Hansard

I commend members of the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee for their work on this inquiry. The final report is a comprehensive and insightful examination of the Government’s cleaner air for Scotland strategy and it will play an important role in informing future work on the matter.

As a substitute member of the committee, I have followed progress in the inquiry closely. Of course, many of the issues that are covered by the report cut across the work of other committees, highlighting the need for a cross-Government approach to tackling the problem of air pollution.

As a member of the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee, which deals with transport, and as convener of the cross-party group on heart disease and stroke, I particularly want to focus my comments on the negative impact of air pollution on our health, and the important role that our transport choices play in minimising that impact.

The link between poor air quality and ill health is well documented. It is estimated that air pollution contributes to as many as 40,000 premature deaths each year across the UK. It has been linked with heart disease and stroke, as well as cancer, asthma, diabetes and many other health conditions.

The British Heart Foundation Scotland describes air pollution as the invisible problem—we cannot see it, but it is all around us. The foundation has funded research in Scotland that shows the devastating effect that air pollution has on our hearts: it makes existing conditions worse and increases the risk of developing others, and there is a clear link between air pollution levels and heart attacks.

Even short-term exposure to large amounts of air pollution has been linked with a higher risk of developing angina, as was highlighted by Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland in its submission to the Health and Sport Committee ahead of that committee’s evidence session today. Studies have shown that air pollution can trigger atrial fibrillation—a common type of abnormal heartbeat that significantly increases the risk of stroke.

Air pollution has a disproportionate effect on the health of children and older adults, and it contributes to Scotland’s shameful health inequalities, with deprived urban communities often experiencing particularly high levels of air pollution. Reducing air pollution is, therefore, not only an environmental necessity but a health and equalities one. As Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland said in its evidence to the Health and Sport Committee:

“Air pollution should be treated as a health emergency and not constrained by the current slow pace of negotiation and action.”

Key to tackling this health emergency are the transport choices that we make, and I welcome the committee’s strong focus on that. A recent report by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs found that, in instances where legal air quality limits were being broken, transport was responsible for 80 per cent of roadside pollution.

We will not tackle air pollution without a drastic change in our transport habits—in particular, promoting alternative forms of transport to the car is crucial. The percentage of journeys made by bike increased by just 0.2 per cent between 2010 and 2016, and bus usage in Scotland continues to plummet. I therefore welcome the Government’s plans to increase spending on active travel, but it is important to ensure that the benefits of that investment are widely shared. Disadvantaged communities and rural areas must not be left behind when it comes to investment in active travel, but that is all too often the case at present.

Similarly, there must be an effort to remove the barriers that face certain groups. Roger Geffen, the policy director of Cycling UK, noted that UK cycling conditions

“disproportionately deter young people, older people, women and people with disabilities from cycling”,

and similar challenges prevent people within those groups from walking. Just last weekend, I took part in an initiative by a local charity, Buddies, which is promoting accessible cycling in partnership with the cycling Dumfries campaign. Its bikers buddies scheme, which includes specially adapted bikes for disabled people, is breaking down the barriers to cycling for many within the local community.

Such locally driven projects allow for innovative thinking and are able to respond to the specific needs and challenges of their communities. When I chaired Dumfries and Galloway Council’s economy, environment and infrastructure committee—I am sure that Finlay Carson will be delighted to know that that was when we agreed the active travel plan that he commended earlier—I had the privilege of being involved in a fantastic initiative called beat the street, which many members will have seen in their communities. It prompted a significant increase in cycling and walking in towns across the region. I strongly recommend the roll-out of such an initiative across the whole country, not just as a one-off, which is what often happens in communities, but permanently.

However, despite the increase in active travel funding, on-going cuts to local authority budgets pose a serious threat to many of the local initiatives on active travel. Stopping and reversing cuts in local government is vital in order to promote active travel, but also to help reverse the decline in bus usage, providing the necessary support to maintain services and, hopefully soon, as David Stewart said, a more regulated bus sector.

In its submission to the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee, Lothian Buses highlighted the fact that one bus represents 75 vehicles being removed from the road. The scope for buses to reduce congestion and air pollution is huge, but that requires buses to be made more convenient, accessible, affordable and properly regulated. By delivering a step change in our transport choices, through better active travel and increased bus usage, we can play a huge role in tackling the health crisis that air pollution is inflicting on far too many of our communities.