As the case for supporting cycling and sustainable travel is made at #COP27, here in Scotland we continue to do the same nationally and locally. Sadly, despite positive commitments and policies in the past couple of years, financial pressures are once again creating uncertainty for budgets and priorities. Climate targets can’t be met without boosting active travel and that means we need more spending on projects and infrastructure which helps people to cycle, walk and wheel.

Police Scotland are also experiencing financial pressures and have put all projects on hold. This includes the National Dashcam Safety Portal – an online system for the public to upload camera footage and simply report incidents of bad driving.

The ongoing development of the new portal is under threat, so Cycling UK has a new e-action where you can write to the Chief Constable to say ‘Don’t scrap Scotland’s Dashcam Safety Portal’.

Read more in the blog post I wrote for Cycling UK.

*TAKE ACTION NOW* take the e-action – write to the Chief Constable and personalise your email by adding why road safety and the portal is important to you.

Section 1: Current Consultations

(in date order for responses)

1.1: Scottish Sentencing Council – Death by Driving

Only a few days remaining.

The sentencing council is seeking views on their draft guideline on the statutory offences involving causing death by driving. The guidance is for the courts to use when setting sentences in cases where death has been caused by careless or dangerous driving.

The consultation asks questions on:

• the overall style and structure of the guideline and its interaction with other guidelines
• the content of the guidance contained within the guideline
• the potential impacts of the guideline

The proposed guidance itself is well set out and clear – it makes sense to have the offences ordered by seriousness with the most serious appearing first.

However, what many people want to see are tougher sentences and courts using their sentencing powers to give out tough penalties. It’s interesting that the consultation document explains that currently the public generally expects tougher sentences than the courts deliver. This has to work for the public and victim’s families as well as being fair to offenders.

This consultation is not the ideal format to call for tough sentences for causing death by driving or other driving offences but there’s no harm in stating clearly what you want to see in order to make the roads safer.

Cases of drivers killing other other people whilst behind the wheel and receiving a short sentence are all too familiar. Pleas for tougher sentencing for road crime seem to go nowhere. Now is the chance to tell the sentencing council what you think.

Closes 22 November 2022

1.2: Transport Scotland – Cycling Framework for Active Travel

Transport Scotland is consulting on an important new strategy for cycling – specifically cycling for active travel. The draft Cycling Framework for Active Travel outlines the Scottish Government’s priorities for cycling up to 2030, and specifically aims to boost transport cycling (everyday cycling) for short local journeys.

This new strategy is the follow-up to the Cycling Action Plan for Scotland 2017-2020 and to be honest its a whole lot better. So if you agree and think that, on the whole, its a positive strategy please use this opportunity to praise Transport Scotland for going a good job.

Sadly, as cycle campaigners we are all too familiar with having to review draft documents which don’t promise to deliver what is needed for cycling. This new Cycling Framework is better but we can still provide input to improve it.

Cycling UK has produced a guide to responding to the consultation which includes suggestions for answers to supplement your own ideas.

Closes 19 December 2022

Section 2: Forthcoming Consultations

None this month.

Section 3: Consultation Feedback

The Scottish Government has now published the independent analysis report of the responses to the Draft National Planning Framework 4 consultation.  Further information, and the Revised Draft NPF4, is available at TransformingPlanning.scot.

It was a much shorter version of the annual government workplan than previous years but it did still include priorities to enable cycling in Scotland. To be honest there wasn’t much new for active travel, which was disappointing after last year, but there were still positive policies for the Minister and his civil servants to get stuck into and deliver this year.

Read more in my analysis of the PfG from Cycling UK in Scotland.

Take a look back at the progress government made to deliver on last year’s PfG commitments in Cycling UK’s recent PfG status report.

Section 1: Current Consultations

(in date order for responses)

1.1: Scottish Government –  Land reform in a Net Zero Nation: consultation paper

Government is working on a Land Reform Bill to be brought forward during this Parliament. This is part of the consultation process.

You may have comments to make on the right use of land for tackling climate change and the nature crisis and ensuring a just transition but there’s also scope to comment here on improving access for cycling in Scotland.

Part 6 proposes that there should be a duty on large-scale landowners to publish Land Management Plans and part 8 proposes those who receive public funds should be required to produce them.

At Cycling UK we hear too many cases of landowners preventing access to their land for walking and cycling, despite people having right of responsible access under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003.

This new Land Reform Bill and consultation is a good opportunity to require large landowners, who are in receipt of public money, to be required to comply with the Scottish Outdoor Access Code.

In other words, if they don’t allow access to their land and don’t follow the code, the public money they receive can be stopped. At present there doesn’t seem to be enough penalty for land owners flouting this law.

Closes 25 September 2022

1.2: Scottish Sentencing Council – Death by Driving

The sentencing council is seeking views on their draft guideline on the statutory offences involving causing death by driving.

Cases of drivers killing other other people whilst behind the wheel and receiving a short sentence are all too familiar. Pleas for tougher sentencing for road crime seem to go nowhere. Now is the chance to tell the sentencing council what you think.

More on this consultation next time.

Closes 22 November 2022

Section 2: Forthcoming Consultations

Transport Scotland is developing a new Cycling Framework and Delivery Plan for Active Travel which is the follow up to the Cycling Action Plan. This will be very important for driving forward action on cycling so will be a highlight of a digest sometime in the autumn.

The Scottish Government is working on a new Climate Change Plan which should be published for consultation this autumn.

The Scottish Government is also working on an Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan which will cover transport such as electric and hydrogen vehicle and should also include e-bikes.

Section 3: Consultation Feedback

None this month