From a response to my letter to the Prime Minister, I understand that the Department for Transport is still in discussions with His Majesty’s Treasury regarding the £8 million committed by the former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to fund a study on the A75. I am also aware that the Secretary of State for Transport has met the cabinet secretary to discuss shared transport priorities.

Will the First Minister update members on any progress that is being made and confirm his commitment to work with the United Kingdom Government to deliver the much-needed bypasses for Crocketford and Springholm? Will the First Minister also agree to meet me and the south-west Scotland transport alliance to consider its calls to form a task force to deliver those urgent improvements?

First, let me say that we will engage constructively with the United Kingdom Government on the issue. I know the importance of the issue to Mr Carson and his constituents, so we will engage constructively on that basis. I would be very happy to meet Mr Carson and his local campaigners to discuss the improvements to the A75 and to take forward that dialogue. It might be beneficial for me to come down to Galloway to have that conversation.

I am aware of there being quite a bit of uncertainty about the funding for particular projects that many of us believed were in the course of being delivered, because of the upcoming budget process and the spending review. I am aware of a number of projects for which the United Kingdom Government is not at this stage able to honour the commitments that were given by the previous Government. Mr Carson will appreciate that that is not an issue that is under my control, but I will engage constructively—as I know the finance secretary is doing with the Treasury—on those points. We can perhaps discuss some of those when I meet Mr Carson and his constituents.