THE UK Government may appeal directly to Scottish councils about transport improvements if Holyrood ministers do not engage with a Westminster review.
David Duguid, junior Scotland Office minister, said that local authorities could be approached for their input and described the Scottish Government’s efforts as “disappointing”.
Mr Duguid was speaking at a Westminster Energy, Environment and Transport forum event online, where he discussed the upcoming review into union connectivity.
The review, led by Network Rail chief Sir Peter Hendy, will publish its findings later this year however an interim report identified the A75 as in need of improvements in order for the four nations of the UK to be better connected.
Other projects in Wales, Northern Ireland and England were also identified in the interim report.
A £20m fund was put up by Westminster to allow further work to be done on investigating the best ways to improve key routes, identified by Sir Peter Hendy earlier in the year.
Mr Duguid revealed that while the Northern Irish and Welsh governments have been keen to use the funding, the Scottish Government has not.
He said: “The lack of engagement from the Scottish Government on the union connectivity review thus far is disappointing.
“The people of Scotland and businesses across Scotland are set to miss out on the benefits of that £20 million in funding, which could improve their day to day life - 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 with the Scottish Government and transport Scotland to consider the recommendations of the connectivity review.”
Wendy Chamberlain, Lib Dem MP and chair of the event, later asked the minister if the UK government would consider approaching councils if Holyrood would not engage with them.
This has already happened with various UK Government funding schemes, such as the levelling up and shared prosperity funds.
SNP politicians and the Scottish Government have accused Westminster of attempting to snatch power from Holyrood by investing over the top of their heads, particularly in devolved areas. They are likely to repeat these claims following Mr Duguid’s remarks today, as transport is a devolved policy area.
Mr Duguid said councils were now getting used to “new ways of working”.
Ms Chamberlain asked: “Do you see a position from a transport infrastructure perspective where there is a lack of engagement from a devolved administration, you would look to do something like that, i.e. engage directly with Scottish councils?”
Mr Duguid replied: “I think definitely there's an opportunity for that.
“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.”
A UK government source told The Herald Holyrood ministers are “risking bringing Scotland to a grinding halt with a wrongheaded approach to hard cash to improve infrastructure.”
The Scottish government's transport minister Graeme Dey MSP said: "Transport is devolved to Holyrood and the Tories 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.
“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.”
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