Exclusive:Active travel projects shelved as Scottish Government clamps down on public spending
Decisions on active travel projects have been paused as the Scottish Government looks to pause spending
Projects to encourage Scots to get out of their cars look set to be axed as the Scottish Government cuts all but essential spending.
The Scotsman understands Government funding to Sustrans Scotland has been halted, forcing the charity to pause a number of projects in its Places for Everyone programme.
The Places for Everyone programme aims to get more Scots walking, wheeling and cycling across the country, and has more than 200 projects in various stages of development.
However, decisions on whether to continue with a number of these projects have now been paused.
A spokesman for Sustrans Scotland said: “We have grant agreements with Transport Scotland up to £66.2 million and there have been no changes to these.
“There is a pipeline of Places for Everyone project which would require additional funds. Decision making on these has been paused.”
Transport Scotland added: “We have allocated Sustrans with £66.2m of funding this financial year to work with delivery partners to deliver active travel infrastructure.
“We value the expertise of Sustrans and have been clear that as part of our transformation programme that they will build on their long established role in supporting the ambitions of local authorities and regional transport partnerships to make walking, wheeling and cycling an easier transport choice for communities right across the country.”
The decision comes after Finance Secretary Shona Robison wrote to all Cabinet secretaries calling for a halt to all but essential government spending.
The Government has also cut universal winter fuel payments, reintroduced peak rail fares, cut culture and nature restoration funding, and stopped all non-essential public advertising.
A Government spokesman said freezing the public sector marketing expenditure for the rest of the year was “a necessary decision” to make ends meet.
It comes as Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes hinted at no further Scottish Government tax rises. She warned the Government must take into account people moving out of the country if taxes were increased north of the Border.
In recent years, the Government has committed to “progressive taxation”, with last year’s income tax rise on the highest earners creating a new band for those earning between £75,000 and £125,140.
But speaking at an event at the SNP conference yesterday, organised by the Child Poverty Action Group Scotland, Ms Forbes warned of the dangers of further increasing tax.
Responding to a staff member from Oxfam Scotland, Ms Forbes said she had to “guarantee income” for the Government.
“The nature of tax policy in a devolved context, you just can’t get away from the reality, it’s very easy to move – it just is very easy to move,” she said. “We have to take into account the behavioural impact also.”
Ms Forbes separately said the SNP’s commitment to universal free school meals would still be a priority in the coming Scottish Budget.
She made the comments during an event on tackling child poverty at the SNP conference in Edinburgh on Friday.
Ms Forbes said the public could still expect to see a number of anti-poverty measures in the 2025/26 Budget.
“Obviously our commitment is still to endeavour to deliver our commitment around free school meals,” she said. “The First Minister has been really clear in terms of the Budget constraints.
“There’s no two ways around it. The Budget is under extreme constraint, but he sees child poverty as the absolute priority.
“Without divulging into what’s going to happen in the Scottish Government Budget, from a school meals perspective and other priorities in our anti-poverty agenda, you will see a priority there.”
The commitment comes after First Minister John Swinney said the Government needed to make £250m worth of cuts to balance the Budget. Civil servants have also reportedly been told to put all options for cuts on the table, including universal benefits such as free prescriptions and tuition fees, although Mr Swinney this week moved to hose down those claims.
Ms Forbes told the SNP conference universal benefits removed poverty stigma. She said: “We’ve had discussions over the last few weeks about universal services - the real advantage of universal services like the baby box is it removes stigma.
“If you don’t want the baby box, you’re under no pressure to take it. But it is far better to have a universal approach, which means you don’t have to prove you are vulnerable and deserve it to your midwife by going into deep detail about your personal circumstances.”
Ms Forbes also spoke about how free mother and baby classes were a “great equaliser”. She said she had heard first-hand from her sister about how bad child poverty in Scotland was.
“It came home to me when my sister became a primary school teacher in an area with high levels of deprivation,” she said. “She was almost traumatised, but not nearly to the extent the children were, to see four and five-year-olds in her classroom starving, many of whom go days on end without a bed to sleep in.
“We are then expecting them to come into school and learn, but how can they when they are so hungry and traumatised? The other reason my eyes were opened was becoming a mum myself.
“Free mother and baby groups were a great equaliser because from speaking to other mums from different backgrounds there is a universal experience of how overwhelming it is for them to figure out how to cover the cost of all the things you need for a brand new life.”
A Government spokesman said: “As both the First Minister and the Cabinet secretary for finance have made clear, tough decisions are having to be made across government and the wider public sector to ensure that stretched resources are used economically, efficiently and effectively.”
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