Current Petitions

Our next petitions concern tolled bridges. Petition PE921, from the Rev Ross Brown, calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Executive not to increase the tolls on the Forth road bridge. PE925, from George Campbell, calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Executive not to extend the tolling regimes on the remaining tolled bridges—the Erskine, Forth and Tay bridges—but instead to take over the bridges and their approaches as part of the national road system and remove the tolls forthwith.At its meeting on 27 September 2006, the committee considered responses to both petitions and agreed to seek the petitioners' views on them. The petitioners have written back to us.

The Rev Ross Brown, who is one of my constituents, sent me an e-mail to apologise for not being here today, because he has some serious family health issues. He would have liked to have been here to hear what we had to say. He is pleased to note that, although the Liberal Democrat Minister for Transport suggested initially that the tolls be increased to £4, he subsequently withdrew that suggestion, so there is no need to pursue the point any further.The other petitioner has apparently not responded to any of the messages that have been sent to him, despite our sending a number of reminders. Perhaps we should just close the petitions.

I should have said that the petitioners had not responded. That was my mistake. We do not have any responses to consider, so we have to close the petitions. That was the point that I was trying to make, but I got it wrong.

In closing petition PE925, I point out that the petitioner got one out of three, which was to remove the tolls on the Erskine bridge.

I do not know whether I will be re-elected—I am hoping and praying that I am—but, if I am, I will bring back my bill to abolish the tolls on both the Forth and Tay bridges.

Sandra, you might as well get in now, too.

Do you want me to tell you everything that I have planned for Glasgow Cathcart?

Why do not we all just put our manifestos on the table?

Do we agree to close the petitions?Members indicated agreement.