Bridging the gap
When listening to a ministerial statement, pay attention to what is said. And still more attention to what is not said.
At Holyrood, Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson explained that he had approached the Treasury about rescheduling capital investment in order to fund the replacement Forth crossing.
But he did not say whether the Treasury had responded, positively or otherwise. Further inquiries elicit the fact that they have yet to reply.
In essence, the plan is to accelerate capital investment up to 2016 to enable the crossing to be funded - with a consequent cut in capital spending thereafter.
It is that restructuring which requires Treasury sanction.
Ministers envisage a conventional design and build contract for the new crossing - which will cost much less because it won't require a public transport lane. (Public transport will continue over the existing bridge.)
No tolls
So no PFI. No tolls. No shadow tolls. (Three cheers from the government benches.)
But no innovative funding scheme either. No bond issue. No role, it would appear, for the Scottish Futures Trust in this particular project.
To be fair, Mr Stevenson said the trust would play a role in enhancing value for money across capital expenditure generally.
To be fair, further, this is a substantive and substantial document which attempts to address Scotland's transport needs while, simultaneously, cutting carbon emissions.
However, it is detail in implementation which will matter. Ministers will be judged by that.
I'm 
© MMIX~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~55~RS~)
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Good. £1bn chopped off the price, and the money borrowed at government rates instead of being siphoned off by banks.
Just so long as the procurement process is efficient- we don't want another Holyrood building fiasco.....
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Whatever it needs to get some, any, public building programmes started. Enough of this funding fiasco.
Just get it done.
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I am surprised Brian that you still don't get SFT.
START OF LESSON
Consider SFT as a funding vehicle, one in which the SFT drivers have clear objectives, which going forward are:
to create a consistent Infrastructure Investment Plan based on ten-year investment strategies. (see today's annoucement).
to optimise investment under the Prudential Code using new techniques such as future modelling, tax increment funding and developer contributions
to form at least two 'community hubs', including primary/community care facilities
to support the Scottish Funding Council in developing delivery and funding strategies for the Higher / Further Education sector
to develop an approach under the 'Firm Foundations' policy to lever in more private sector investment into housing
to develop an asset-based investment fund to support community regeneration
to examine scope to reduce the cost of existing PFI contracts. SFT will have an important role to play in applying across the infrastructure landscape lessons in 'best practice'
to assist public sector to produce national strategies for the delivery and funding of schools, housing, waste and flood prevention investment
to provide expert support for Gateway Reviews
to advise Scottish Government and liaise with the market on strategic aspects of infrastructure investment, particularly market issues and capacity
END OF LESSON
Please Brian don't you and your buddies at BBC Scotland get stuck in first gear over SFT, it's time to move on at a faster rate.
Mind you Labour are firmly stuck in neutral with PFI/PPP.
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Rail electification will never wash its face financially. Taking into account conversion costs neither is it a green option.
No need for faster inter-Scot trains. A few minutes off a journey is nothing compared to the time needed to travel to+from a station to catch the train.
Increased frequency of trains good.
Happy to see no mention of the "White Elephant" idea of re-opening the Edinburgh to Galashiels rail line.
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Reluctant - Expat demands "Just get it done".
Fortunately for Expat we have a government who will do just that, assuming of course that Alistair Darling will give the nod and allow the funds to be used.
Remember, Darling has form when it comes to capital projects, having ignored repeated requests from the Scottish government to confirm that forwarding of such funds would be allowed.
His excuse was that the Scottish government hadn't detailed exactly what projects they wished to undertake - well now they have, so he has no excuses this time.
This is probably the funding fiasco that you refer to, or are you referring to PFI and it's excessively high interest and inflexible contracts that are bleeding the taxpayer dry?
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RE 4
No need for faster trains, obviously you don't shake rattle and roll from Aberdeen to Edinburgh round all these picturesque little stations. If the train is ever to compete with the aeroplane Aberdeen needs a high speed electrified line to Edinburgh, where it can join up with the already improved English network.
Oh and then someone needs to make a decision to bring the fares down to the same levels, the TGV in France and AVE in Spain are a real bargain compared with what we have to pay. Simple system, so much per km, day, night morning, evening. No trick fares, just value for momey, a little reward for not using more polluting forms of transport.
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5. Greenockboy,
1. Substantiate any of your great many claims as you are becoming a joke.
2. Break away from the feeding tube and start challenging the SNP propaganda machine. I dare you to try.
3. How many public works projects have been initiated by the SNP in the last 19 months?
Every school, hospital, prison, road, bridge etc. opened up with great fanfare by Salmond was initiated by Labour. What projects have the SNP managed to start from the many billions they already have in the bank?
The SNP promised they'd match Labour 'brick for brick'....yet not one single brick has been laid in nearly two years.
(I predict Greenockboy will not answer this.)
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'Clever' of the Scottish Government to promote its financing vision, putting HM Treasury firmly in the dock [of the court of public opinion] if obstacles are put in the way.
As with GB in Number 10, however, 'front-loading' capital expenditure could prove truly calamitous - if, having moderately prospered in the interim, a new deep recession follows on from the highs of Olympic and Commonwealth Games in 2012 and 2014 respectively. This "Get Out Of Jail 'Free'" card can only be played once...
(As to 2014, I hope that more funding will be found to properly mark the Bannockburn septuacentennial than was the case for the quatercentenary of the unification of the crowns or for the tercentenary of the Act of Union. Of course, the first was a case of strengthening the Kingdom of the Scots whilst the others successively diminished its status.)
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It's fantastic news that the price of the new Forth Crossing has been cut. Though it begs the question why was it so expensive in the first place?
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Instead of just talking about them , it's time somebody started implementing the great plans; though I suspect the Brown /Darling /Murphy triumverate will be beavering away trying to find ways of discrediting anything the Scottish government comes up with. Good to see the idea of a tramline from Monktonhall to Galashiels has hopefully disappeared forever. The sooner a new crossing of the Forth is underway the better, and the A9 must be upgraded before it kills off any more drivers. As far as high speed trains are concerned, saving ten or fifteen minutes on a train journey is neither here nor there and at the end of the day , ticket prices for what are essentially poor services are prohibitive.
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#7. Reluctant-Expat wrote:
"5. Greenockboy,
.... you are becoming a joke.
....Break away from the feeding tube"
Reluctant Expat, I asked the other day why you felt you needed to be so rude. You can, and have made your points perfectly well without the assorted insults. It's not clever and not funny.
You know that by doing this you probably alienate people who might agree with you. (I don't by the way, but there my well be some people who might agree with you out there.)
Don't be so rude man!
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9. Anaxim
"Though it begs the question why was it so expensive in the first place?"
Because it will not incorporate extra bus lanes as they will use the old bridge as will cyclists and pedestrians, quite simple really.
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World Saviour!
"Gordon Brown has attempted to play down a slip of the tongue in which he said the government had "saved the world".
The gaffe, during House of Commons exchanges over the economy, provoked howls of laughter on the Tory benches."
German ridicule for UK policies
"Mr Steinbruck said the UK's switch from financial prudence to heavy borrowing was both "crass" and "breathtaking"."
"All this will do is raise Britain's debt to a level that will take a whole generation to work off."
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Reluctant - Expat persists in posting abuse in an attempt at disrupting threads. He has tried flooding threads with comments and now resorts to goading and baiting.
This is the second thread in succession where he has resorted to name calling and insults.
The mods clearly don't see anything wrong with this type of comment, therefor the only course of action left, when posters behave in this manner, is to ignore them.
Incidently, my comments regarding Darling are 100% accurate. My comments on PFI are supported by documented evidence.
On the blog subject:
The decision by the SNP government to utilise the existing bridge is sensible. The resultant saving will be used wisely I am sure.
On the HBOS hearing, the Merger Action Group are considering an appeal.
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Now that Mr Stevenson has sorted out the Forth Bridge, perhaps he could cast his eye on the fiasco that is Scotrail.
There appears to be a either a distinct shortage of trains or total lack of management.
Once again this evening the wonderful East Kilbride 17:42 service was reduced to two carriages when it barely copes with four. Many people did not get on that train again. This is a very frequent occurence that even SPT couldn't match.
But it is not only my train; several other lines are suffering similar fates at rush hour.
Bottom line is public transport needs shaken up very quickly, something that has yet to happen after a year in Government.
Or is it not sexy enough for the SNP?
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#15 Neil_Small147
Why do you think everything should be a matter for Government to deal with?
Is that not the nanny state you complained of on Mark Easton's site?
btw I've replied to you there.
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13. "While Mr Steinbruck has accused the UK of over-spending on the economic recovery, the German government has put 480bn euros (£370.4bn; $645bn) into a rescue package for its banks."
Why didn't you include that little statement in your quote?
And wasn't it Salmond who actually claimed a Kenyan-American named Barack Obama as a Scot?
14. Greenockboy, I'm STILL waiting for you to substantiate any of your claims. Any of them.
All you ever do is make childish anti-UK statements, then run a mile when challenged.
As your primary source of information is clearly that heavily discredited report called 'The Great Deception', I strongly suspect this is all you can offer. Have you ever wondered whether your attitude may be better suited to the Herald site?
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16. Public transport is not a matter for the Scottish Government?
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Reluctant-Expat
Just wondering, why do you use your clever powers for evil??
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15. Neil_Small147 and 18 Reluctant Expat
You both mention public transport.
One of my favourite Michael Forsyth quotes (remember him: Ex Secretary of State for Scotland) was the day after he lost his seat in the 1997 election. He turned up 45 minutes late for his press conference due to traffic problems and when asked about his lateness said:
"I blame the government!"
Neil and ExPat perhaps you might want to explain why the current minority government would be expected to fix a problem in a year and a half that a majority government failed to address over nearly 10 years?
Perhaps public transport wasn't sexy enough for the Labour Libdems?
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#19 Aye right
Reluctant doesn't seem like a nice person but I doubt whether s/he's actually in the pay of satan.
Reluctant why don't you apologise to the people you've been rude to and simply argue your points without rudeness?
You don't need to harangue you don't need to bully. You can make your points and ask your questions honourably without putting people down. I would be surprised if you acted in the street or pub like you do on this site.
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21. irnbru_addict wrote:
"Reluctant doesn't seem like a nice person but I doubt whether s/he's actually in the pay of satan."
Quite! Thanks. But I did not mean it strictly as an insult :-)
I don't get his/her 'motivation' (man).
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#3 Minuend - Hi, how do you do?
I see you seem to know some details about the SFT. I'm hoping you can answer a few queries for me.
Please take my word I?m not being funny, I have serious queries.
Who is going to invest in the scheme, and what returns should they expect? Can private firms invest? Is the money a Long-term investment which can be redeemed, or is it like an irredeemable bond paying a fixed rate of return?
If we can just start with these I would be grateful for your help.
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#16 oldnat
This has nothing to do with a nanny state. The Scottish Government is responsible for ensuring that an adequate and efficient public transport system is in place.
Complaining to the various companies senior management achieves zip except for a patronising letter.
Labour/Lib Dems failed shake them up, perhaps the SNP could show them up.
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The Scottish Governments announcement on transport are to be warmly welcomed. Assisting both Highlands and Lowlands, also trying balance the environmental issues.
The targeted spending appears to have gone down well with everyone except the regional party that thinks Scottish tax payers money should be ploughed into Cross-Rail (£16.9 + Bn) and Olympics (£10 + Bn).
Strange that that same party appear to be announcing the delay of building war ships? Why would this be the case when same party has stated they would throw borrowed money at the current financial problems? Could it be that they wish to delay announcements until it will be more politically advantageous to them in a general election?
Never mind 'Labour isn't working', 'Labour sinking to new lows' pardon the maritime pun!
A McG
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PFI recieves a bad rap as many of the problems associated with PFI, not least the high costs particularly on the earlier schemes, are related to poorly negotiated contracts by the public service bodies.
These are the same public service bodies that will be negotiating the contracts under the SFT, a system that while there is a nicely spun explanantion (as repeated by minuend) has actually no clear details on where this funding is coming from. If they want private sector firms to invest in this fund then they will want to see similar returns as those that they recieve under PFI deals so is anything gained? The same public service bodies are negotiating the contracts so is anything gained?
The SNP keeps making statements about how they are going to invest in this and invest in that and then tries to blame the funding gap on Westminster. This is worse budget management than HBOS!
Its not like the SNP doesn't know what their budget is going to be each year, and yet they make huge announcements knowing full well they can't support them and then try and score points against Labour. If a business tried this approach they would get turned away at the first hurdle. All thsi results in is building the hopes of the Scottish and then perpetuating the disappointment when they fail.
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The only significant factor about the reaction to the SNP's plans is that all the unionist parties and their tame poodles in the media attack them no matter how good or bad they might be.
I think the gelneral public have cottoned on to this and don't pay any attention any more.
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Alasdair_McGray
Re your comments about the delay in the carrier contract, I think you are correct re the motives behind this. I have however one question to ask that maybe someone on the blog can answer.
How apart from Labour spin can delaying this contract by one, and two years respectively be good news for the yards?
Can someone explain how paying the same workforce the same wages over a longer period for the same fixed price contract be good news for the yards?
Mind you the delay might let the yards obtain the expertise to get the skills for the engines, computers etc that are usually sub contracted.
More Labour fantasy.
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#3 Minuend
And what gear is the SG in with regard to SFT? To me, it appears they are rolling backwards down a big hill and dragging the Scottish construction industry with them. Admirable attempt at a lesson though - are you one of those newly qualified teachers struggling to find a job?
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SFT is teetering, even the Chairman is said to be downplaying near term hopes of getting it off the ground as a the great hope for infrastructure spending. As poster no 3 tells us in unnecessary detail, there are enough possibilities for SFT to become some sort of SNP quango providing funding solutions which are fairly well provided for at present. I would expect the opposition will now score a few easy goals on this matter. Given the SNP have now wasted 18 months on this nonsense, it will be interesting where they now turn for capital funding. PPP, PFI expected rates of return are now higher than ever, given the scarcity of capital to fund such deals. Even the sovereign wealth funds have given initial approaches the cold shoulder - who do we turn to now? Oh of course - the Treasury. Jim Murphy to the rescue again then.
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The SNP (by which I assume you mean the Scottish Government) doesn't know what budget it will get year on year because of creative "efficiency savings" implemented in London, which Alasdair Darling's professional theives will be more than happy to pass on to Scotland unlike budget growths (which should have consequentials that are selectively ignored).
In addition, if you don't like the management of the Scottish budget; I can only presume you are appalled by the "management" of the UK budget which amounts to the sum total of a drunk slurring "put it on my tab".
The UK deficit will have ourselves, our kids (and quite possibly our grandkids) paying for Gordon Brown's spendthrift economic-idiocy. It is particularly appalling when you consider what it is going to be spent on, not welfare (which is being cut), but feather-bedding the profits of the banks who contributed so much to this disaster.
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28. You answered your own question with:
"Mind you the delay might let the yards obtain the expertise to get the skills for the engines, computers etc that are usually sub contracted."
If the shipyards really can develop in-house facilities and skills instead of sub-contracting to third parties (often overseas ones), all the better.
There are limited funds to be thrown at this 'fiscal stimulation' and while this ex-forces poster would like to see our ageing carriers replaced, the multi-billion investment in two brand new aircraft carriers is not going to provide much economic return to the overall economy compared to nationwide tax incentives and construction programmes.
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I see the pound is at 1.12 Euro today.The UK is bust and nothing will be getting built (or finished) if this collapse continues.
Personally I would be happy if AS and JS announced we were going to build nothing new that we couldn't afford to pay for out of current revenues - as we used to.
The continuing collapse of the pound against all other currencies tells you what the people who know think about Broon's disastrous attempts to save his own bacon (as opposed to save the UK economy ).
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#19 aye_write,
Bond: It's good to see that the Scottish Government are going to build the new Forth crossing at a reduced price.
Reluctant Expat: Independence is a ridiculous concept, you are too poor and weak and your leader is incompetent. Where is your evidence that you can achieve this? Where is your costings for the bridge? Show me, you balloon!
Bond: Do you really expect me to provide links to documentation whilst I am strapped to this slab with a laser inching towards me?
Reluctant Expat: No, Mr. Bond- I expect you to die!!
;)
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#34 Richard_the_Rogue
LOL!!!! You'll just have to come up with a title for your movie now. ('Carry On Bond'?)
I just can't be bitter about the nasty sentiments. Maybe he/she just needs a hug or something!!!!!
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The true extent of Britain's debt
"Michael Saunders from CitiGroup has calculated ?external debt? ? ie, what Britain owes the rest of the world. It is not 40% but 400% of GDP, the highest in the G7 by some margin. The next down, France, is 176%. America, flagellating itself for blowing such a debt bubble, is just 100%. Japan is about half America."
Financing Britain is an issue. Our creditors will be looking at Britain with its 400% debt/GDP ratio and ask how this island country with its mammoth trade deficit is going to pay the money back, especially if its Prime Minister prescribes more debt as the solution.
All the UK needs now is to become a republic coupled with the ability to grow bananas and keep following father super brown an co.
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Reluctant-Expat
Glad to see that you are still swallowing the Labour spin hook, line and sinker.
The parts of ships contracts that are put out to tender are,
Engines
Communications
Radar
Furnishings
and in the case of warships,
Weapons
Despite the Labour spin, all these areas will still be going out to sub contractors, and they always will.
As all the bits that the shipyards do are costed, I will ask again, how can doing the same amount of work over a longer period be good news?
Will the work force be paid to do nothing for the new longer part of the contract.
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Reluctant-Expat
Can you list where the £2bl tax cuts that Scotland is supposed to get in 2009(more Labour spin) are coming from.
How many billions will we have to spend next year for 2.5% off vat to equal £2bl tax cuts going into peoples pockets.
Oh I almost forgot the £60 each pensioner is getting in January will really help us towards that £2bl total.
Murphy has raised the £2bl twice and Gray also mentioned it at last weeks FMQ. Would be nice to know where it is coming from.
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36. In your selective quoting, you neglected to include a quite significant caveat from the author himself:
"One must take into account that Britain is likely to have proportionately greater net assets whose value would be amplified by sterling's plunge. But how much greater? I'll keep hunting. "
The UK is the world's third largest holder of foreign assets, with an asset/GDP ratio considerably higher than comparable economies. While no-one is denying the UK economy is in trouble, the extreme stats included in this article should be taken with a pinch of salt.
The UK's credit rating is still the top 'AAA' grade, by the way. This does tend to undermine this one author's doom-laden scenario.
37. Apart from some of you nationalists, who else is complaining about this news?
38. A nationalist complaining about announcements only being party political spin?
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Reluctant-Expat
The people who are complaining about the news are the people unlike you who can see past Labours spin and deceit.
Re the subcontracting that is now being spun as being done at the yard, will the welders come up with a computer program to run the ship? or maybe the platers can run up some curtains for the captains cabin.
How about some answers from you ex, where are the two billion pounds worth of tax cuts announced in the pre budget report going to come from? Can you enlighten us or is it just more Labour spin. (Maybe the BBC can help here with some real reporting)
One final question, how is it that the country that "is best placed to weather the global downturn" is the one country where the value of their money is falling like lead.
Why are the money markets deserting the pound, maybe they unlike you do not believe Labours spin on the UKs finances.
P.S. I have never been a member of a political party in my life, but I do not want my grandchildrens future sold out by Brown and co.
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Reluctant-Expat
Re the AAA rating you are so proud the UK credit rating has.
Would you care to list the financial institutions that also had that exalted rating up to say three months ago.
The UKs AAA is as fictional as all the financial institutions. Look at the current exchange rates.
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36/37/38/40/41.
Yes, yes, yes.
We're all doomed, life is hell, the country is finished, everything is terrible, old people are dying on the streets, there is nothing anywhere to feel good about and we all live in absolutely the very worst country in the whole world, oppressed by an imperial colonialist power and surrounded by cowards and traitors.
Yes, yes, we have all been hearing these nationalist wailings for a very long time now.
We get it.
Your minds are not full of poison and bitterness at all, are they.
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Reluctant-Expat
42)
That must be the weakest response ever. No ideas no clue just follow Labours spin.
Subcontracting ???
AAA ???
Value of the pound ???
Nothing to say? or are you just waiting on the next Labour press release?
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