Day: September 22, 2022

Car Free Day: Campaigners call for action on traffic

Environmental campaigners say that all councils in Scotland should be working to reduce the numbers of cars on the road, as people across the country celebrate Car Free Day.

Today (22 September) is Car Free Day – an annual event to highlight how neighbourhoods and communities could be improved with fewer vehicles on the road. Today and over the weekend, there’ll be events across Scotland as grassroots groups and councils try to raise awareness of the alternatives to car use.

Fewer cars can create stronger economies and communities by boosting small businesses and local high streets, and improving public health. Air pollution primarily from traffic is responsible for 2,500 premature deaths in Scotland every year.

To coincide with Car Free Day:

+ Glasgow City Council has introduced ‘Street Play’, where residents can close streets from 22-25 September to host parties, workshops and cycling classes
+ City of Edinburgh Council will close Waverley Bridge to hold events on it (above)
+ Dundee has its first Kidical Mass ride, protecting children cycling in areas with no segregated cycle lanes. This is one of over 200 Kidical Mass rides across Europe this weekend

New research launched by the Clean Cities Campaign found that 62% of people support the idea of one car-free day a week, to open the streets to walking and cycling and improve air quality. If this was implemented in major European cities, it could save between 541,000- 945,000 barrels of oil per year.

The Scottish Government has pledged to reduce total car km travelled by 20% by 2030. A final plan will be published on how to achieve this before the end of the year.

Gavin Thomson, transport campaigner at Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: “Transport is Scotland’s biggest source of climate emissions, it’s creating dangerous levels of air pollution and it’s costing people far too much money. It needs to change.

“This Car Free Day, there’ll be street parties and bike rides and community-building activities that aren’t possible if our towns and cities are filled with cars. When we remove cars, like on streets that become pedestrianised, we open up public space for communities and businesses.

“The Scottish Government has committed to reducing car travel by 20%, but we’ve yet to see any detail on how they will deliver this. It’s clear that our cities should be limiting cars, opening up space for communities. A regular car free day in cities would be a great idea.”

Planning vital to stem rising child poverty, says Audit Scotland

Longer-term joint planning is needed to address child poverty in Scotland, which has increased since targets were set in 2017, according to a new Audit Scotland report.

The Scottish Government’s policies and spending remain more focused on helping children out of poverty rather than long-term measures to prevent it. Over a quarter of children in Scotland – 260,000 – were living in poverty before the Covid-19 pandemic. And the current cost-of-living crisis risks making the situation worse.

Covid-19’s impact on data collection means child poverty statistics are only available up to 2019/20, the half-way point in the Scottish Government’s first child poverty plan. But even with the data it would not be possible to assess the plan’s success. This is because the Scottish Government did not set out what impact the 2018-22 plan was expected to have on levels of child poverty.

The government’s second child poverty delivery plan takes a more joined-up approach to tackling child poverty, spanning central and local government and their partners. But detailed joint planning is now needed to ensure policy actions are delivered and progress measured. Policy development also needs to meaningfully involve the views of children and families with experience of poverty.

Stephen Boyle, Auditor General for Scotland, said: “Poverty affects every aspect of a child’s wellbeing and life chances and has wider implications for society.

“The Scottish Government needs to work with its partners to quickly set out the detail of how the second child poverty plan will be delivered, monitored and evaluated.

“Government policy takes time to have an impact on child poverty and so it is essential ministers also act now to set out options for reaching their long-term targets in 2030.”

William Moyes, Chair of the Accounts Commission, said: “Councils have a key role to play in tackling child poverty through measures such as housing, education, childcare and employability. But there is limited information available across councils about what they are doing and its impact.

“Better collection and sharing of information about councils’ child poverty work will help support learning and improvement across Scotland.”

briefing_220922_child_povertyDownload