next six months to ensure that local partners are kept informed of the progress? My understanding is that, until the statement was made today, people were not aware that a delay was about to be announced. Can I say to Claire Baker on her last point that we can only announce it with me of that information? I have said how recently that information came to us. She is right to say that communities and stakeholders want to be kept up-to-date. I think that there has been an excellent track record from the project on both sides of the bridge of communities that are in keeping them involved and up-to-date. I undertake to make sure that, in relation to what we have announced today, that that information is passed out to those communities and that they are kept up-to-date during the rest of the construction project. I am glad that the cabinet secretary has confirmed that there will be no impact on the public purse as a result of the delay. However, I am curious, cabinet secretary. Can you please let me know whether any finance has been released to the forth crossing bridge constructors for meeting contractual milestones in accordance with the December 2016 target? Of course, we have paid for that. John Swinney had to pay for the project. As we went along, it was not like a normal project where you could take other action for borrowing, so we have had to pay for the project. Of course, any moneys due to the contract that has been paid. That is very disappointing. If you link the recent record on large-scale public infrastructure projects, the M74 delivered on-time and on-budget, the M80 delivered on-time and on-budget, Avery to Bathgate, the Borders Railway, we have taken great strides in making sure that we bring those projects in on-time and on-budget. That project will come in substantially under budget, and it is with great regret that we cannot meet the original timescale that we had, but we undertake to do everything that we can to get the project in by the end of the contract date, the target date being mid-May next year, and we will try to improve on that. That ends questions on the ministerial statement. Apologies to those who wish to ask questions but were not called.