Portfolio Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament am 2:30 pm ar 6 Chwefror 2025.
Fergus Ewing
Scottish National Party
2:30,
6 Chwefror 2025
I apologise to members, as I may have to leave before the end of Question Time. I am grateful for permission to do so from your good self, Deputy Presiding Officer.
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how much it estimates will be paid in compensation for the properties to be compulsorily purchased to further the progress of the dualling of the A96 between Inverness and Auldearn, including the Nairn bypass, and when that process will be completed. (S6O-04308)
Fiona Hyslop
Scottish National Party
Completion last year of the statutory process for the A96 dualling from Inverness to Nairn, including the Nairn bypass, clears the way for the Scottish ministers to take forward the final stage of the process to acquire the land that is required to construct the scheme, and Transport Scotland is pressing ahead with the procedural steps to make that happen.
It is currently expected that the process to take title to the land will be completed in the coming months. The current estimate of compensation for land to be acquired for the scheme is approximately £12 million.
Fergus Ewing
Scottish National Party
Scotland was promised in 2016 that the made orders for that project would be published in that year. They were published last year—eight years later. Even now, there is no timetable, no plan and no indication of when the Nairn bypass will be completed.
Will the Cabinet secretary, at last, give a statement to Parliament setting out such a plan? If she will not, does she not think that an apology is due?
Fiona Hyslop
Scottish National Party
First as the Minister for Transport and now, as Cabinet Secretary for Transport, I have progressed the A96 Inverness to Nairn project, including the Nairn bypass. I have ensured that we have made progress on completing the made orders and acquiring the land. We are acquiring the land because we intend to dual that part of the A96 first. That is what is happening.
As I explained to the public meeting in Nairn last summer, the timetable for dualling will be determined by two things. The first is the method of procurement, whether it is capital procurement or through a mutual investment model. We are considering the mutual investment model for the A96 part of the road—which we have just been discussing—and for the A9. On completion of that consideration, we will be in a position to determine the timetable, which I will be happy to share with the Parliament.
The other consideration is whether one procurement process will be completed for the whole project or whether the contracts will be separated for different parts. A strong argument was put to me at the public meeting in Nairn that the Nairn bypass might be done separately and differently. All those things will impact on the timetable, and we will consider them. When we have managed to assess all those points, I will come back to the Parliament.
Question Time is an opportunity for MPs and Members of the House of Lords to ask Government Ministers questions. These questions are asked in the Chamber itself and are known as Oral Questions. Members may also put down Written Questions. In the House of Commons, Question Time takes place for an hour on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays after Prayers. The different Government Departments answer questions according to a rota and the questions asked must relate to the responsibilities of the Government Department concerned. In the House of Lords up to four questions may be asked of the Government at the beginning of each day's business. They are known as 'starred questions' because they are marked with a star on the Order Paper. Questions may also be asked at the end of each day's business and these may include a short debate. They are known as 'unstarred questions' and are less frequent. Questions in both Houses must be written down in advance and put on the agenda and both Houses have methods for selecting the questions that will be asked. Further information can be obtained from factsheet P1 at the UK Parliament site.
Question Time is an opportunity for MPs and Members of the House of Lords to ask Government Ministers questions. These questions are asked in the Chamber itself and are known as Oral Questions. Members may also put down Written Questions. In the House of Commons, Question Time takes place for an hour on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays after Prayers. The different Government Departments answer questions according to a rota and the questions asked must relate to the responsibilities of the Government Department concerned. In the House of Lords up to four questions may be asked of the Government at the beginning of each day's business. They are known as 'starred questions' because they are marked with a star on the Order Paper. Questions may also be asked at the end of each day's business and these may include a short debate. They are known as 'unstarred questions' and are less frequent. Questions in both Houses must be written down in advance and put on the agenda and both Houses have methods for selecting the questions that will be asked. Further information can be obtained from factsheet P1 at the UK Parliament site.
The cabinet is the group of twenty or so (and no more than 22) senior government ministers who are responsible for running the departments of state and deciding government policy.
It is chaired by the prime minister.
The cabinet is bound by collective responsibility, which means that all its members must abide by and defend the decisions it takes, despite any private doubts that they might have.
Cabinet ministers are appointed by the prime minister and chosen from MPs or peers of the governing party.
However, during periods of national emergency, or when no single party gains a large enough majority to govern alone, coalition governments have been formed with cabinets containing members from more than one political party.
War cabinets have sometimes been formed with a much smaller membership than the full cabinet.
From time to time the prime minister will reorganise the cabinet in order to bring in new members, or to move existing members around. This reorganisation is known as a cabinet re-shuffle.
The cabinet normally meets once a week in the cabinet room at Downing Street.
The cabinet is the group of twenty or so (and no more than 22) senior government ministers who are responsible for running the departments of state and deciding government policy.
It is chaired by the prime minister.
The cabinet is bound by collective responsibility, which means that all its members must abide by and defend the decisions it takes, despite any private doubts that they might have.
Cabinet ministers are appointed by the prime minister and chosen from MPs or peers of the governing party.
However, during periods of national emergency, or when no single party gains a large enough majority to govern alone, coalition governments have been formed with cabinets containing members from more than one political party.
War cabinets have sometimes been formed with a much smaller membership than the full cabinet.
From time to time the prime minister will reorganise the cabinet in order to bring in new members, or to move existing members around. This reorganisation is known as a cabinet re-shuffle.
The cabinet normally meets once a week in the cabinet room at Downing Street.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
