 The final item of business is a member's business debate on motion 11185 in the name of Rachel Hamilton. On the condition of Scotland's road, this debate will be concluded. Without any questions, we can ask those members who wish to speak in the debate to press the request to speak buttons now. I call on Rachel Hamilton to open the debate. Ms Hamilton, seven minutes please. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Scotland's roads have suffered from chronic underfunding. That underfunding has allowed for the situation that many of us endure in a daily basis. Potholes described as craters and our roads resembling the surface of a moon. Scotland's roads are in crisis. This anecdotal evidence is also proven by experts. Confused.com found that Scotland has the worst potholes in the whole of the UK. Recent statistics suggest that more than a quarter of countries roads are in an unsatisfactory state and between 2015 and 2017 almost 12,000 miles of them were earmarked for inspection or required maintenance, with 423 potholes reported each day. Millions are spent by local authorities to repair potholes, and 2 million has been paid out in compensation over the past 10 years. Indeed, compensation claims by motorists for damage caused by potholes alone has risen by 130 per cent between 2013 and 2017. I was speaking to Sustrans this morning and they tell me that in Edinburgh over the past five years, 111,000 was paid out to motorists and a staggering 66,000 of that was given in compensation to cyclists. Funding to maintain Scotland's roads has been cut by a fifth over the last seven years. A report from COSLA found that it had fallen from £691 million in 2010 and 2011 to £554 million last year. The Transport Research Lab found that for every £1 reduction in local roads maintenance spend could result in a cost of between £1.67 and £1.76 to the wider Scottish economy. Potholes are our nemesis, causing misery to our constituents and costing our local authorities millions. The Beast from the East made things worse. The extreme weather has worsened the conditions of the roads, much so that budgets repairs will barely make an impact. We must acknowledge that although local authorities try to combat that, it is a problem that has become out of control. The Scottish Borders, for example, has some of the worst roads in Scotland. The Scottish Borders, for example, has some of the worst roads in Scotland and in the UK. My constituents agree with the Federation of Small Businesses when they say that run-down local roads hurt small businesses. A community group from Newcastleton even said of the potholes, that is having a dilabidating effect on our community with many now not attempting travel in the dark or even confident about leaving the village. There is a real fear of risk, serious accident or injury being caused by driving. Inheriting a backlog of repairs, our current administration at the Scottish Borders Council has set aside £22 million for roads and bridges over the next three years. Recently, with an additional £1.8 million investment, a total of 32 Borders roads will be improved as part of a £2.6 million resurfacing programme this year. Despite that encouraging news, the fact remains that the Borders has a roads network of 3,000 kilometres and with over 900 potholes recorded last year alone, increased investment will not go far enough. That is true for all because with over 150,000 potholes between Scotland's local authorities, the Society of Chief Officers of Transportation in Scotland has warned that funding cuts mean that it is not possible to repair each one. The problem therefore is very much real and impacts us all. Despite efforts from local authorities, there is simply not enough that they can do alone to fix the roads. However, the Scottish Conservatives have a plan, a means to support local authorities and help to repair our roads. A pothole fund of £100 million over the next Scottish Parliament, £20 million a year to support local authorities to fix our roads. That funding will see two million potholes repaired over the course of the next Parliament, enough to fix current and future potholes. Local authorities would bid for the fund to support their own efforts to see road repairs. That is action that Scottish people deserve—a road network fit for purpose. Scotland needs action now to stop this troubling situation from exacerbating further. A good road network will benefit us all. It will benefit most motorists, pothole-free motorists who can drive in comfort and safety. It will help cyclists, for they will be able to ride in safety, not at risk of puncture or falling off due to an unexpected terrain under the wheels. It will help local transport to bus journeys made safer, smoother and with less chance of something going wrong. In a recent promotional video for the National Trust for Scotland, Sir Chris Hoy talks about how he hates potholes but loves how Scots can be the best in the world. We can be the best in the world. Just look at Sir John Loudon McAdam and how he was the inventor of the McAdam road surface. We can encourage more visitors to the area instead of looking out for potholes. Visitors can look at the beautiful countryside instead. We want to make a good impression here in Scotland, and one way to do that is by making our roads pothole-free and safe. I have people in my constituency in such despair that they are starting to fill in their own potholes. Roads are so bad that they cannot drive to their own front door. It is not right that the situation has got so bad that members of the public are taking action into their own hands. The fund will give my constituents and each member's constituents the roads and repair services that they deserve. To close, I reiterate that the Scottish Conservatives are offering real solutions with a plan to introduce the pothole fund. A solution to fix our roads and fill in our 153,000-plus potholes, Scotland's roads are in crisis. The roads in the Scottish borders are in crisis. The Scottish National Party must focus on the day job and resolve the national shame that our Scotland's roads is. I am very grateful to Rachael Hamilton for securing the debate. It is an important issue. It is one in which we get a tremendous amount of case work and interest from our constituents. Although I could very gently suggest to the Conservative party that if they want £100 million to put into a pothole, they might want to first address the £500 million black hole that their tax plans would create. However, not to become too partisan in this meeting of the Scottish Parliament for this debate, I am very grateful for this opportunity, because it allows me to highlight some of the fantastic work that my colleagues and SNP-led Renfisher Council are undertaking. Only today, in the Johnston Gazette, it was reported on the front page. I am sorry, but I know that you are very friendly with the Johnston Gazette, but I am not. I have no props, please. My apologies, Presiding Officer. In case anyone missed it, let me read it out. £7 million to fix roads in ruin. Indeed, it is more than £7 million that SNP-led Renfisher Council is putting into the roads. £7.2 million programme. That means that 86 roads across the region are to be resurfaced. 33 roads surfacedrest are patched. 46 footways will be resurfaced. That represents the biggest single investment in roads ever made by Renfisher Council, and there will be an on-going programme of pothole repair. That has been complemented by the money that is invested by the Scottish Government, by Derek Mackay, £312,000 for Renfisher, and £136,000 for East Renfisher, both of which make up my Renfisher South constituency. Indeed, I would want constituents to watch this debate, because I am sure that many are, because potholes have an important issue to have an idea of some of the work that will be undertaken. I am delighted to share with the chamber that roads to be resurfaced include, in my constituency of Renfisher South, the A761 bridge of Weir Road, part of the High Street in Loch Winnock, Beve road in Johnstone, Kilbarking road in Johnstone, Barrick road in Johnstone, the Barrick and Road interchange, Brayhead in Loch Winnock, Bredsmill road in Loch Winnock, Bridge Street in Linwood, Eastwild bank in Kilbarking, Kilbarking road in Kilbarking, Locker road in Kilbarking, Cibleston in Kilbarking, Linn Park gardens in Johnstone, McDowell street in Johnstone, Newton avenue in Eldersley and Spateson road in Johnstone. That makes up a grand total of 41,000 square metres. You might be keen to know 10,000 square metres more than the total floor space of the Scottish Parliament. Indeed, it is not just roads that we are going to be repaving in Renfisher, so if we are going to be doing footways as well, Bridge of Weir Road, High Street in Johnstone, where my constituency office is located, Clippins road in Linwood, Park garden in Kilbarking, Miller street in Johnstone, Quaroton road in Johnstone, Beve road in Johnstone, Eastwild bank in Kilbarking, Old road in Eldersley, so Eldersley is not left out, Victoria road in Brookfield, McDowell road and Falken road. There is a benanza of resurfacing about to happen in Renfisher South and indeed across Renfisher and East and I want to welcome Mr Demonstrates at both a local council level and a national level SNP governments, SNP administrations, investing in Scotland's roads and I know that something all of my constituents will be delighted about. Thank you very much. I call Jamie Greene to be followed by Colin Smyth. Mr Greene, please. I'm absolutely delighted that the people of Renfisher are entirely 100% happy with the state of their roads, but judging by the casework that I get into Inbox from Renfisher, I can assure the member that that is absolutely not the case given the sheer scale and volume of casework that we get from that part of the world. It's great to see Richard Hamilton's debate today spurred his council into action at long last on the issue. The reality is that the truth is that roads right across Scotland, not just in Renfisher or North Ayrshire or any of the other constituencies that you hear from today, are deteriorating. They're flooding, they're full of cracks and full of potholes and every week, every one of us surely must read our inboxes and have complaints not just from drivers who've had to go out and replace tires and suspension bumpers but also from cyclists and motorcyclists who are struggling to use our roads, pedestrians, wheelchair users or those on mobility scooters. It really touches anyone who uses our roads. To put this into scale, last winter, drivers lodged complaints about a road in Scotland every three minutes. Depending on who you ask, it's estimated that up to a third of our roads are in need of some form of repair. That's over 4,771 miles of road that need fixing. As Rachel Hamilton said, there are over 154,000 potholes in Scotland. Councils have been struggling with that. Rather than spending money on fixing those roads, instead, they're paying out compensation. It seems like they are stuck in a rotational situation that is hard to get out of. Repayments for damage has increased by 130 per cent since 2013. It's a chronic issue. It's not just the weather that's causing it. It's year after year of roads that have been left to get worse. The problem is that it's not just related to one part of Scotland. It depends where you live. It will determine how bad the roads are. In the West Lothian, for example, it's estimated that around 20 per cent of roads are in need of repair. However, if you live in Argyll and Bute, it could be up to 45 per cent of roads. As is so often the case, it is rural roads that are the last to be addressed and fixed. I recently ran a social media campaign asking people, perhaps to my regret, to post pictures and comments about potholes in North Ayrshire. The Facebook post attracted 500 comments in a week. It was the most that I've ever had on any post, even anything constitutional. However, it reached over 50,000 people. That struck me. There were many, many people from across my area posting pictures and commenting on specific roads that they wanted me to come and have a look at. The reality is that road maintenance funding has been reduced by around 20 per cent in Scotland. The cost of fixing all that, according to one organisation, the site of chief officers of transportation Scotland, is estimated at up to £1.6 billion. I do not think for a minute that the minister has that sort of money kicking around up his sleeve. However, the reality is that many councils simply do not have enough cash to resurface roads. The problem is not limited to council roads. We know that trunk roads and motorways are also suffering. Over 10th of Scotland's trunk roads are showing damage. I begin to hear what the minister is going to do to address that. Yes, there are ways of fixing this. We could use technology better. Self-healing, asphalt, for example, has been talked about and has been used in some countries for over a decade. However, the piecemeal approach is just filling in holes rather than looking at long-term funding solutions and structures is the way forward. The drivers are sick of listening to politicians across all levels of governance, saying that that road is not my responsibility, it is someone else's. Will they say enough is enough, and so do I, Presiding Officer? Thank you very much. I call Colin Smyth, followed by Kate Forbes. Mr Smyth, please. Thank you to Rachael Hamilton for bringing forward her motion, which has allowed today's debate on the condition of Scotland's roads. I have previously been a councillor for over a decade and now as an MSP. When I say that there are few issues that are often raised, I am with as much passion by the public than the state of our roads, I suspect that it is a sentiment that many other members will recognise. However, the number of those complaints is definitely on the rise, and you can see why. As the motion notes confused.com found it, the potholes in Scotland's roads are now the worst in the UK. Figures from the most recent local government benchmarking report revealed that around a third of all roads are in need of maintenance work. Research by the Society of Chief Officers of Transportation in Scotland found that the cost of the backlog of repairs needed in Scotland's roads is valued at around £1.6 billion. That would be an onerous challenge at the best of times, but when it comes to council budgets we actually live in the worst of times. We have seen a £1.5 billion cut in council budgets since 2011. Osterity from the UK government has been passed on with interest to local councils by the Scottish Government, and the impact of those political, not economic choices are there for all to see through the plague of potholes on Scotland's roads. Those funding cuts mean that council roads budgets have been slashed by 20 per cent over the past seven years, and the number of roads maintenance workers has also fallen as councils hemorrhage jobs by the tens of thousands. Those workers who remain are facing ever-growing workload with fewer resources and pay, which has been fallen in real terms. Unison's road to nowhere report highlighted low morale among road repair staff, with almost one in 10 survey respondents stating that morale in their team was low or very low. The same report found that the majority of workers reported skipping breaks or working late just to get through their growing workload. Until we have a fair funding deal for our councils, we will not begin to tackle the crisis of maintenance on our roads. However, the problems on our roads are not just confined to those that are maintained by local authorities. A number of complaints that I receive about the lack of basic maintenance on some of our trunk roads is also on the increase, such as the A76, where so-called temporary traffic lights on the enter confoot stretch reducing the road to a single lane have been in place since 2014, as we await so-called urgent repairs on what is Scotland's forgotten road. The A77 and A75, crucial arteries for the south-west, leading to our ferry terminals at Cairnryan, have been starved of investment for far too long, with an economic impact there for all to see. We all know that we cannot build our way out of all the issues that are affecting our roads, such as congestion. We need better investment and proper regulation of our buses and a railway system where passengers, not profits, are the priority. However, that does not excuse the lack of basic maintenance on our roads, which impacts not only on our drivers but others such as bus users. For people, for example, travelling by foot or bike, the impact of poorly maintained pavements or potholes can mean serious injuries. We also need to consider just how we repair many of our roads and how we guarantee the standard and longevity of this work. Technological innovations have the potential to reduce the time and cost of roadworks and we should be supporting the development of new techniques such as the use of waste plastic being pioneered by Dumfrieshire firm Macrubba, which has the real potential to repair many of our roads in an environmentally friendly way. Unless we begin to address the funding crisis that we face in our local councils, we will never address the crisis of outstanding repairs on Scotland's roads. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Last year, I drove 19,000 miles across my constituency, which is just restricted to the constituency. Although I am not an expert on the matter of potholes, I am certainly very experienced when it comes to potholes. Highland Council represents a huge road network of 6,754 kilometres of road in the Highland Council area. Like other speakers in the chamber, with the exception of Tom Arthur, we have problems with potholes as well. At the beginning of the year, to pay credit, where credit is due to Transport Scotland, Transport Scotland moved very quickly on the trunk roads on the west coast, the A82A87, by releasing an additional £4 million to Bear Scotland in order to be able to deal with resurfacing works on the west coast trunk roads and to get started much quicker. A few weeks ago, when it comes to local authority roads, which is where the real problem is, Derek Mackay announced an additional £10 million for local authorities. Highland Council got the largest share of that, which is appropriate considering the mileage of road network that it needs to cover. For me, the priority here is that, with additional funding, with council tax having gone up, with an increase, albeit a small increase, to Highland Council's budget, it is right and fair that Highland Council move as quickly as possible to filling potholes and to resurfacing roads that, in some areas of the constituency, are exceedingly bad. It has not just been a case of bad weather, because I was being contacted by constituents prior to the bad weather about certain stretches of road in the Highland Council region that desperately needed attention. One of the things that I am very concerned about is when I see urban roads in the Highland Council area getting quicker treatment than some of the worst rural roads in the villages of places like the west coast of Skye. What I would like to see is a clear schedule of works, like Transport Scotland, has produced for improvements quickly so that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Constituents have contacted me and, again, I think that Rachel Hamilton mentioned it as well, where constituents are choosing to help. We have numbers of tourists starting to arrive and one constituent, Annie and Neil Ferguson, were telling me stories about the way that they had to help visitors whose higher cars have been damaged by the potholes and by the surface of some of the roads that I mentioned in the west coast of Skye, which is Highland Council's responsibility. She wrote to me that, last Saturday, the breakdown truck attended her, a very small village, 12 times, and that they had been personally involved with seven lots of visitors in the space of a week, feeding them, providing lifts, making phone calls and even changing tyres. They have had Germans, French visitors, Italians, Slovakians, Americans and Chinese visitors all coming to ask for help because of coming into difficulties with the state of the road. I could quote some other stories. I would love it if Tom Arthur could put his council colleagues in touch with the Labour Lib Dem Independent Administration at Highland Council and share some ideas as to how Highland Council can start making better progress in filling the potholes and ensuring that my constituents can get to work and can go about their business without fear of punctures and damaging their cars. There is money there, £4 million to Transport Scotland, the biggest share of the £10 million to Highland Council, a decent share of budget this year, and they need to publish a schedule of works and get moving as quickly as possible. I call Brian Whittle, followed by Liam Kerr. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Can I thank Rachel Whittle? No? Rachel Hamilton? Not yet. Rachel Hamilton, for bringing this debate to the chamber, and giving me the opportunity to once again highlight the issues that we have in the south-west of Scotland as a transport minister, is well aware of the campaigns to upgrade the A77 and the A75 at their well underway. I recently, for his information, took an HGV trip down the A77 all the way to Cairn Ryan. It is interesting being in a 44-ton lorry that actually has to swerve to avoid potholes, and it can leave it to your imagination how big you think those potholes must be to have an impact on a 44-ton lorry. I would like to thank Willie Express for allowing that to happen. During that journey, it is quite enlightening because we go through a lot of small villages, such as the Maballs and the Government, at half past nine at night, and how close you are to the park cars on the other side, and how close you are to those houses on the other side of that lorry. It is quite an interesting experience coming out of the other side of Ballantree and climbing up that hill as the ferry is being unloaded at the other end. You are meeting other 44-ton lorries coming the other way and you are crawling along at four or five miles an hour with the wing mirrors missing each other by a few inches. It is quite something to see. Also, what is happening along the A77 between Moncton and Kilmarnock? We now have temporary road signs, surface signs that have appeared. How bad do the trunk roads have to become before action is taken? They are inspected weekly. They are becoming extremely dangerous, especially to motorcycles. Given the condition of the 75 and the apparent inability of the transport secretary to effectively address the issue that I am considering going elsewhere for a solution, Deputy Presiding Officer, rather than treat it as an infrastructure issue, I have decided to ask a question of culture. The A77 is no longer a road, Deputy Presiding Officer. It is a kinetic sculpture that aims to reflect the Scottish Government's approaches to dealing with health, education and the economy, crumbling under the pressure and full of holes. Out to the next part of this art installation, I will be applying to the Creative Scotland for a grant to repair the roads that my working title is competence or how I learn to stop making excuses and get on with the job. The STPR2 effectively means that the transport minister will not be announcing any new major capital projects until shortly before the next election, so surely that means that he has more time to dedicate than maintaining the existing road network. Even when he has funds, he does not seem to be spent. There is a £50 million underspend currently, and I would like to go around the chamber here. I am sure that we could all grab that £50 million and show you how that could be spent. The Scottish Government is prepared to ignore the south-west of Scotland and allow the roads to crumble while crowing over expensive vanity projects such as the electrification of the A9. The Scottish power says that I think that I might. Kate Forbes said that electrification of the A9 is a vanity project, so ensuring that there are better infrastructure works to the highlands are not vanity projects. I think that you touched a raw nerve there, Mr Whittle. I thank Kate Forbes for her intervention. The Scottish power says that there is a huge capacity issue that has not been addressed by the project, and while we spend money on that, all the infrastructure in the south of Scotland is crumbling and left unattended. We should not underestimate the economic impact that is made by the condition of Scotland's roads while I am not rolling out the possibility that the condition of the roads is part of the new economic strategy to boost the wheel and tyre repair sector—I suspect that that is not the case. While it is holliers and other businesses dealing with the expense of repairs to the vehicles or simply commuters caught up in traffic when someone bursts a tyre on our section of road, that is cost to the economy. To Tom Arter, that is what we mean when we talk about investing in our economy. That is one of the ways. I thank Rachael Hamilton for securing this vitally important debate. It is particularly pertinent to me because I wrote to the minister a fortnight ago about that. I was on the A90 coming back from 4 for 1 evening in April, and I went through the three miles between the A935 and the B966 turn-offs. The locals will know it. It is the section of pinkish tarmac that passes Strachathro services. I was absolutely incensed as I slallomed through the large deep potholes, dodging other motorists doing the same and grimacing every time my wheel crunched into one. I was in a little 15-year-old sports car that day, which reacts somewhat negatively to dropping into a hole at 70 miles an hour. I frequently ridden that road on a motorbike, and hitting one of those holes or a last-minute swerve to avoid it on two wheels could easily end in tragedy. I immediately composed a letter to the minister asking for urgent action. The courier picked up on that and reported a study showing that last year, around 22 per cent of aeroads in Angus were categorised as red or amber. That is up from 17 per cent when the SNP took over. It also reported in Perth and Kinross that the percentage was 40 per cent red or amber. That is nearly half, up from 36 per cent when the SNP took over. Although Kate Forbes may wish to note that, that has improved since a Conservative council took over and made tackling potholes a priority, and I am sure that they will be pleased to help you as well, Kate Forbes. That is 324 kilometres of road in courier country in need of repair. That is more than a cosmetic issue. That is an economic issue as well as a public safety one. It is not straightforward to get to breakin and forfer from Aberdeen by public transport. Many people who do not need to make the journey could be put off by the risks of driving, and that is not good for the local economy. There are public health risks. The minister will be well aware of Potzilla, which opened up in March on the A90 outside Lawrence Kirk. Less a pothole, more a sinkhole, it put estimated 21 cars on the verge with burst tyres and buckled alloys in one evening alone. Financially crippling, but just imagine one of those was a motorbike. What will really have riled motorists on the A90 is that when the courier asked for a comment, a Scottish Government spokesman said, the budget for maintenance has increased and a recent audit Scotland report found that 87 per cent of roads are acceptable. The recent severe weather caused more damage. Our trunk road operating companies make carriageway defects safe etc etc etc etc. It doesn't say anything about the A90. It didn't acknowledge that there is a particular issue here and it didn't say anything about when and indeed whether this particular moonscape would be repaired. I have a good deal of time for Mr Yousaf, both as an individual and as a minister. I believe that he appreciates an opportunity to tell it straight and therefore I am not convinced that this generalised metaphorical pass on the head for the people of north-east were his words. I am sure that he would not have wanted to disappoint the people of the north-east by the apparent lack of urgency or focus on the actual problem. So I was very pleased to have this opportunity given by Rachel Hamilton to give me this opportunity to ask the minister in closing to address that specific point and to give a cast iron reassurance on the record to the north-east that the A90 and especially this particular three mile stretch will be sorted once and for all and give a timescale to do it. I am sure that he will do that today for the people of the north-east because I know that they will be watching with great interest. Presiding officer, the state of the A90 is hugely concerning. It is damaging to the local economy, to the vehicles that use it and I pray that there will not be any damage to health and safety arising from it. Although it may not yet be time for heads to roll over the A90, it is time that it got fixed so that our cars and motorbikes can. Thank you. Thank you very much. Nicolle John Scott will be the last speaker in the open debate. Mr Scott, please. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I begin by congratulating Rachel Hamilton on securing her motion for debate today. I also put in record how much I share her concerns about the deterioration of Scotland's roads and nowhere more is there a problem than in Ayrshire as Brian Whittle and Jamie Greene have already highlighted. Starting with the M77, the deterioration of this road, much used by my constituents, has been very significant over the past winter. Cars travelling at 70 miles an hour, hitting poth holes and swerving to avoid them in heavy traffic have once again made this road a less safe place to drive on than it should be. Until Liam Kerr spoke, I hadn't even thought about the danger to motorbikes. That the standard of the road, carriageway and surface has fallen below acceptable safety standards is, I believe, beyond doubt. The minister is very aware of my constituents' concerns and I await responses to many of the concerns raised by them, knowing as I do what a significant metal blank he will have on the subject. Turning now to the A77, Brian Whittle has already drawn the chamber's attention to the deterioration of this road from Cymarlet to Port Patrick, again affecting my constituents as it is part of the main arterial road between Glasgow and Wictonshire. Again, this road has dramatically deteriorated over the winter. Of course, I understand that Transport Scotland's first duty over the winter was properly to keep the road clear of snow and ice, and I salute their efforts in that regard. However, transport service in Transport Scotland immediate priority now must be to make our trunk roads safe to drive on again. Indeed, just today, I have been contacted again by yet another constituent whose vehicle has suffered £500 worth of damage, and I know from better experience how difficult it will be for him to gain compensation for this damage. Turning now to the roads maintained by our local authorities, I know and understand the pressure that the road's alliance is under to repair winter damage, but having spent part of the bank holiday weekend travelling the roads of Ayrshire, many of them in Jeane Freeman's constituency, I would ask the minister and the Ayrshire roads alliance to note the poor state of the A714 south of Barthill and before the Cree bridge, as well as the A70 from Ayrtymure Kirk. I will turn now, if I may, to the potholes in my Ayr constituency. Those two are of enormous concerns to my constituents. However, the difference between urban potholes and trunk road and rural potholes is the speed limits in force. Car damage is much less in built-up areas than in areas where the speed limit is 60 or 70 miles an hour. However, the potholes on our major trunk roads represent a real threat to life, as Liam Kerr has noted. That is why massive efforts must now be made to repair them. I will close at this point at this time. Although I could go on, as I am certain, you will by now have got the picture of the state of the roads in Ayrshire without detailing every last pothole on every road. First, I have seen somebody closing twice, but there you go. I call on Humza Yousaf to close to the Government and Minister seven minutes, please. I thank Rachael Hamilton for bringing this debate to Parliament. She is absolutely right, of course. All of us around this chamber will have had complaints from our constituents about potholes on the road. I have seen that, for example, on my constituency, sometimes on the trunk road network and sometimes on the local road network. She is absolutely right to bring this debate to Parliament. I think that there are some very good speeches around the chamber with some notable exceptions without naming any names at all. Let me start with the Government's responsibilities. I will move on to local authority roads of a council. Of course, my responsibility is to maintain the 3,500 odd kilometres of our trunk road network that stretches from north to north of the country east to west, and many of them have been mentioned in the debate today. Some of the numbers around our investment at £8.2 billion since 2007 has been invested. Of course, there has been an increase in the £18.19 budget of £65 million to £433 million for our budget for maintenance of the network. That is for a number of different reasons. You will remember probably the Audit Scotland report in 2016 on the condition of Scotland's roads, local roads in a less acceptable condition. At that point in 2016, 87 per cent of our trunk road network was in an acceptable condition, but clearly since then we have had extreme weather challenges this winter. I think that almost everybody in their speeches recognised having a detrimental effect on our road surfaces. Therefore, we have got to invest more, which we are putting our money where our mouth is in relation to the trunk road network. That is worth putting on the record. On what we have done in terms of resurfacing, despite what we are saying about our post bags being full and our mail bags being full, our inbox is being full with complaints, it would be worth saying that from 2016 to 2017 there was a 10 per cent increase in the satisfaction from the users of our trunk road network. Again, 2018 figures might be different because, as I said, I am the first to accept that the weather challenges have had a deteriorating effect on our road surfaces on the trunk road network. When it comes to operating companies, I hope that most members across the chamber have a relationship of sorts, if not a good relationship, with the operating companies who operate in their constituencies and the trunk road network. If they do not, I would be more than happy to facilitate those introductions. A number of members have asked about particular potholes on trunk road networks. Liam Kerr is particularly in the A90. If he does not have a good relationship, I am more than happy to do that, because it will be the operating company that has a duty within their contract. If there is category 1 defects, that could cause harm in the way that Liam Kerr describes, which I do not doubt at all, then they should be repairing those as soon as possible. In fact, the ones that Liam Kerr has mentioned, let me take it away. I do not have an answer for him right now. Let me take that away for him to see whether that has been repaired or not been repaired. Of course I will. John Scott I thank the minister for taking the intervention. Is it done as a matter of course that when I or other MSPs write to you with particular concerns about a particular stretch of road or a particular pothole on a trunk road, for example, is that a concern passed as a matter of course to the operating companies from your office or not? I will be surprised if we do not have a conversation. I do not think that we essentially would have a conversation with the operating company to ask them about XYZ pothole that is being read by XYZ MSP to allow us to draft the response. Sometimes, of course, we will ask my officials to respond or to communicate directly with the operating company and then write off a response. I think that it is probably worthwhile if any member wishes to raise particular concerns about particular potholes. I know that many of you are saying that there is a long list, nonetheless, of speaking to my road maintenance team in Transport Scotland. That is an open offer for anybody across the chamber to take up. We did, of course, since the winter realise that there was a need to increase our investment and towards the end of the financial year, an additional amount of money, as many members have mentioned here, redirected towards carriageway repairs, or further £6.5 million invested in delivering maintenance schemes, of course. Kate Forbes. I thank the member for taking an intervention. Notwithstanding the pressures that everybody else has indicated, does the minister recognise the particular pressures that face Highland Council with such a huge network of road mileage, and that is why they got to the largest share of that money? Minister. Yes, I do recognise and I have a good relationship with the leader of Highland Council, Margaret Davidson. Highland Council, not alone, our Gail and Bute Council will be another one that is huge in terms of geographic scope and therefore a number of issues. I am meeting with the leader of our Gail, our South West of Fiesengallwy. Of course, there are others that cover up a large area, but Highland Council is right to make mention of that. My point on the trunk road network is that we are putting out our money where our mouth is. Now that we have turned to local authorities—in fact, before I do that, the other thing to say on the A90 in the north-east is that we are investing heavily in that. He will be aware of that, and I am sure that he will be very supportive of the work that we are doing in terms of taking forward Lawrence Kirk junction, AWPR, drilling of the A96, the Hoddigan Roundabout and, indeed, the average speed cameras between Dundee and Stonehaven, which will help to improve road safety. In terms of local roads, many members here have mentioned Scots. They are an organisation that I have a good relationship with, as you would imagine. I do not take away from the fact that there has been challenging times for local authorities in the past few years at all, but, clearly, that is an issue of priority, of where you choose to spend your budget. No party at the local authority level necessarily has clean hands on that. All of them have to reflect really hard on where they have chosen to spend their money over the years. Over the years, the 22 million, I think, over three years that Rachel Hamilton mentioned from Borders Council might go some way, of course, and it will go, I am sure, a good way in repairing local roads. It is worth mentioning that the SNP Opposition did want an extra £2 million on to that, but that was voted down. Nonetheless, the 22 million, in one second, is over three years, but how does that compare to the percentage of the budget and the Borders budget over the next three years? Perhaps positively, I am just asking the question that, in previous years, the level and Scots would be the first to tell you this, the amount that was needed to be spent on road maintenance probably fell far short than what it should have been. Rachel Hamilton I thank the minister for taking the intervention just for the record. Obviously, the previous administration was the SNP, so therefore we are maintaining all the roads that they didn't do and didn't provide the budget for. However, does the minister believe that a long-term solution, for example road smart, I am, consider that we should be looking at, rather than the backlog that we have now, should be investing in the future road maintenance and providing that within the budget, as the Scottish Conservatives suggest, with the Pothole Action Fund? Michael Matheson Minister, I will not go back and forth on the Borders issue, because, as I said, I do not think that any political party here can claim to have given it the priority that it should have given at a local level. From a Scottish Government perspective, as I said, we have increased our trunk road spending, which I am pleased about. I will turn to the Pothole Action Fund, or I am not sure what its term is, but the 100 million fund I think that she said over the parliamentary term. That is clearly something that Conservatives can take forward in the next budget negotiations with Derek Mackay. He will, of course, I am sure, give you the challenge back, that you cannot ask for a tax cut and then, of course, ask for £100 million unless you are going to tell us where that 100 million, for example, would come from. That is something that your finance spokesperson has every right to take forward with Derek Mackay during budget negotiations. From our perspective, we will continue to invest additional monies where we can. The £10 million additional that Derek Mackay announced on the back of the beast from the east is one example of that. I will work hand in hand with local authorities to see how I can be helpful in relation to my role in the trunk road network, but I will also recognise that where we can be helpful to local authorities in this regard we absolutely will. My offer is to conclude as a very open one to members if they have particular potholes that they want to raise with me. My TAS and Transport Scotland official colleagues will make themselves available. We will continue to raise with other political parties with any ideas that they have in relation to improving our local roads and from a Scottish Government perspective we will continue to do the job that we are paid to do, which is, of course, to invest and maintain our trunk road network.