Meeting of the Parliament 07 January 2015
I have already found how complex the budget lines are in the transport portfolio, partly because different portfolios contribute to active travel and cycling. That is one of the reasons why I will accept the Labour amendment, to give further clarity to spending on active travel, which is the right thing to do. New funding announcements have been additional money allocated to the tasks. I hope that that reassures Bruce Crawford and his constituents.
On an additional £10 million, there is an issue around financial transactions, which is not the first place we would want to go for £5 million to fund capital improvements, but we have—do we not?—to be creative, with Westminster making such drastic reductions to our capital budget. If that £5 million of financial transactions money cannot be spent on cycling, here is the commitment that has already been made and will be delivered: we will find that resource from elsewhere in the transport budget to ensure that we fulfil the commitment that we have made publicly. We will find new ways of working to innovate in, and to support, active travel. I hope that that answers the question.
On that note, we need to continue with the partnership approach of taking shared responsibility for cycling and active travel. I will also harness the energy that exists among my local government colleagues.
There will be further announcements on funding. I have written to Spokes—the Lothian cycle campaign group—to confirm the 2015-16 budget for cycling and walking. The moneys that have been announced will support improved infrastructure, and projects to support behaviour change, which is essential if we are to make the transformation that has been outlined.
The message that cycling and walking benefit all of us is firmly out there. A raft of projects are being delivered and there is a range of funding sources to support them. Our message is clear: by choosing active travel, people cut the carbon emissions and pollution that are caused by short car journeys; by building high-quality cycle routes and paths, we are helping schoolchildren to walk, scoot and cycle safely to school, thereby cutting the congestion that the school run causes; and by supporting behaviour change projects, we are encouraging more people to cycle and walk to work, college, university, the shops and appointments, which is good for our health and should be part of our daily routines.
I will focus on projects that the Scottish Government has supported and that have made a difference. As I said, active travel should be part of our everyday life from the earliest years, so I will start with children in schools. Since 1999, cycle training at schools throughout Scotland has changed significantly. The cycling proficiency test is now called bikeability Scotland, and 38 per cent of primary schools now offer bikeability Scotland on-road cycle training. That is up from 32 per cent just three years ago.