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The Scottish Budget 2003-04: Summary

Chapter 8 Transport

Wendy Alexander MSP: Minister for Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning

In 2001-02, the Transport budget was 1,036m. Among other things, that money provided:

• the vital maintenance programme and delivery of key improvements to the Motorway and Trunk Road network
• rail services under the ScotRail franchise
• reduced bus costs via the bus fuel duty rebate scheme
• Freight Facilities Grants (FFG) to move 18 million lorry miles/year of freight from roads to rail or coastal or inland waterways
• lifeline air and sea services as well as links to remote and rural areas.

Our budget for 2002-03 is 1,081m. Among other things, we expect this to go towards:

• continuing the vital maintenance programme and delivery of key improvements to the Motorway and Trunk Road network
• providing rail services under the ScotRail franchise
• maintaining reduced bus costs via the bus fuel duty rebate scheme
• making Freight Facilities Grants (FFG) available to move 21 million lorry miles/year of freight from roads to rail or coastal or inland waterways
• sustaining lifeline air and sea services as well as links to remote and rural areas
• tackling urban congestion by promoting attractive alternatives to the car
• delivering accessible and accurate information to transport users.

We plan to spend 1,180m in 2003-04. Among our key priorities for 2003-04 are to:

• continue the vital maintenance programme and delivery of key improvements to the Motorway and Trunk Road network
• provide rail services and establish the next ScotRail franchise by end March 2004
• maintain reduced bus costs via the bus fuel duty rebate scheme
• make Freight Facilities Grants (FFG) available to move 23 million lorry miles/year of freight from roads to rail or coastal or inland waterways
• sustain lifeline air and sea services as well as links to remote and rural areas
• deliver accessible and accurate information to transport users.

Aim

To work together to build a sustainable, effective and integrated transport system.

What the transport budget does

CalMac:www.calmac.co.uk
HIAL:http://www.hial.co.uk/
SPTA:www.spt.co.uk
British Waterways Board:www.british-waterways.org
Strategic Rail Authority:http://www.sra.gov.uk
Scotrail:www.scotrail.co.uk

The programme covers many different forms of transport, including roads, shipping, air, bus and rail, and a wide variety of transport functions

Table 8.1 Broad categories of spending (Level 2) ¹

Note
¹Only the capital grant and not capital spending for Caledonian MacBrayne and Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd was recorded in the Budget document. This will be revised at the autumn revision.
²Includes additional funding allocated by the Chancellor in Budget 2001.
³Includes capital and depreciation charges for the existing trunk road and motorway network.

What we will do with the money

Being able to move goods and people swiftly and efficiently is essential to the economic and social wellbeing of Scotland.

• motorways and trunk roads provide the major method of transport, but a modern economy needs many different ways of moving goods and people to meet the needs of businesses and address issues of concern to communities in rural and remote areas.
• this is why we are increasing funding to public and integrated transport initiatives and to supporting transport links in rural and remote areas.

We will:

• develop five major trunk road schemes identified in the Strategic Roads Review: the A1, A830, A96, A78 and preparatory work for the M77
• refurbish the A8 between Bailleston and Newhouse, and the Kingston Bridge in Glasgow, as well as take forward major works on the older sections of the A80 and M74
• fund the Children's Traffic Club in Scotland (CTCS), which offers free road safety training to all 3- and 4-year-old children in Scotland
• move 23 million lorry miles a year off Scottish roads and on to trains and ships through grants
• maintain safe, affordable, efficient and cost effective ferry services to the islands and remote peninsulas by supporting 24 lifeline routes operated by Caledonian MacBrayne
• deliver Transport Direct, a comprehensive national public transport information service available on the internet, digital TV and public access terminals. It will allow people to plan their journeys and compare routes and prices. It is intended to cover all forms of public transport as well as the car, walking and cycling.

Objectives and Targets

These are some of our objectives and targets. There is a fuller list in our main Annual Expenditure Report.

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