20 September 2012
Government not heeding the Warning Signs
Anna Brand gives Transform Scotland's initial comments on the Scottish Budget
Once again, the Scottish Government has failed to show financial commitment to sustainable transport through a disappointing settlement for the sector.
While Transform Scotland welcomes the £6 million increase for cycling investment, by and large the Government is continuing down the same path of continued increases in spending for road building, and continued decreases for public transport. While it is projected to increase next year, there is also a further small decrease in the Cycling, Walking and Safer Routes budget (8%).
Overall, the transport budget has increased by £68.7 million in real terms; but while road spending continues to increase, we see that investment in buses and ferries will decrease, if only slightly. This follows the very large cuts in bus investment brought about in last year’s Budget. The charts on page 158 of the budget show that in the last five years, road spending has increased by almost 40%, while most other transport spending lines have remained largely unchanged. Given the extra emissions that these new roads will generate, and the lack of evidence that the Government’s climate change action plan (RPP) is being funded, this is further evidence that the Government is not taking its commitments under the Scottish climate change act seriously.
The silver lining of today’s events is of course the Rail Services budget, which has seen a welcome increase, and we are pleased to see increased clarity on investments for Caledonian Sleeper services, which the government has previously delayed. It is also positive to see the budget highlight the modernisation of the Glasgow Subway, which was completely omitted from last year’s budget; and encouraging that there is continued reference to progressing the Borders Railway project.
However, investment in rail freight remains a pittance, at just £1.1 million, not nearly enough to tackle the commitment to “encourage the freight industry to reduce emissions by transferring freight from road to rail and water” (p. 122 Draft Budget 2013-2014).
It is also worrying to see further cuts to local authority budgets, which will reduce their ability to tackle the vast road maintenance backlog. Therefore, while there is money invested in cycling, the upkeep of already existing cycling and pedestrian infrastructure could be impeded.
So in summary, it is clear that the government is not yet taking action to reverse the many negative trends highlighted in the Warning Signs report we published last week. The parliament will be scrutinising the Budget in coming weeks and months and we encourage all members to make their views known on what the government should really be doing if it wants to deliver sustainable transport.