Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

UK Government threatens to bypass Holyrood over ‘power grab’ transport projects row

David Duguid MP



Newly elected Tory MPS 2017
David Duguid MP Newly elected Tory MPS 2017

A UK minister has threatened to bypass Holyrood and work directly with Scotland’s local authorities after criticising a “disappointing” level of engagement from the Scottish Government on transport projects.

Scotland Office minister David Duguid accused the SNP administration of leaving the country “at a standstill” and warned Scots could miss out on the benefits of £20 million of funding set aside for road and rail schemes because of the issue.

However, in what appears to be a deepening row between Scotland’s two governments, a spokesman for Scottish transport minister Graeme Dey accused the UK Government of disrespecting devolution and “engaging in a power grab”.

Scottish and UK ministers have been at odds over claims of a Westminster power grab for months, with some suggesting the £20 million made available by the UK Government for transport projects is part of a ploy to strengthen support for the Union.

Failing to engage when there is funding on the table risks leaving Scotland at a standstill.

Scotland Office minister David Duguid

Speaking at the Westminster Energy, Environment and Transport Forum on Tuesday, Mr Duguid was questioned about an upcoming report, headed by Network Rail chief Sir Peter Hendy, into how the UK’s four nations can be better connected.

Mr Duguid claimed Scottish ministers have been reluctant to use the cash, unlike their counterparts in Wales and Northern Ireland.

Missing out

He said: “To jump start some of the projects that have already been identified by Sir Peter, the Government has made £20m of development funding available for some of the road and rail schemes that the review considers crucial for cross-border connectivity.

“The lack of engagement from the Scottish Government on the Union Connectivity Review thus far is disappointing.

“The people of Scotland are set to miss out on the benefits of this £20m interim funding which could improve their day to day lives, something for which we all should be striving for.

“Failing to engage when there is funding on the table risks leaving Scotland at a standstill.

“We stand ready to work together with the Scottish Government and Transport Scotland to consider the recommendations of the UCR once they are published.”

Asked by Lib Dem MP Wendy Chamberlain, who chaired the event, if the UK Government would be willing to bypass Holyrood entirely and work directly with local authorities, Mr Duguid said there is “definitely” an opportunity for that.

Wendy Chamberlain MP.

He added: “We have seen, with the levelling up fund in particular, more direct engagement with local authorities. Not to pick out any particular local authority but I imagine they’re all getting used to the new ways of doing things.”

No consultation

A spokesman for transport minister Graeme Dey stressed that transport is devolved to Holyrood and said the Tories “should should respect that, instead of engaging in a power grab which has seen them promise much but deliver little in reality”.

“The so-called Union Connectivity Review was established without any discussion and consultation with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland,” he said.

“Scotland needs an infrastructure-led economic recovery to deliver new jobs and speed up the transition to net-zero – something the Tories are undermining with their cuts to our capital budget in the UK Spending Review for 2021-22.”