Cabinet Secretary writes to UK Transport Minister
Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity, Michael Matheson has written to the Secretary of State for Transport, Grant Shapps following the publication of the Union Connectivity Review Interim Report.
In the letter, Mr Matheson urges the UK Government to use its role to improve transport connectivity to Scotland, without encroaching on devolved powers.
Mr Matheson said:
“We will always seek to engage constructively with the UK Government – for example, collaborating on cross-border rail and our shared desire for HS2 to serve Scotland. However, we already have a robust process for identifying future transport infrastructure investment in Scotland - STPR2, not the Union Connectivity Review.
“Transport infrastructure is a devolved matter and the Union Connectivity Review was established without any discussion and consultation with Scotland, Wales and NI – something made clear when I wrote jointly with my counterparts in Wales and Northern Ireland to the Secretary of State for Transport in September last year.
“What Scotland needs now is an infrastructure-led economic recovery to deliver new jobs and speed up the transition to net-zero – which won’t be possible with the 5% cut to our capital budget in the UK Spending Review for 2021-22.”
Background