To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how it will ensure that all appropriate roads have a safer speed limit of 20mph by 2025. (S6O-04074)

The Scottish Government is firmly committed to reducing road casualties and creating safer streets for everyone. Evidence shows that a person is seven times more likely to survive if hit at 20mph than at 30mph.

All local authorities are committed to meeting the 2025 deadline and have developed their plans to designate their streets, and £4 million has been provided to 21 local authorities this financial year to aid implementation. Transport Scotland has issued national guidance to support local authorities with the roll-out of 20mph speed limits on appropriate roads.

Early feedback from Scottish Borders Council and Highland Council, as early adopters, has been positive, with a recognition from local communities that the initiative can significantly reduce road casualties, encourage sustainable travel and foster safer, more vibrant communities.

It is clear that every council in Scotland is ready to roll out 20mph, which is remarkable. That means that, by the end of next year, every child in every community could be living on a safer street. Local implementation, alongside a national programme, will help to drive forward the national road safety messages that have been so successful in driving down casualty rates in Wales. However, when I speak to councils and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, there is uncertainty about what funds will be available to get the job done in the next 12 months, particularly in relation to staff resources in councils. How will the budget that was announced yesterday enable each and every one of those 32 councils to deliver implementation plans in the next year, as it is clear that that will cost more than £4 million?

Council road authorities had to submit the expected expenditure to deliver their plans to achieve the 20mph limits on the roads that they have chosen in their areas. However, we know that early adopters have spent significantly under those estimates—in one case, by 62 per cent. Therefore, we are confident that there are sufficient funds in the 2025-26 budget to meet the needs. That funding can be found in the road safety line in the roads budget that was published yesterday.

There is a brief supplementary question from Sue Webber.

Bus passengers in Edinburgh face longer journeys under the council’s plans to cut speed limits from 60mph to 20mph. The proposed changes are expected to cost £850,000 and would affect 66 roads in Edinburgh. Lothian Buses has raised concerns that the slower traffic will affect journey times for passengers, adding to the misery that commuters face across our capital. Only 18 fines for breaching the 20mph speed limit in Edinburgh have been issued since 2020-21. Without enforcement, it is nothing more than an expensive box-ticking exercise. Does the Cabinet secretary agree that introducing more 20mph limits will increase congestion and journey times and do nothing to encourage people to use public transport?

I am not sure whether the Conservative Party is aware of the data that shows that there are significant reductions in the numbers of casualties on affected roads. That is the driver for that change and improvement. I know that the member is a former Edinburgh councillor, so she will be aware of the powers that local authorities have on enforcement. She makes a valid point about whether the 20mph limit slows traffic and whether there is an issue around congestion affecting bus travel times. However, again, that is an issue that the City of Edinburgh Council, which owns the buses in Edinburgh—

It does not own the buses.

Well, it runs a publicly—[Interruption.]

Ms Webber, will you allow the Cabinet secretary to respond?

Lothian Buses has shareholders. A very small number of shares are held by West Lothian Council; shares are also held by the City of Edinburgh Council. I would have thought that the transport spokesperson for the Conservatives might have known that. In putting forward a reasonable case for how we make sure that we get the benefits of increased bus use as well as safer streets, I refer the member to her former colleagues in the City of Edinburgh Council on that Edinburgh-specific issue.