 I have brought forward that motion in the hope that it will spur the SNP Government into action to improve the A77 and A75. This Government appears to have forgotten the importance of good local roads. They do not seem to be focused on improving critical infrastructure. They do not put growing Scotland's economy at the top of their list of priorities. roedden nhw yng Ng���ch Rieniwyr a Llywodraeth yn ei sicr i gyd ziwyr rhagledigol. Na when the case of the A77 and A75, the Scottish National Party has been in power for almost 17 years but in all that time, the Government has not been ambitious enough. It has never had the vision to rejuvenate the south of Scotland's economy by investing enough in the roads and has left the region behind in the process. that economic growth and rural development. They have never accepted the consequences of an adequate infrastructure on rural livelihoods. They have not realised that development of the A77 and A75 is crucial in improving rural connectivity and access to essential services. The A77 action group recently wrote to the Minister for Transport in January to sum up how local people are feeling, and I couldn't agree more with what they said. They wrote, as an area we feel that we are the forgotten, ignored, neglected and deprived corner of Scotland. Having lived in Ayrshire all my life, that's spot on. So today I hope we can find some cross-party consensus to finally change that. I hope today this Parliament will make a commitment to improve the A77 and A75. These roads need investment and they need it now. And it's not only my Scottish Conservative colleagues making this point. East Ayrshire Council leader Douglas Reed said this year that Transport Scotland's decision not to prioritise the Belfield interchange for almost 20 years is scandalous. That is the verdict of an SNP councillor, and my colleague Brian Whittle will mention this further in his contribution. I've been talking about the A77 since my maiden speech. The A77 connects the central belt to Northern Ireland, so improvements on this road won't just impact the south-west of Scotland. They will also impact central belt businesses who send their products to Northern Ireland. That's why more central belt MSPs should be here today calling for improvements. Every MSP should be shocked that it takes an average of 69 minutes to travel a 43-mile stretch. That makes it the slowest A-road in the country, with an average speed of just 37.7 miles per hour. So we can't have any more deflections from this Government dodging responsibility and shifting the blame. There are so many potential benefits of improving both roads. It would increase safety and reduce accidents. It would improve journey times and reduce carbon emissions. It would open up the beautiful south-west to more tourism. It would create jobs and grow our economy faster. What incentive is there to start a business near the slowest A-road in the country? Or what incentive is there for people to move to the area when it takes so long to get to work? Improving the A77 and A75 would be a game changer for Ayrshire and the south of Scotland, but we need urgent action now to realise the benefits. We need to see more constructive work with the UK Government to speed up the feasibility study on the A75 bypassing of Springham and Crockettford. We need to fast-track the improvements to both roads and look at the feasibility of fully dualling the A77. Today I was notified about essential structure waterproofing starting tomorrow on the A77 at Burnfoot bridge. This work will last seven days and will involve a full road closure over the weekend, impacting around 4,000 vehicles a day. That will force HGVs on to smaller B roads, increasing journey times, impacting businesses and putting pressure on the roads themselves. That would not be the case if the road was fully drilled. We know a better road would increase economic growth and improve our public services and connectivity, but that is really about so much more than businesses and the economy. It's about saving lives. The committee says that there is a casualty every three days on those roads. Michaela Shale lost her partner of 35 years, Tony, in a crash on the A75. She told the press recently, I don't want any other family to go through what me and my daughters are still going through because of neglect towards the road. Tony left behind two daughters, Samantha Jane and Natasha. My dad, my best friend, died on the A75 that night after finishing work. He never got to say goodbye to us and we never got to say goodbye to him. That will always hurt. They've also said that the road is not fit for purpose. Tony's partner and his daughters are right. This is a heartbreaking example, but it is not the only one. My colleague Finlay Carson is unable to be here today and can I wish him a speedy recovery, but I know he has been raising the need for upgrades on the A75 for years, and he wanted to raise the fact that only two weeks ago, two more fatalities were reported on this road. This Monday, there was another crash which left three people in hospital. Tragically, there are hundreds of families in a similar position, having lost loved ones on the A75 and the A77. The human cost of delays and inaction is terrible. It's leaving families suffering in pain that will never heal. This Parliament cannot allow this to continue, and the Scottish Government cannot allow this to continue. For all the families who have lost loved ones, for everyone who drives on that road every day, this Parliament and this Government must act now. Thank you, Ms Dowie. We now move to the open debate. I call first Emma Harper to be followed by Brian Whittle around four minutes. Ms Harper. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I would like to thank Sharon Dowie for securing this debate this evening. I think that all of us south-west Scotland MSPs have either raised this issue in debate previously and have raised questions of the Scottish Government on the need for improvements to these main arterial routes, the A75 and the A77. The A75 is part of a 95-mile-long euro route, and it's a fundamental connectivity route for the UK and the wider access to Europe. Fundamentally, it's time that we see much-needed upgrades to improve the safety and efficiency, and I also pay tribute to the A75 and the A77 action groups. Their continued campaign and efforts cannot be underplayed. It is also vital to note that there have been fatal accidents on the road, as Sharon Dowie has just talked about. That includes two very recent accidents on the A75 in as many months. We now have a wife and two daughters without a husband and a father, and a community devastated by the loss of a friend from the other accident near Annan. My thoughts and my condolences go to all the families. We have the commitments from both Governments, but now the focus must be on transforming those commitments into action as quickly as possible. I made this clear at the recent South West Scotland Transport Alliance summit in Stranraer on 29 January at the North West Castle. The summit was attended by MSPs and representatives from the ferry companies, Stena and P&O, Belfast Harbors, the Renh Shest representatives there and the Freeson Galloway and South Ayrshire Council leaders. There was a consensus from all in attendance on the absolute need for road upgrades, and I know my colleague Eleanor with them, MSP, in attending our joint meetings on this issue, also agrees that road improvements are critical. The Scottish Government published the strategic transport projects review in 2022, and it states that the A75 and A77 will benefit from improving junctions, enhancing overtaken opportunities or climbing lanes where slow-moving traffic does lead to risky overtaken maneuvers and widening or realigning carriageways to alleviate pinch points. Those recommendations will bring the long call for change that constituents are asking for. However, the issue now is funding. The Scottish Government continues to operate within a tight economic situation. I'm not going to take any interventions, because I've only got four minutes. The Scottish Government continues to operate within a tight economic situation, a budget handed to us without the ability to commit to huge infrastructure spending. That means that it is necessary for the UK Government to come forward with funding to ensure that upgrades progress. That was acknowledged in the UK Government commissioned union connectivity review, and since the STPR2 in the union connectivity review progress has been made. I welcome that the Scottish and UK Governments have been working together, and I welcome a collaborative engagement to explore the options of making funding available. The Scottish Government secured £8 million from the UK Government for a feasibility study to create bypasses for Springham and Crockettford villages. I again ask the Minister to, or the Cabinet Secretary, to provide exact timescales for when the STPR2 commitments will be enacted. In addition to the need for improvements for better safety and efficiency, I'm also seeking further clarity on the strong economic case that the central belt does benefit from the connectivity to Northern Ireland. I've written to Transport Scotland to seek an update in figures on travelling patterns for cars and HGVs so that we can show that other parts of Scotland do benefit from this A77 connectivity, and it is important in terms of goods and services. Just this week, my office, I've been in touch with GIST Logistics, a major distribution hub employing over 2,500 people in Motherwell. GIST have stated how important the A77 is as part of its distribution network. Both roads, the economic importance cannot be underplayed, and I ask the Cabinet Secretary for a commitment that the Scottish Government recognises that. In conclusion, I ask the Government that it can do all it can to get shovels in the ground on the A75 and the A77 and to deliver these much-needed improvements. Thank you. Brian Whittle to be followed by Colin Smyth around four minutes, Mr Whittle. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I first start by congratulating my colleague, Siam, for bringing this debate to the chamber. I make it that that's every south of Scotland MSP that has initiated a debate on this topic. With your indulgence, Deputy Presiding Officer, as my colleague has said, Fin Carson is not particularly well, but he is well enough to have penned a few lines. With your indulgence, I'll read them out during my speech, if I could. For as long as I've been in this place, the issue of the A75-77 upgrades have been debated, always with the insurances from the Scottish Government. There is a long-standing petition in the Petitions Committee which continues to press the Government to act. The reality of these routes are highlighted when we realise that 60 per cent of goods in and out of Ireland come through the Port of Cairn Lyon. It's the third-biggest port in the UK, and it's linked from Ireland south to England and north into the central bell. That is under threat. It's under threat from the Dublin to Holyhead route because there's no motorway between bell fast and Dublin, and there's dual carriageway from Holyhead. The time it takes to get good south is only 44 minutes. The ferry operators told us at that conference we were at that they are now not going to invest in new-upgraded bigger ferries directly because of the infrastructure in the south-west. That goes back to 2010 when Alex Salmond in opening Cairn Lyon, a £240 million worth of investment, assured the ferry operators that the Scottish Government would invest in both the A75 and the A77. In 2011, Alex Neil became the transport minister, and he said that it was a disgrace that Labour during their time in here had not upgraded these roads. When I first came in here, one of the first meetings I ever had was down in Dumfries with Hulmsley, Yusef and John Swinney there, listening to over 100 people in a room, and that's what they did. They listened and they took that away. Since then, with a Derek Mackay, Michael Matheson and Jenny Goruth, all have listened, but none have acted. The reality is that, since 2010, only 0.04 per cent of the transport spend has been in the south-west. My colleague Shardown mentioned the Belfood Interchange. I remember, right away at the start, contacting Transport Scotland about the Belfood Interchange and highlighting to them the fact that there is now queuing traffic of the Belfood Interchange on to the M77s who were queuing traffic on the M77. They agreed with me that that was dangerous. All they've done is erect a sign that says queuing traffic ahead. Over 40 per cent of the vehicles that go into North Ayrshire go through the Belfood Interchange, so it's a really, really important interchange. For as long as I've been in here and people from longer than that, I've told me that they've been lobbying the Government to try and do something about this interchange and nothing has happened. All that time when those routes could and should have been improved, all that time, and now we have a clamour over the A9 taking over all the headlines. So once again, and my fear is, the south-west is going to be pushed to the side and ignored. As I said, my colleague Finlay Carson, who can't be here today, who's the MSP for Galloway West and Dumfries, has been one of the driving forces in the campaign to have the A75 upgraded and essentially made fit for purpose for today's day and age. He knows only too well the importance of improving the road safety record, the reliability and resilience of key arteries that serve the ports of Cairnrym, having lived in the shadow of the A75 for most of his life. Granted progress is now slowly being made with the UK Government committing to providing £8 million towards coming up with a detailed study to identify options for the realignment of the A75 around Springhome and Crockford. In addition, along with Transport Scotland, they will look at the delivery of other targeted improvements along the A75 to alleviate various pinch points as well as target on the notorious Hohover road end. The growing urgency towards the need for improvements cannot be emphasised enough, as only last week two more fatalities were reported on the A75. This time a 41-year-old woman who grew up in Wigtonshire lost her life along with a 35-year-old van driver. That comes after Finlay highlighted another tragedy in the chamber earlier this month when he spoke about the death of Tony Shield following a collision with an HGV in November last year. Finlay recalled his meeting with Tony's widow, Michele Yates, and the two daughters, Samantha Jane and Natasha, who have now launched a petition demanding that average speed cameras be introduced along this Euro route. We know that average speed cameras have been deployed in other dangerous roads such as the 77 and the A9, and I brought about immediate improvements to road safety. I know that the transport secretary has already given a commitment to examine the introduction on the A75, and it has strongly urged her to ensure that this happens sooner rather than later to avoid another family having lives torn apart. The transport secretary rightly said that any tragedy is a tragedy too many, and we will now deliver on that promise. Deputy Presiding Officer, talk is cheap. The south-west is no longer the forgotten part of Scotland, it's the ignored part. To halt the migration of people out of the rural community into urban Scotland, to raise the average earnings in this area, which is the lowest in Scotland, we need connectivity to encourage businesses and enterprise into the area, which can in turn persuade people to stay. The realisation seems to have so far fallen in very deaf years, Deputy Presiding Officer. Thank you, and I'll call Colin Smyth to be followed by Graham Simpson around four minutes, Mr Smyth. Thank you, Presiding Officer, and thank you to Sharon Dulley for her motion. It's not the first debate we've had on the A75 and A77, and frankly, it won't be the last, because we know what the Cabinet Secretary's response will be today. There's currently no delivery plan from the Scottish Government, even for the modest and adequate improvements proposed to both roads in STPR2. There isn't a timeline for the feasibility study on the A75. The £8 million for the study hasn't been received from the UK Government, and there isn't a single penny, a single penny committed by either Government, to deliver a single major improvement to either road. Last month, many of us in this chamber attended the summit organised by the South West Scotland Transport Alliance in Strunrar. There was a collective anger from the ferry firms, businesses, the community, the council, the health board, cross-party politicians, at the utter lack of action from Government. There's also a determination that we're not going to sit back and let that summit be another Groundhog Day. The need to make crucial arteries safer, greener, better is clear and it's never been more important. I want to read part of comments that Samantha Shield, a constituent, made to me recently. On 24 November, my dad Tony was involved in a collision with an HDV on the A75. He was pronounced dead at this scene. He was just three minutes away from home. No daughter should carry their dads coffin at 19 and 16. He shouldn't have missed my 20th birthday in January. My dad didn't deserve what happened to him just like everyone else who has died on this road. Presiding Officer, every three days there's occasionally an injury on the A75 and A77. 564 in just five years. Whether you're driving a car, a truck or riding a bike, too many lives are being lost and many more will be lost unless we invest to make these roads safer. As well as the safety case for improvements, we also need to nail the myth that investing in improving these roads would be bad for the environment. One hollier reported that its emission data showed that on average, lorries on these roads emit two tonnes more CO2 every day than they would on a dual carriageway. Does anybody really think there is anything green about 40-ton wagons rattling past the front doors of homes in Crockettford or spring home on the A75 or Lendalfoot, Mini-Shant, Coswell, Turnberry, Girvin, Ballantry on the A77? Villages that haven't been bypassed in what are supposed to be key trunk roads and the route to Northern Ireland. We also know that it's better for the environment to ship freight by sea than by air and by having freight traffic from Scotland use Cairnryan rather than travel further but sometimes quicker to ports in the north of England. The fact that the A75 and A77 are too slow and too unreliable is damaging not just to the south-west economy but the whole of Scotland's economy. The majority of the 400,000 freight vehicles per year, the 1.75 million passengers who travel through Cairnryan don't come from Ayrshire or Dumfries and Galloway. They come from the central belt and the north of England. When the average speed on the A77 between Ayr and Cairnryan is just 37.7 miles per hour or 44.9 miles per hour on the A75 between Gretna and Cairnryan, that stifles our economy and it holds back businesses right across the country. So, Presiding Officer, the Government's current plan or rather a lack of one isn't good enough. Every day, those roads are becoming less safe, less green and less economically efficient. I want to finish with another quote from Tony's daughter. Our dad, our best friend died on the A75. We don't want any other family to go through the pain that we are going through. But sadly, Presiding Officer, that is happening to too many families. When I last raised this issue in Parliament I asked the Cabinet Secretary to meet with campaigners such as the A77 and the A75 Action Groups. I hope that she will do so and I hope that she will listen to why the Government's current plans are simply not good enough for the communities that we are here to represent. Thank you. I now call the final speaker on open debate, Graham Simpson, in around four minutes, please, Mr Simpson. Many thanks, Deputy Presiding Officer. I also thank Sharon Dary for securing this debate. It's rather a shame, though, that we need to have it, because the debate, as Colin Smyth said, that we've had before. Sadly, I agree with Colin Smyth, we'll probably have it again and again, because there's been a total lack of action to improve these roads. Sharon Dary started her speech by calling for the need for good local roads. Those are local roads, but they're more than that. They're of national importance. Other speakers have mentioned this. I should say to Sharon Dary that I speak as a central belt MSP. She called for central belt MSPs to take part in this debate. But these roads, given the importance of them and how they connect to Northern Ireland, are of national significance. I have a number of haulage logistics companies in my region, particularly in Lanarkshire, who I've spoken to, who travel along the... well, it's usually the 77 to reach Ireland. And as soon as anything goes wrong on that road, their deliveries are impacted. So you just think if they're bringing goods... Let's say they're bringing goods from Ireland to Scotland, if something goes wrong on the 77, older 75, then those goods don't get to market and Scotland's economy is affected. So improving these roads is absolutely vital, and we do need an action plan from the Scottish Government. They are responsible for roads in Scotland. They need to come up with a plan to say when these roads are going to be improved. I welcome the fact that the UK Government has offered money to fund a study on the A75, but that's not enough. It's good, but it's not enough. We actually need a timetable of when things are going to happen, because that's what the communities that are served by these roads actually need. Road safety, of course, is a huge issue. There have been too many accidents on these roads. There have been too many deaths on these roads. Those will continue, sadly, until improvements are made. They will continue, I have to say, to Brian Whittle on the A9 as well, until improvements are made on that road. I'm not going to get in the game of trading off. I'm sure that Mr Whittle wasn't doing that. One road versus the other, but there are key roads across Scotland that require investment and they're not getting it. I thank Sharon Dowry again for bringing this debate to the chamber, but really it shouldn't be necessary and I hope we're not here again, because we need to hear from the Cabinet Secretary today what she is going to do. I want to express my sympathies to anyone who has been killed or injured on our roads, and our thoughts are with the family and friends of those involved in recent incidents, including the serious accident that occurred on Monday on the A-75 Mirraint News Institute. I have listened closely to the discussion today and fully appreciate the member's wish to see action on the improvements to both the A-75 and the A-77. Investment in both roads is crucial for improving rural connectivity and access to essential services, and this is reflected in recommendation 40 of STBR 2. I will set out the progress that this Government has made to date and what we are planning to do. This financial year alone, we will deliver over £3 million worth of vital structural maintenance on the A-75 and resurfacing works worth £1.4 million on the A-77. For the A-77, since 2007, we have completed five major improvements, including most recently the £29 million Mable bypass, which opened in January 2022. The Conservatives ignored that major project in their remarks and it is wrong to say that there has been a lack of action. Let me continue. A-75 is entirely committed to improving safety and resilience on these routes. Since 2015, we have spent over £85 million on the maintenance for each of the A-75 and A-77 in addition to other works. That is over £170 million of road investment. I can also add that the 2024-25 budget will see a 31 per cent increase in the trunk road maintenance budget. Earlier this year, on 5 February, the same day as the South West Transport Alliance wrote to me, I raised the need for further discussion on improving connectivity with Northern Ireland with Lord Davies of Gower at the Transport and Ministerial Group. As the members know, the A-75 and A-77 are important connections in the flow of goods and people between key economic centres. The Northern Irish Minister was not in attendance at the interim ministerial group meeting as he had just been appointed that very day, but I requested that we discuss the matter at future meeting when he can attend. The Scottish and UK Governments agree that investment is required on the A-75. That is not disputed. I can confirm that just in December, the Scottish Government secured a commitment from the UK Government for a multi-year funding of £8 million towards improving the A-75. In the short term, this funding is essential in making demonstrable progress on the A-75. It will cover the design, develop and assessment of options for improvements to the A-75, specifically around Crockett Food and Springham, up to the announcement of our preferred route. For a variety of statutory-driven reasons, this kind of work can take some time. While funding is confirmed, it has not yet been allocated or received. My officials are working with the UK Government on this, and only once completed will we then be able to set a draft timetable. Nevertheless, we are taking every step necessary to have this work ready to commence next financial year. Work to prepare procurement documents to appoint a technical adviser has begun. Once funding formalities are complete, we will immediately progress this. While the funding for the A-75 is welcome, the fact remains that Scotland is facing very briefly. Graham Simpson. I thank the cabinet secretary for taking the intervention. It surely must be possible for her to set out a rough timescale, because that is what people need to know. They want to know when the work is actually going to start. When does she think that will happen? Cabinet secretary. The member will know, as he is the Conservatives Transport spokesperson, that there are steps that have to be taken, including regulatory statutory processes that might be subject to legal challenge, etc. For me to set out that timetable, I think would be disingenuous as I think he genuinely understands. The UK Government has not inflation-proofed their capital budget, which is forecast to result in a 9.8 per cent real-terms cut in our capital funding over the medium term. We are therefore having to make tough decisions on our infrastructure projects pipeline. If I can move on to the wider road safety concerns raised, we are committed to achieving safer road travel for all road uses in Scotland now and in the future. Only this morning, I attended a road safety summit in Edinburgh where I was clear that road safety remains an absolute priority for the Scottish Government and I am determined that we can continue to make investments that support our road safety framework to 2030. That is why we have earmarked a record £36 million for road safety in the next Scottish budget. As part of our commitment to casualty reduction to reduce the risk of accidents and to manage traffic speeds, a significant investment has been made on the A75 and A77 over recent years and a route study will be carried out for the A75 in 2024-25 to investigate route-wide collision and risk reduction measures. In addition, we are exploring potential safety enhancements on the A75 at both the hawk of our and Twineham junctions with delivery planned in 2024-25 subject to funding. Partial signalisation is currently being designed at Cuckoo Bridge roundabout to address a recent history of accidents at that location. Construction is programmed for next financial year. In terms of the A77 improvements were delivered at the A751 junction, improvements are also being delivered in government to support casualty reductions, speed management and active travel. These will be completed before the end of the year. Similar schemes are planned for Cercosl and Ballantree. Further road safety investigations are planned between Belfield and Grassyard junctions and on sections of the A77 around Homeston and Dutch House roundabouts. One of the key technologies we have for helping with road safety is that of safety cameras. Across Scotland we deploy cameras through the Scottish Safety Camera programme, primarily where they have the greatest potential to reduce injury collisions and where there is evidence of both collisions and speeding. There is currently a mobile safety camera enforcement strategy in place along the length of the A75. That consists of 17 locations and safety camera resources are regularly deployed along the route to encourage good driver behaviours and compliance with the speed limit. That change in driver behaviour is reflected by a reduction of 73% in the total number of casualties on the route over the last three years when compared to the three-year period before that enforcement strategy was in place. An average safety camera system has been in operation on the A77 since 2005 and was upgraded in 2016 and extended in 2021 from Whitlets to Bankfield. As with all safety camera sites across Scotland, the effectiveness of those enforcement strategies on both routes is assessed through the annual safety camera site selection exercise. In conclusion, this Government will continue to invest in both the A75 and the A77 as it has done so for many years. We have a firm plan for what we want on both routes, which is set out in the STPR2. However, our ambitions for investment are tempered by the reductions in our capital budgets. We know all too well the devastations that road traffic accidents cause and we continue to invest in the safe and efficient operation of both routes. I can assure members that we are committed to improving both the A75 and the A77 as well as the wider transport network in south west Scotland. That region can achieve its ambitions as it so rightly deserves.