Hansard

Claudia Beamish is absolutely right. The level of on-road cycling is not to our satisfaction, and on that and many other action points we want to do more, with our partners. I will be able to cover a great many points in the action plan, and I will talk about progress and what else we want to do when the next monitoring report is published—I understand that the update will come before the relevant committee in February. At that point I will be able to flesh out the detail about progress that is being made on increasing the percentage that Claudia Beamish asked about.

At schools where Sustrans I bike project officers are helping to deliver cycling activities, there has been an average increase of 7 per cent in the number of pupils who cycle. The rate has increased in particular among young girls, which is important if the practice is to be sustained when pupils go on to secondary school.

There are cycle-friendly schools and numerous safer routes to school projects. A new pilot project called school cycle camps was run last autumn. Aimed at 16-year-olds, the programme funded one-week residential cycling courses, at which volunteers learned basic bike mechanics and were accredited with cycle-training assistant certificates, which will enable them to go on and train their fellow students. Cycling Scotland received applications for the project from a number of schools that want to promote cycling. We will continue to support that work. The project receives funding from the environment budget, which illustrates the points that the issue cuts across portfolios and that projects are not necessarily funded from the transport budget.

Cycling Scotland is also working with students in five further and higher education campuses to encourage more active travel in and around universities and colleges. Grants are available for events, signage, cycle hire and cycle parking. I look forward to the extension of such facilities in the near future.

Towns and cities throughout Scotland will see investment in community links projects and cycle-friendly communities awards. This year alone, 180 community links projects are being administered by Sustrans, in partnership with some 40 organisations—mostly local authorities and regional transport partnerships.

Nearly £500,000 has been awarded to 66 grass-roots community groups through the cycle friendly and sustainable communities fund, which was set up during the last spending review.

On a larger scale, in September last year 10,000 people took part in Scotland’s biggest cycle ride, cycling from Glasgow to Edinburgh and in Aberdeen. They raised more than £110,000 for the STV appeal. I have been warned that an invitation to take part in the next event will go to all members.

Although many of the projects that I have mentioned are oriented towards cycling, walking and multimodal journeys also benefit. Community links projects create shared-use paths, which benefit walkers and people who depend on motorised wheelchairs to get around.

We cannot talk about active travel without talking about road safety. As ministers have said many times, one death on Scotland’s roads is one too many. We will do all that we can do to reduce road casualty figures, in line with our road safety framework and the targets in the framework document.

With that in mind, we have developed and will imminently publish further guidance on 20mph limits and zones, in partnership with the Society of Chief Officers of Transportation in Scotland. The guidance will provide greater clarity for local authorities on the options that are available when they are considering the introduction of 20mph speed limits, which help to protect pedestrians and cyclists.

Members will be aware of the term “presumed liability”—or “strict liability”—which some organisations are advocating. As the Scottish Government has said, there is a continuing debate in that regard. I expect that the matter will be discussed at the next meeting of the cross-party group on cycling, which I hope to attend. The Scottish Government’s position has not changed; if there is evidence that the introduction of some form of strict liability will make active travel safer, we will of course look at it.

I am running out of time. When he was transport minister, the Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Investment and Cities made great progress in promoting cycling in the context of rail travel and ensuring that the new rail franchise will create many opportunities for cycling—that is a feature of the new contract.

It is appropriate to acknowledge the importance of the legacy of the 2014 Commonwealth games for active travel as part of an active Scotland. I am sure that we all agree that team Scotland’s athletes’ inspirational performances during last summer’s games will leave a fitting legacy to encourage more people throughout the country into more active lifestyles. The local approach is essential in that regard. I am sure that we are all committed to ensuring that Scottish people who might have been inspired by watching team Scotland bring in a record-breaking haul of medals have the opportunity to take their first steps towards healthier living.