Scot Budget 25/26: update
The budget 25/26 is now expected to pass with no changes to active travel (AT) funding from December’s draft version. At no more than 4.6% of total transport spending it will be well below the 5.6% in the original 24/25 budget and far below the 10% previously promised – although probably up on 24/25 actual spend following the drastic 24/25 in-year cuts. However, the exact 25/26 total is very unclear and there is a risk that it could be well under 4.6% – see below.
Spokes correspondence with the Cabinet Secretary gives some interesting further insights.
24/25 budget
- 10% (or £320m) of transport budget initially promised for 24/25
- 5.6% (£220m) actually budgeted for 24/25
- Under 4% (£155m) actually invested 24/25 following in-year cuts
25/26 budget
As mentioned above, the exact amount is unclear due to the budget line being muddied from AT-only in previous years to “Active and Sustainable” this year
But this now looks optimistic. The draft budget gave the impression that the only impact of the widened budget heading was to include a £10m Bus Infrastructure Fund, but now a letter from the Cabinet Secretary to Daniel Johnson MSP states, “Work is underway to assess allocations for bus, active travel and other allocations which will inform individual budget lines for each constituent part of this funding going forward.”
Spokes correspondence with the Cabinet Secretary
Spokes emailed the Cabinet Secretary about the budget and related matters, and received this official reply. Read the correspondence for full details, but we particularly note the following…
- Integrated bus/cycle/place projects are gaining prominence – a good thing in principle, but not if it is a way of disguising AT cuts. Whilst some of the £10m Bus Infrastructure Fund may include associated AT facilities, some of the remaining ~£179m may go to bus, or other ‘sustainable non-AT’ which could even mean a very substantial AT cut. By way of background, we note that whilst creating the new £10m Bus Infra Fund, Scot Gov has at the same time scrapped the previous £500m (multi-year) Bus Partnership Fund.
- Multi-year funding – there is a level of reassurance for councils that it may be relatively safe to go ahead with major (multi-year) AT projects, without too much risk of cash not appearing for years 2, 3, etc. It is, however, somewhat puzzling that Scot Gov can guarantee funding for multi-year road projects, but not for cycle and walking routes!
- Commitment to 20% car-km reduction by 2030 It is good to read this acceptance in the letter: “I would agree that incentivising desirable behaviours is unlikely to be sufficient in a context where car use remains highly attractive in terms of individual-level benefits, while the dis-benefits to environmental and population health are largely externalised.” However the ultra-caution in actually doing anything about it remains clear. Even the long, long-awaited final ‘Route Map’ to achieving the 20% commitment remains in the long grass, 3 years after the draft was published in Jan 2022. But, never fear, “the Scottish Government continues to work closely with local and regional partners to update the route map.“
What you can do
- It is probably now too late to influence the 25/26 budget further, with the SNP having reached agreement with the Greens and Lib Dems to support the budget, and Labour agreeing not to vote against it, but…
- We need greater clarity on how the ‘Active and Sustainable‘ budget money will be used, and how much will actually go to AT
- Scot Gov needs to urgently up its act on its 2030 traffic reduction commitment, by heeding the research it commissioned, and setting up the processes to enable road-user charging
- If you are concerned, contact your MSPs
- Re-post our Bluesky ‘tweet’ about this article