Prime Minister Boris Johnson admits guilt at last – but serial liar refuses to resign
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak have both been fined by the Metropolitan Police for breaching Covid regulations.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson made the following statement yesterday:
Today I have received a fixed penalty notice from the Metropolitan Police relating to an event in Downing Street on 19th June 2020, and let me say immediately that I have paid the fine and I once again offer a full apology.
And in a spirit of openness and humility, I want to be completely clear about what happened on that date.
My day began shortly after 7am, and I chaired eight meetings in No10, including the Cabinet Committee deciding Covid strategy, I visited a school in Hemel Hempstead, which took me out of Downing Street for over four hours.
And amongst all these engagements, on a day that happened to be my birthday, there was a brief gathering in the Cabinet Room shortly after 2pm, lasting for less than 10 minutes, during which people I work with kindly passed on their good wishes.
And I have to say in all frankness, at the time, it did not occur to me that this might have been a breach of the rules.
But of course the police have found otherwise and I fully respect the outcome of their investigation.
I understand the anger that many will feel that I myself fell short when it came to observing the very rules which the Government I lead had introduced to protect the public, and I accept in all sincerity that people had a right to expect better.
Now I feel an even greater sense of obligation to deliver on the priorities of the British people:
strengthening our economy,
creating jobs and opportunities,
levelling up the whole United Kingdom,
now, of course, ensuring that Putin fails in Ukraine, and easing the burden imposed on hard-working families caused by higher energy prices.
I will take forward that task with due humility, but with maximum determination to fulfil my duty and do what is best for the country I serve.
Whether this short statement, which addresses transgressions commited on just ONE day during lockdown, will be enough to save his political life is now in the hands of Conservative MPs, and Conservative MPs alone.
If it was left to the people of the country to decide Johnson’s fate – those millions of people who stuck to the Covid rules imposed by this government – there can be little doubt Johnson would be finished.
The Prime Minister said it himself: people had a right to expect better.If he had a scintilla of honour, Johnson would resign without delay.
Official figures reveal that council taxpayers in Edinburgh pay on average £587 a year less than they would in Tory-run England and £398 less than in Labour-run Wales.
Across Scotland, council tax payers get the best deal in Britain. The figures also demonstrate that the savings for Scottish council tax payers in comparison to what those in England and Wales will pay is going to be even greater next year.
The research shows that Band D council tax payers in Edinburgh pay £1,379 which is £587 less than the equivalent in England and £398 less than in Wales.
Council tax across Scotland is lower than in England – for 2022/23, the average Band D Council Tax bill in Scotland is £1347 compared to £1966 in England and £1777 in Wales.
For 2022/23, the average charge for all property bands, including E, F, G and H, is between £413 and £651 lower in Scotland than England.
The average council tax increase in Scotland for 2022/23 was 3.0%, compared with 3.5% in England and 2.7% in Wales.
Commenting, SNP MSP Gordon MacDonald said: “Council taxpayers in Edinburgh are paying £587 less than they would in England. In fact, council taxpayers across Scotland get the best deal in Britain.
“On top of the £150 council tax rebate announced last month by Finance Secretary Kate Forbes, this demonstrates that the Scottish Government is doing all it can within its restricted powers and resources to keep as much money as possible in the pockets of Scottish families.
“Council tax bills in Edinburgh are so substantially lower because the SNP has such a strong record of delivering the best value. For an entire decade the SNP Scottish Government froze the cost of council tax – despite Westminster continuing to slash the Scottish budget.
“The SNP Scottish Government is also rolling out a social security system based on fairness and respect. It has introduced the ‘game-changing’ Scottish Child Payment – which will deliver £25 per week per child for the lowest income families in Edinburgh – and we are increasing a range of Scottish social security benefits by six per cent.
“It is a glaring contrast with the Westminster Tory Government which, far from protecting hard-pressed families from the spiralling Tory cost of living crisis, it callously cut vital Universal Credit support by £20 a week for the poorest families.
“This is a real tale of two Governments and the people of Scotland will have the opportunity to send a message to Boris Johnson by rejecting the Tories in the local elections on May 5.”
‘A tale of two governments’?It’s worth pointing out that neither Boris Johnson nor Nicola Sturgeon will be standing in May’s LOCAL government elections. These elections are supposed to be about who runs our council services!
Edinburgh is currently under the control of an SNP – Labour ‘Capital Coalition’ partnership. Do you think Edinburgh taxpayers are really getting a ‘good deal’? – Ed. …
Local elections will be held across all 32 Scottish local authorities on 5th May. Just over 1,200 council seats will be determined.
Local government is a hugely significant part of the public service landscape in Scotland. Local government’s revenue settlement from the Scottish government in 2022/23 is almost £12bn, accounting for just shy of one third of the Scottish government’s total revenue spending.
Drawing on this settlement – plus resources from council tax, fees and charges – local authorities will manage and deliver social care services, pre-school and school education, and a raft of environmental, planning and cultural services.
In this context, it is perhaps surprising that turnout at local government elections is typically less than 50% (turnout in 2017 was 47%). Low turnout partly reflects a sense among the electorate that their vote makes relatively little difference to the delivery of public services, for two reasons.
First is a pervasive view that local authorities have relatively little power to influence service delivery in meaningful ways, regardless of the political control of the council, as local authorities are often perceived largely as delivery agents of the Scottish government.
Second is a set of issues around political accountability. The results of local government elections are often ambiguous – after the 2017 elections, no mainland council authority was controlled by a single party (moreover, it is not always the case that the largest party forms part of the governing coalition). On top of this, the profile of local politicians is often low. Recent research indicates that three quarters of people are not confident that they could name the leader of their council.
Data from the Scottish Household Survey – an annual survey of around 10,000 households – indicates that in 2019, fewer than a fifth of adults thought they could influence decisions affecting their local area.
At the same time, only just over one quarter actually wanted to be more involved in the decisions of their local council (Chart 1). The last decade has seen a persistent decline in the proportion of adults who want to be more involved in local democracy.
Chart 1:Percentage of respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing with various statements about local services.
Source: FAI analysis of Scottish Household Survey
The Covid pandemic may have raised the public’s awareness of local government and the breadth of activities it is responsible for. Local authorities were instrumental in delivering financial and other support during the pandemic – both to households and to businesses – supporting testing and tracing infrastructure, and ensuring the safe reopening of schools. It will be interesting to see whether this manifests in any increase in turnout in this year’s elections.
People have different views about how much we should care about the public’s relatively low interest in local government, and what we should do about it. For some, the answer is greater policy autonomy, both in general terms and in relation to local taxation in particular. For others, elected mayors (or provosts) would raise profile and accountability.
On the first of these issues, policy autonomy, there has been little progress during the past five years. In fact if anything, things are moving towards less not more local autonomy. Throughout the past five years the Scottish government has made increasing use of specific (ring-fenced grants). Meanwhile, the government’s plans to establish a new national social care agency – which have a number of well meaning justifications – have been referred to by Cosla as ‘a direct attack on localism and on the rights of people to make, and benefit from, decisions taken locally.
Local government funding, 2017/18 – 2022-23
One of the dominant issues going into the 2017 local government elections was the very constrained nature of the local government financial settlement over the past five years. Between 2013/14 and 2017/18, the core local government revenue settlement declined by £750 million in real terms according to SPICe which is equivalent to a 7% real terms reduction in its budget.
What’s happened to local government budgets during the past five years?
Unsurprisingly, local government budgets increased substantially during the pandemic. Local government General Revenue Grant increased by £2.4bn in 2020/21 to reach £9.3bn. The increase offsets the loss of around £1bn of non-domestic rates revenue as a result of pandemic-related tax reliefs, and also reflects increased grant to enable local authorities to play a critical role in delivering pandemic-related support to households, businesses, and the wider pandemic infrastructure (e.g. testing facilities).
The local government settlement in 2021/22 was not as high as in 2020/21, as the recovery began to take effect.
By 2022/23, core local government funding – including general revenue grant, NDR income and specific grants – is slightly lower in real terms than it was in 2017/18 (Chart 2). If we also include additional funding from the Scottish Government that is transferred into the local government settlement from other portfolios, then the story is that local government funding from the Scottish government is around 3.5% higher in 2022/23 than in 2017/18.
These additional revenues include £380m for health and social care integration and mental health, £234m to pay the living wage to social care staff, and £150m for additional teaching and support staff in schools. It does make sense to include these elements in the calculation. But even so, the 3.5% real terms funding increase has to be seen within the context of a significant increase in local government’s delivery responsibilities over the same period.
In other words, whilst the story of the past five years has not been one of funding cuts – at least as clearly as at the last election – local government’s funding settlement has nonetheless been very constrained.
Chart 2:Local government core funding from Scottish Government, real terms.
Source: For 2017/18 to 2021/22, Provisional Outturn and Budget Estimates (POBE); for 2022/23, Local Government Finance Circular 1/2022.
One result of this funding constraint is a further concentration of local government spending on education and social care. Between 2017/18 and 2021/22 (the latest year for which data is available), spending on education increased 6% in real terms, whilst for social work the increase was 5%. The flipside of this was a 9% real terms decline in local government spending on cultural services and an 8% decline in environmental services spending.
Despite these funding pressures, overall satisfaction with council services had held up reasonably well, at least until 2019 – the latest year for which we have comparable data (Chart 3). However, there was also some evidence of a decline in satisfaction with particular aspects of local government service delivery in 2017 and 2018. This coincides with a period when local government funding was cut particularly rapidly. It will be interesting to see how this trend is affected by the pandemic once data is available.
Chart 3:Percentage of respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing with various statements about local services.
Source: FAI analysis of Scottish Household Survey
Looking ahead
Local government will retain a critical role over the next five years in delivering key Scottish government priorities and commitments, particularly around childcare, educational attainment, and climate objectives (e.g. in relation to improvements to the housing stock and active travel plans). And clearly, major existing agendas such as health and social care integration and digitalisation of public services will remain high priorities.
Yet at the same time, it is hard to see an immediate reversal in the broad trend of funding constraint. The forthcoming Scottish government Spending Review, to be published in May, should shed further light on the funding outlook for 2023/24 and 2024/25.
In addition to consideration of the local government funding envelope in totality, local government will be interested to know more about the outlook for its core budget, relative to elements of the budget that are ringfenced in some way.
The government has committed to work with local authorities to produce a fiscal framework for local government this parliament. The expectation is that this might set out clearer criteria about when it is or isn’t appropriate for local government funding resources to be ringfenced. But the timescales for production of the review are not yet known.
A major area of uncertainty is what the future of social care will mean for local government.
The Scottish government has set out its intentions to establish a new National Care Service by 2026. There are a number of well-founded justifications for the proposed National Care Service, including parity with the NHS, stronger opportunities for staff retention, and consistency of service across the country.
But there is little clarity yet about what the reforms will mean for the role of local government in shaping local priorities. COSLA has accused the proposals as representing an attack on localism.
Another uncertainty is the prospects for local tax reform. The past five years have seen relatively little movement on this front. The government has introduced legislation to allow local authorities to introduce Workplace Parking Levies, although the practical advantage of this as a policy has been temporarily stymied by the pandemic.
Debates around the introduction of local powers over tourism levies is progressing slowly. On council tax, the SNP-Green Collaboration Agreement makes the case for a ‘fairer, more inclusive and fiscally sustainable form of local taxation’. It proposes a process of deliberative engagement and a citizens jury to consider reforms in further detail. Whether this process culminates in a more concrete political willingness to reform council tax than previous processes remains to be seen.
The past five years have seen no major revolutions of local government financing arrangements or public services delivery. But evolution continues at pace. Local government played a critical role in supporting the pandemic response, and continues to play an increasingly important role in delivering core Scottish government commitments in areas from child poverty and the cost of living crisis to climate change.
The next five years may see more substantive evolution in the role and responsibility of local government in Scotland. Whether this happens in a way that enhances, or further erodes, public engagement with local democracy remains to be seen.
143 candidates will contest Edinburgh’s 17 wards in the Local Government Elections on Thursday 5 May.
Nominations for candidates closed om Wednesday 30 March. The nominated candidates for each ward are listed in full below and on the Council website:
Ward 1 – Almond
Workers Party of Britain – BAILLIE, Annemarie
Scottish Green Party – BROUGH, Andrew
Scottish Family Party: Pro-Family, Pro-Marriage, Pro-Life – GEDDES, Stewart
Scottish Labour Party – HESSLER, Fred
Scottish Conservative and Unionist – HILL, James
Scottish Liberal Democrats – LANG, Kevin
Scottish National Party (SNP) – WORK, Norrie
Scottish Liberal Democrats – YOUNG, Louise
Scottish Liberal Democrats – YOUNIE, Lewis James
Ward 2 – Pentland Hills
Scottish Conservative and Unionist – BRUCE , Graeme
Scottish Liberal Democrats – CHAPPELL, Michael William
Scottish Family Party: Pro-Family, Pro-Marriage, Pro-Life – FETTES, Richard
Scottish National Party (SNP) – GARDINER, Neil Thomas
Scottish Conservative and Unionist – GILCHRIST, Emma
Scottish National Party (SNP) – GLASGOW, Fiona
Scottish Labour Party – JENKINSON, Stephen Philip
Scottish Green Party – MULLER, Ross
Scottish Libertarian Party – ROWLANDS, Louis
Ward 3 – Drum Brae/ Gyle
Scottish Liberal Democrats – ALDRIDGE, Robert Christopher
Scottish Conservative and Unionist – BROWN, Mark
Scottish National Party (SNP) – HYSLOP, Euan
Scottish Family Party: Pro-Family, Pro-Marriage, Pro-Life – JOHNSTON, Eileen
Labour and Co-operative Party – OKORO, Nkechi
Scottish Green Party – SCOTT, Anne
Scottish Libertarian Party – SMITH, Gary
Scottish Liberal Democrats – THORNLEY, Edward John
Ward 4 – Forth
Scottish Conservative and Unionist – CAMPBELL, Jim
Scottish Family Party: Pro-Family, Pro-Marriage, Pro-Life – CAMPBELL, Linda Lenora
Labour and Co-operative Party – DAY, Cammy
Scottish Liberal Democrats – DIJKSTRA-DOWNIE, Sanne
Scottish National Party (SNP) – DOBBIN, Stuart
Scottish National Party (SNP) – GOOCH, Carrie
Women’s Equality Party – HEATHCOTE, Kerry Elizabeth
Scottish Green Party – O’NEILL, Kayleigh
Ward 5 – Inverleith
Scottish Green Party – BANDEL, Jule
Scottish Conservative and Unionist – HERRING, Stuart
Scottish Family Party: Pro-Family, Pro-Marriage, Pro-Life – HOLDEN, Phil
Scottish Libertarian Party – LAIRD, Tam
MCNAMARA, Stephen
Scottish Conservative and Unionist – MITCHELL, Max
Labour and Co-operative Party – MUNRO-BRIAN, Mhairi
Scottish National Party (SNP) – NICOLSON, Vicky
Scottish Liberal Democrats – OSLER, Hal
Scottish Liberal Democrats – WOOD, Malcolm Alexander
Ward 6 – Corstorphine/ Murrayfield
Scottish Liberal Democrats – BEAL, Alan Christopher
Scottish Family Party: Pro-Family, Pro-Marriage, Pro-Life – COLVILLE, Norman David
Scottish Liberal Democrats – DAVIDSON, Euan Robert
Scottish Conservative and Unionist – FINDLAY, Hugh
Scottish Green Party – HUGHES, Connal
Scottish Labour Party – PARKER, Richard
Scottish National Party (SNP) – ROSS, Frank
Ward 7 – Sighthill/ Gorgie
Scottish National Party (SNP) – DIXON, Denis
Scottish National Party (SNP) – FULLERTON, Catherine
Independent – GRACZYK, Ashley
Scottish Green Party – HEAP, Dan
Alba Party for independence – HENRY, David
Scottish Conservative and Unionist – HOOLEY, Mark
Scottish Labour Party – MCKENZIE, Ross
Scottish Liberal Democrats – SCOBIE, Devin
Ward 8 – Colinton/ Fairmilehead
Scottish Labour Party – ARTHUR, Scott
Scottish National Party (SNP) – BIAGI, Marco
Scottish Conservative and Unionist – CUTHBERT, Neil
Scottish Family Party: Pro-Family, Pro-Marriage, Pro-Life – LUCAS, Richard Crewe
Scottish Green Party – MCCABE, Helen
Scottish Conservative and Unionist – RUST, Jason
Scottish Liberal Democrats – SPENCE, Louise Watson
Ward 9 – Fountainbridge/ Craiglockhart
Scottish Conservative and Unionist – COWDY, Christopher
Scottish Liberal Democrats – GRAHAM, Fraser John Ashmore
Scottish National Party (SNP) – KEY, David
Scottish Libertarian Party – MASSON, Gregor
Scottish Green Party – MCHANEY, Megan
Scottish Family Party: Pro-Family, Pro-Marriage, Pro-Life – RAMSAY, Fraser Kenneth
Labour and Co-operative Party – WALKER, Val
Ward 10 – Morningside
Scottish National Party (SNP) – CLYDE, Mairianna
Alba Party for independence – GUNN BARRETT, Leah
Scottish Conservative and Unionist – MUNRO, Marie-Clair
Scottish Green Party – PARKER, Ben
Scottish Liberal Democrats – ROSS, Neil John
Scottish Libertarian Party – SIDOR, Peter
Scottish Labour Party – WATT, Mandy Helen
Ward 11 – City Centre
Independent – BOB, Bonnie Prince
Independent – CARSON, Pete
Scottish Liberal Democrats – FOXALL, Andy
Labour and Co-operative Party – GRAHAM, Margaret Arma
Independent – ILLINGWORTH, Kevin
Scottish National Party (SNP) – MCFARLANE, Finlay
Scottish Green Party – MILLER, Claire
Scottish Conservative and Unionist – MOWAT, Jo
Scottish National Party (SNP) – MWIKI, Marianne
Independent – PAKPAHAN-CAMPBELL, Maria
Independent – PENMAN, Paul R.
Independent – ROWAN, Norrie
Alba Party for independence – SHAW, Kevan
Ward 12 – Leith Walk
Scottish Liberal Democrats – CALDWELL, Jack
Labour and Co-operative Party – DALGLEISH, James
Scottish Family Party: Pro-Family, Pro-Marriage, Pro-Life – DEEPNARAIN, Niel
Scottish Conservative and Unionist – FOMBO, Bonus
Socialist Labour Party – JACOBSEN, David Don
Scottish National Party (SNP) – MCNEESE-MECHAN, Amy
Scottish National Party (SNP) – MUNN, Rob
Freedom Alliance. Real People. Real Alternative – PULLMAN, Jon
Scottish Green Party – RAE, Susan
Women’s Equality Party – RENTON, David
Communist Party of Britain – SHILLCOCK, Richard Charles
Alba Party for independence – SMITH, Joe
Ward 13 – Leith
Scottish Green Party – BOOTH, Chas
Scottish Labour Party – FACCENDA, Katrina
Scottish Family Party: Pro-Family, Pro-Marriage, Pro-Life – ISSERI, Jacqueline Mary
Independent – MACKENZIE, Andy
Alba Party for independence – MCGLYNN, Euan
Scottish National Party (SNP) – MCVEY, Adam
Scottish Conservative and Unionist – PERCHARD, Teresa
Scottish Liberal Democrats – REA, Robin Thomas
Ward 14 – Craigentinny/ Duddingston
Scottish National Party (SNP) – ASTON, Danny
Scottish National Party (SNP) – BROWN, Shelly-Ann
Scottish Liberal Democrats – FORD, Elaine Ruth
Labour and Co-operative Party – GRIFFITHS, Joan
Scottish Green Party – STANIFORTH, Alex
Scottish Conservative and Unionist – WHYTE, Iain
Ward 15 – Southside/ Newington
Scottish Green Party – BURGESS, Steve
Scottish Liberal Democrats – FLANNERY, Pauline
Scottish National Party (SNP) – KUMAR, Simita
Labour and Co-operative Party – POGSON, Tim
Scottish Conservative and Unionist – ROSE, Cameron
Ward 16 – Liberton/ Gilmerton
Labour and Co-operative Party – CAMERON, Lezley Marion
Scottish Family Party: Pro-Family, Pro-Marriage, Pro-Life – CHRISTIE, James Demare
Scottish Conservative and Unionist – DOGGART, Philip
Scottish Socialist Party – FOX, Colin
Scottish National Party (SNP) – MACINNES, Lesley
Scottish National Party (SNP) – MATTOS COELHO, Martha
Labour and Co-operative Party – MEASOM, Ishrat
Alba Party for independence – MERON, Abu
Scottish Green Party – NICHOL, John
Scottish Liberal Democrats – PLANCHE, Madeleine Rani Frances
Ward 17 – Portobello/ Craigmillar
Scottish National Party (SNP) – CAMPBELL, Kate
Scottish Conservative and Unionist – JONES, Tim
Independent – MCDONALD, Andrew
Labour and Co-operative Party – MEAGHER, Jane Elizabeth
Scottish Green Party – MUMFORD, Alys
Labour and Co-operative Party – PUGH, Heather
Scottish Liberal Democrats – REILLY, Jill
Scottish National Party (SNP) – SHEDDEN, Simon Clark
Alba Party for independence – TODD, Anne
Andrew Kerr, Chief Executive of the City of Edinburgh Council and Returning Officer for Edinburgh, said: “If you haven’t yet registered to vote in these Local Government Elections, it’s not too late. The deadline for registration is midnight on 18 April.
“Remember, due to changes to polling places to ensure we keep as many schools open as possible, you might have a different polling place this time. Check your polling card carefully or use the online tool to find out where to vote on 5 May.”
Public to participate in decisions on health and climate change
Openness, transparency and citizen participation are at the heart of a new National Action Plan to strengthen co-operation between government and wider society.
Scotland’s Open Government Action Plan 2021-25, has been drawn up with Scotland’s Open Government Network – a coalition of citizens and civil society organisations.
It will focus on involving people in decisions on making data open and accessible across key areas of government and understanding how public finances work.
It will also allow people to participate in decision making on tackling the climate emergency and improving health and social care.
A key first step in this Action Plan is the publication of the Institutionalising Participatory and Deliberative Democracy (IPDD) Working Group report.
It was set up to respond to the need for new infrastructure and processes to make sure people can routinely be involved in government decisions and to set up new Citizens’ Assemblies.
The Working Group recommendations include identifying how participatory processes have impact, independence and accountability; and providing guidance on how to design and run Citizens’ Assemblies.
Minister for Parliamentary Business and Co-Chair of the Open Government Steering Group, George Adam said: “This Action Plan sets out our most ambitious commitments yet to create an open, transparent and accountable government, strengthening public trust in our institutions, producing better public services and a better quality of life for everyone.
“I am confident the commitments in the plan will continue to drive improvement to ensure decision-making is open and accessible to the people of Scotland and that we enable meaningful public scrutiny.
“Tackling the climate emergency and improving health and social care are huge challenges faced by government and I believe that working in partnership with wider society and the people of Scotland will help improve these vital programmes of work.
“I also welcome the publication of the IPDD Working Group report, which will help us deliver on this Action Plan and other commitments we have made to putting people at heart of everything we do. We will now carefully consider its recommendations before publishing our response in due course.”
Civil society Co-Chair of the Open Government Steering Group, and member of OGP International Steering Committee, Lucy McTernan said: “Accountability and trust in our government has never been more important, as we see it undermined around the world.
“I am delighted the Scottish Government and COSLA officials, civil society partners and people across Scotland have contributed to the development of this plan.
“Retaining this spirit of collaboration and partnership working throughout the delivery of the plan will be crucial to its success and we look forward to developing these relationships over the next four years.”
Willie Sullivan, Senior Director of Electoral Reform Society Scotland, said: “Scotland is already pioneering important ways to give people more of a say in the decisions that affect them, such as through citizens’ assemblies.
“We are part of a small group of countries leading the way in exploring how to move beyond the creaking democratic institutions of the 20th century and how to break through into a new era of revitalised and invigorated democracy.
“This report sets out the plan to lay strong foundations for the future of Scotland’s democracy; for the old to give birth to and nurture the new.”
Spokes Council Election Hustings, Mon 28 March, 7.30-9.30
Transport Policies, with particular reference to Cycling
Local Council elections take place on 5th May. The Spokes hustings on March 28 will challenge representatives of the main parties represented on Edinburgh City Council to explain and defend their transport and cycling policies for the next 5 years. All speakers are candidates in the election.
Each speaker will have 5 minutes to outline their transport and cycling policies for the next 5 years, after which there will be a one-hour QA during which speakers will face searching questions from the online audience.
Registration : Register in advance – the link is in the above website article and tweet
PANDEMIC ERA SEES HUGE RISE IN CYCLING
Campaigners have highlighted new Government figures which show that people will cycle if it feels safe, and if car traffic is low. The new stats also reveal the huge public handouts to the bus industry through the pandemic.
The data was published today in Scottish Transport Statistics, and covers 2020/2021 when there was a huge drop in traffic due to Covid-19 restrictions.
The figures show a 63.5% increase in cycling in 2020-2021, while all other forms of transport showed marked reductions due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Figures show that the bus industry in Scotland received £340m in funding from local or central government in 2020-21. Passenger revenue for the same period was £131m. Effectively, the taxpayer subsidised 72% of the industry.
Meanwhile, bus fares in Scotland have increased by 6% (adjusting for inflation) over the past five years, while the increase for Great Britain as a whole was 3%.
The statistics also show:
• Public transport journeys fell by 70%, with 153m public transport journeys made in 2020-21. For comparison, in 2019-2020, there were 502m public transport journeys recorded.
• 83% of public transport journeys were made by bus, 9% by rail, 5% by air and 3% by ferry.
• The number of bus journeys fell by 65% in 2020-21. While this was the result of the pandemic, it also follows the trend of long term decline in bus passenger numbers. There were 458million bus journeys in 2009-10 but this had fallen to 363 million by 2019-20
Transport is Scotland’s largest source of climate emissions and levels have barely changed since 1990.
Friends of the Earth Scotland’s Air Pollution Campaigner Gavin Thomson commented: “These statistics confirm the huge increase in cycling we witnessed over the first year of the pandemic.
“People will cycle if they feel safe, whether that means fewer cars on the road or segregated cycle lanes. As we head into the elections, all local council candidates need to recognise there are huge benefits to their area of making it safe and easy to cycle.
“These figures show just how much the public purse is subsidising the bus industry. But politicians have failed to get value for money. Fare rises far above the UK average, constant route cuts, and a complete lack of control or accountability. Councils need to use the new bus powers to take control of our bus network; if we’re paying for it, we should control it.
“This data is a snapshot from the first year we faced huge societal changes due to Covid-19. We still don’t know what the world will look like on the other side of this pandemic, but there are opportunities to deliver on those early promises to build back better and greener. Councils have a range of powers at their disposal to make it safe, easy, and cheap to travel sustainably.”
Two years to the day Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the UK’s first lockdown, Drylaw Telford Community Council meets in person again tonight.
February’s community council trialled face-to-face meetings and, with restrictions being lifted, it was agreed that Drylaw Telford will continue to meet in public.
Tonight’s meeting, at Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre, starts at 7pm.
While much has changed in the last two years – whoever heard of Zoom pre-Covid? – some issues remain the same:
Nominations open today (Tuesday 15 March) for candidates to stand in the forthcoming Local Government Election.
The Election will take place on Thursday, 5 May, when people living across Edinburgh will elect members to the City of Edinburgh Council.
The Notice of Election was published yesterday for Edinburgh’s 17 wards where three or four councillors will be elected in each ward to represent residents.
In 2017, 63 councillors were elected to represent the City of Edinburgh Council, with a 50.5% turnout for the city – up from 42.6% in 2012.
In order to stand as a candidate, individuals must submit nomination papers, by 4pm on Wednesday 30 March.
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE A MEMBER OF A POLITICAL PARTY TO STAND FOR ELECTION !!
Andrew Kerr, Chief Executive of the City of Edinburgh Council and Returning Officer for Edinburgh, said: “The Notice of Election signifies the official start of the election period. The forthcoming election will enable the city’s residents to have their say, and I would take this opportunity to urge all citizens to make sure they are registered and use their vote.
“There are a range of options for casting ballots – in person, by post or by appointing someone trusted to vote in your place, known as a proxy.
“The local councillors elected make important decisions on provision of public services, including education, social care, waste management, libraries, planning and much more on behalf of Edinburgh residents.
“Preparations are well underway to ensure a successful election with plans for any additional restrictions required due to the ongoing pandemic. We’re keen to continue the enthusiasm demonstrated by voters during last year’s Scottish Parliament Election when we had the same range of safety measures in place.”
New Scots urged to register to vote in May elections
The Electoral Commission is running a Welcome to Your Vote Day, today Thursday 10 March, to raise awareness amongst New Scots about their right to vote ahead of the upcoming council elections.
In 2020 the Scottish Parliament voted to extend the franchise for Scottish Parliament and council elections to include anyone aged 16 or over who is resident in Scotland, regardless of their nationality. This means that the upcoming elections will be the first opportunity for many New Scots to vote in Scottish council elections.
Anyone who wants to vote in the Scottish council elections on 5 May must be registered by midnight on 18 April.
Andy O’Neill, Head of the Electoral Commission in Scotland said:“Welcome to Your Vote Day aims to raise awareness that New Scots have the right to register to vote and have their say on 5 May.
“We have information to help new voters understand the voting process in various languages on our website at www.electoralcommission.org.uk/voter.
“You can’t have your say in the council elections taking place this May unless you are registered to vote, which you can do online now at www.gov.uk/registertovote.”
The Electoral Commission is also working with organisations across Scotland to ensure that recently-enfranchised voters have the tools they need to confidently cast their vote on issues that affect their day to day lives.
This includes providing resources which community groups and other organisations can use to raise awareness amongst New Scots they work with and run their own registration events.
Luis, who is a member of JustRight Scotland’s JustCitizens Panel and came to Scotland from Mexico in 2014, said:“This year I am going to vote, after living here for a couple of years. I feel like I belong and I would like to think that I have the power to shape the society I live in.”
Mira from the Just Citizens Panel, who is originally from Poland, said:“I voted in Scotland for the first time in 2017 at the local council elections and, emotionally speaking, it was quite an emotive and powerful event.
“It felt like, even though I had already lived in Scotland for seven years at that point, it really felt like I was part of the society and like I was taking an active role in what was happening to the city that I live in.”
The Scottish Parliament’s youngest petitioner, 7-year-old Callum Isted, will give evidence to MSPs on the Citizens Participation and Public Petitions Committee this morning.
Callum, who is a pupil at Dedridge Primary School in Livingston, submitted a petition to the Committee calling on the Scottish Government to replace disposable water bottles in Scotland’s primary schools with a sustainable, reusable option.
At it’s meeting today (Wednesday 9 March), the Committee will hear about the success Callum had in raising money to buy reusable water bottles for his own school and what action he would like to see taken on the issue.
Convener of the Committee, Jackson Carlaw MSP said: “Creating a public petition lets the Parliament know about the issues that are most important to people across Scotland.
“At 7 years old Callum is our youngest ever petitioner and he’s already campaigned for – and brought about – positive change in his own school.
“Now he wants to see that change extend across the whole of Scotland. I look forward to hearing more from him today and what he hopes we can do to help his campaign achieve wider success.”
Callum’s petition was also raised with the First Minister last week, when the Convener’s Group questioned her on issues around Covid-19 recovery and net zero.
Callum said: “I am going to Parliament on 9th March 2022. I am going to ask the Committee for two things:
to give every primary school pupil in Scotland a Klean Kanteen;
2 to fix the broken taps in schools so that we can use the bottles properly.
“I am feeling confident and excited to be able to speak to the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee and maybe Nicola Sturgeon.”
The meeting will be broadcast live at 09.30 am and the Committee will also consider a number of other petitions including taking evidence on protecting Scotland’s native woodland.
