Item 3 is petitions, the first of which is PE894. Members will have had a chance to read the petition and some of the background information on it. We are invited to note the work that has been undertaken by the Dornoch rail link action group and the recommendation in the Corus Scottish transport appraisal guidance 1 appraisal, which it commissioned, that a STAG 2 appraisal be undertaken. That relates to some information that we requested earlier. We are also invited to consider whether we want to recommend that the Dornoch rail link action group submit a copy of its STAG 1 appraisal to the Government. We might also want to write to the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change, advising him of the action that has been taken and asking him to take account of the work, as part of the Government's strategic transport projects review. At that point we can consider whether we want to close the petition or take further action.
What the letter from the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change says about what the Scottish Government will do to improve rail lines is interesting. The strategic transport projects review is due to report in the summer and will cover the period 2012 to 2022. Items in that review, such as the upgrades on the Perth to Inverness line, will be essential in opening up a large part of the Highlands, as will the section of rail line from Aberdeen to Inverness. What the petition is calling for must happen—the question is, when must it happen and should it happen at the same time?I realise that it is unreasonable to ask ministers suddenly to find the kind of sum of money that is mentioned in the STAG 1 appraisal—£100 million—but it is a reasonably accurate consultant's estimate, so it at least gives us something to go on. It is worrying that we do not yet have the figures for what it will cost to upgrade the Perth to Inverness line, as part of the papers to back up the strategic transport projects review.Given the importance of further developments on the far north line and their value for social and economic development, which we established at our last committee meeting, we face a dilemma in relation to when the proposals in the petition should happen and how we keep them in ministers' minds, although I agree that certain aspects of the proposals are acceptable. If the committee agrees, I think that we should send the minister the STAG 1 appraisal and thank the Dornoch group for its work. This is not the time to close the petition. Aspects of it still require answers and it needs to go back to the minister before we take that step.
I back up Rob Gibson and reiterate the points that were made at our last meeting. We have said many times that it is important to have faster and more frequent services and to upgrade the rolling stock and so on. The economic argument that we made at the last meeting was that the 2,000 workers who are involved in decommissioning Dounreay will be desperately looking for new employment in future. They keep telling me that we need good transport infrastructure, and I agree with them. That includes roads and—although I know the convener will not agree—air links, but it is crucial to upgrade our rail links. Therefore, I would be reluctant to kill off the petition, and I agree with some of the options that we are being invited to pursue. We still need to consider some things, so I ask the committee to keep the petition alive.
I commend the work of the Dornoch rail link action group; it has been interesting to be brought up to speed with the issue. We need to reduce the area's peripherality and increase its economic development, so I am keen to keep the group's work alive and ensure that it is drawn to the minister's attention. The STAG 2 appraisal is an essential part of that, but I do not know whether we should suggest that the Government helps to fund it.
I agree with all that has been said. It would be a pity to lose the work. It is about long-term planning and getting things moving for the future. I am happy with the recommendations; we should write to the minister. It would be a real pity to close the petition at this stage.
No one seems to disagree with the suggestions that have been made. However, there is a sense that we need to add something, although no one has been specific about what that is. If we are recommending that the action group should submit its appraisal to the Government, we should also ask the Government to respond to the committee on it in due course.
The suggestion is that we call for the Government to work closely with the action group, which would involve putting some funding into a further appraisal. Such work is a very expensive process and we should be grateful that the local action group has already done a STAG 1 appraisal. We should recommend that the Government finds a way of doing the STAG 2 appraisal.
I suggest that we ask the Government to respond to the proposal that a STAG 2 appraisal should be done and tell us whether it intends to find a way to make it happen.
Part of the problem is that the committee is not able to wave a magic wand and make the money appear to conduct an appraisal, any more than the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change is. We will underline the importance of the issue and make it clear that we expect a response on the need for a STAG 2 appraisal. Is that agreed?Members indicated agreement.
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