Chamber and committees

Yes. Thank you, convener.

Mr Barn, I will go back to your original answer about planning for dualling the A9. Is it not very difficult for the Government to do long-term procurement and planning when it only gets a year-on-year settlement and does not know what that settlement will be?

Thank you.

I want to ask about timeframes. You just mentioned the lack of people in the construction industry. How could that affect the timescale for the work? As someone who uses the A9 a lot, I know that the environment in that area and the weather conditions at certain times of year make it difficult for people to do any work at all. How would that affect the timescales?

Good morning to the panel members. On that point, what discussions did Transport Scotland have with the civil engineering industry and financiers before deciding on a hybrid procurement approach? How confident are you that that approach is deliverable?

Considering that 13 councils have expressed an interest in a national procurement exercise, the committee could write to the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills to ask whether, in light of the response from local authorities, she would consider progressing the petition’s aims with the 13 councils that indicated an interest in a national procurement service.

You know that I like to close petitions when the Government has consulted on the issue, but I would like the committee to write to the Scottish Government to seek an update on the consultation on the burial regulations. Specifically, we should ask when the consultation responses will be published and what work the Government intends to prioritise as a result of the responses that it has received.

I wonder whether the committee would consider closing the petition under rule 15.7 of the standing orders on the basis that the UK Government has now introduced the Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Bill, which aims to ban the live export from Great Britain of animals that are destined for slaughter or fattening for slaughter, and the Scottish Government has confirmed that it will work to implement a ban.

Yes.

Do you consider that the estimated budget of £3.7 billion for the full A9 dualling programme at 2023-24 prices reflects market reality? If not, what do you consider to be a realistic figure?

Thank you very much for your answers, Mr Barn.

I have no further questions, convener.

Would the committee consider closing the petition under rule 15.7 of standing orders, on the basis that the key issues raised by the petition are being considered by the Criminal Justice Committee? Trauma-informed training has been identified in that committee’s action plan as an issue to pursue with Police Scotland and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, and the committee is also undertaking scrutiny of the Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Bill and the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill. In 2023, the Scottish Government published a trauma-informed justice knowledge and skills framework, which underpins the key aim of the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill to embed trauma-informed practice in justice systems.

Moreover, in closing the petition, could the committee write to the Criminal Justice Committee to highlight the issues raised by the petitioner and Stephanie Bonner, and could the clerks also assist them in submitting written evidence to that committee, particularly on the complaints process and the codes of ethics, for its consideration as part of its scrutiny of the Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) Scotland Bill?