Scottish Parliament – April 30, 2025 – 2

The result of the division on motion S6M-17362, in the name of Sue Webber, on ending the war against Scotland’s motorists, as amended, is: For 79, Against 37, Abstentions 0. Motion, as amended, agreed to, That the Parliament believes that language used out of context to maximise political traction and which fails to consider the sensitivities of such language is reckless, given wider global considerations;

further believes that demonising car users is unhelpful to rural communities in particular, which, as a result of a deregulated bus market, often have no alternative to using a car;

acknowledges, however, that Scotland needs to reduce carbon emissions from transport, especially from car use;

welcomes that Scotland has reached its target of 6,000 public EV charge points two years early through a combination of Scottish Government funding, delivery by local authorities and private sector investment, with approximately 24,000 to be delivered by 2030 through continued Scottish Government funding and increasing private sector investment;

recognises that supporting EV car use contributes to Scotland’s connectivity, and further recognises the value that connectivity has in helping to support the economy, education, social mobility and leisure across Scotland;

notes that connectivity is being enhanced by free bus travel for over two million people in Scotland, which provides alternatives to car usage for those that can make the switch;

respects the responsibilities of local authorities for local road provision and maintenance, and some local bus services, and that they will be able to have more control through transport legislation, which puts more power into the hands of local transport authorities;

is concerned at the ongoing impact of UK Conservative administrations’ deregulation of bus services in the 1980s and 1990s;

recognises the need for safe, clean and, importantly, reliable punctual bus services, which can be improved through bus infrastructure, and that improvements can be made in public health by creating low emission zones, as has been done in over 40 areas across Europe, but does have concerns that the punctuality of bus services can be hampered by road works;

welcomes the Scottish Government’s approach through engaging collaboratively with the Scottish Road Works Commissioner, who oversees road works, with roads authorities, which have responsibility for coordination of works, and with the road works industry, which is responsible for duration and quality of works, to find reasonable solutions to help in this area;

agrees that further investigation is needed of the role that those undertaking the works play in the quality of road surfaces after works have been completed;

further agrees to await the results of the National Speed Management Review consultation, noting that an estimated 10mph reduction in the national speed limit on single carriageway roads can reduce deaths by 23% and serious casualties by 18%, and that there is a need to make Scotland’s roads safer to cut the number of people being injured and killed on the roads, and welcomes the roll-out of 20mph limits across all local authorities on roads determined by them.