Chamber and committees

In reference to where we are tonight, does the Education, Children and Young People Committee have the capacity to deal with nearly 400 amendments to an education bill to the point that we are having to sit for a number of evening sessions? We need to look long and hard at the Scottish Parliament’s capacity and the amount of legislation and other work that committees are asked to deal with.

Audit Scotland is held up as being a really good and heavily critical organisation that is well respected for how it reports to the Parliament in its various inquiries. When it came to my intentions, my head was in that space: I was looking for the chief inspector of schools to have kudos, influence and the trust of the public, which have been absent in relation to a number of things in education over the past few years.

That is where we are. However, given the feeling and sentiment, I will not press amendment 140.

Amendment 140, by agreement, withdrawn.

Amendments 75 and 141 not moved.

Regarding expertise, amendments 163 and 164 state that the chief inspector must report to a

“committee of the Scottish Parliament whose remit includes matters relating to education”.

It is this committee—the Education, Children and Young People Committee—that would have the ability to drill down and understand what the inspector was doing.

Every committee is extremely busy and pressed—hence why we are sitting here at 8.38—so you could not say that one committee is more busy than another. I am a member of the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee, which is currently undertaking an inquiry into committee effectiveness, and capacity can perhaps be considered as part of that. I hope that that answers your questions.

Amendment 187 represents an attempt to provide clarity in relation to home schooling, residential education and boarding. That is why I lodged it.

Can the minister refer to anything that I said in my remarks today that did not acknowledge that motorists want to be part of an affordable transition?

Will the minister take an intervention?

It is not an omission, Mr Cole-Hamilton. The point is about roads across the country generally. We did not want to specify and single out individual roads because we wanted to make the debate relevant to all of Scotland and not just those who rely on some of our rural connectivity.

The insidious drip-drip effect of anti-car policies is hampering our economy and connectivity, and punishing Scots who are already hard pressed. The SNP must stop viewing car drivers as bogeymen and end its war on Scotland’s motorists by moving away from those damaging policies. After all, the SNP scrapped its target to reduce car use by 20 per cent by 2030 after Audit Scotland said that there was no costed delivery plan or clear milestones. That is a stark admission of failure, but one that was entirely foreseeable. The Audit Scotland report confirmed what many of us suspected: that there was no costed delivery plan, no measurable milestones and no realistic understanding of how such a dramatic reduction could be achieved without crippling those who rely on cars daily.

What we need is a pragmatic shift in approach—no more fines, zones or restrictions. We should be encouraging positive change, through investment in electric vehicle infrastructure; incentives for greener choices, including public transport and park and rides; and proper road maintenance that makes driving safer and more efficient, not more difficult.

SNP ministers need to show some common sense and focus on incentives rather than penalties to encourage motorists to be part of an affordable transition.

The implementation of low-emission zones has hindered businesses, residents and motorists in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Dundee. Fines in Glasgow and Edinburgh are extremely punitive, starting at £60 and doubling with each repeat offence, up to a cap of £480 per day. That places a disproportionate burden on low-income drivers who cannot afford to replace older vehicles. The reality is that the low-emission zones have cost more than £13 million of taxpayers’ money to set up in Scotland but are making a minimal difference to air quality. It is important that ministers review their effectiveness before any new zones are proposed or the current ones are expanded, and we must reconsider the punitive fines.

Unbelievably, the SNP has spent three years and £500,000 of taxpayers’ money on its plan to cut national speed limits on single-carriageway roads from 60mph to 50mph, yet there is no clear evidence that a blanket reduction would deliver significant safety benefits. Such a reduction would impact commuters and significantly impact the agriculture, haulage and logistics sectors across Scotland, placing further strain on productivity.

Scotland’s road network is in a state of steady decline, and motorists are paying the price. Almost 500,000 potholes have been reported to Scottish local authorities since 2021, and Edinburgh has been named as Scotland’s pothole capital, with more potholes that Aberdeen, Dundee and Glasgow put together.

Resurfacing rather than refilling is the best solution to tackle Scotland’s pothole problem. That is obvious when we consider that almost half a billion pounds has been spent on fixing potholes since 2022, yet our roads are still in a terrible condition. That must be backed by a more co-ordinated effort among the Scottish Government, the Office of the Scottish Road Works Commissioner, local authorities and utility companies.

Too often, road works sites sit idle, causing needless congestion and frustration. When one utility company has finished, it is often only a few weeks, sometimes days, before the next company comes in and digs up exactly the same stretch of road. No wonder it is frustrating for residents and drivers. Ministers must seek ways to discourage inactivity on road works sites and to incentivise finishing road works ahead of time.

Finally, we are calling for greater action to future proof Scotland’s electric vehicle charging network. “Just Transition: A Draft Just Transition Plan for Transport in Scotland” acknowledges that increasing EV car ownership alone is not enough. The charging infrastructure must be put in place if more people are to start using EVs. Motorists cannot be expected to shift to EVs without confidence that charging is accessible, affordable and convenient. I am an EV user, but charging issues were the biggest barrier when making the choice to get an EV. That is the case for many people, especially those who do not have home charging and who rely on the public charging network. Our charging network has different kilowatt chargers, all with differing fees and differing penalties for overstaying. Those factors are contingent on the decisions that are taken by local authorities.

We have lodged a motion that calls on the SNP to finally end the war on motorists. Its anti-car policies are damaging our economy and punishing hard-pressed Scots.

I move,

That the Parliament calls on the Scottish Government to take greater action to support Scotland’s motorists and to cease implementing punitive measures against road users, which have been described as a war on Scotland’s motorists; recognises the importance of motorists to the Scottish economy and connectivity; acknowledges that the Scottish Government has abandoned its plans to reduce car use by 20% by 2030 and welcomes the recent Audit Scotland report that states that the Scottish Ministers had “no costed delivery plan or measurable milestones” to achieve this target; calls on the Scottish Ministers to focus on incentives, rather than penalties, to encourage motorists to change their behaviour as part of an affordable transition; notes that the implementation of low emission zones has hindered businesses and motorists in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Dundee, and calls on ministers to review the effectiveness of low emission zones before any new zones are proposed, or the current ones are expanded, and to reconsider the punitive fines; recognises that road users in Aberdeen have been hindered by the introduction of bus gates, and that motorists across Scotland have been restricted by the expansion of parking charges; urges the Scottish Ministers not to introduce 50 mph speed limits on national speed limit single carriageway roads; recognises that resurfacing, rather than refilling, is the best solution to tackle Scotland’s pothole problem; urges ministers to work more effectively with the Scottish Road Works Commissioner, local authority road works coordinators and utility companies to encourage less inactivity on road work sites and to incentivise finishing works ahead of time; calls for greater action to futureproof Scotland’s EV charger network, and further calls on the Scottish Government to recognise the vital role that motorists play in Scotland.

Thank you for that succinct answer.

Last week, at Edinburgh’s housing, homelessness and fair work committee, housing allocations were frozen and now only people with gold priority will be considered for a new council home. All others looking to move home within the city will need to wait even longer.

Edinburgh receives a share of around 6 per cent of the affordable housing budget, using a COSLA-based formula that disadvantages the capital. Meanwhile, the acquisitions budget is allocated based on need, which means that Edinburgh receives more than a third. Will the cabinet secretary urgently review the funding formula to ensure that Edinburgh gets its fair and needed share of moneys?

The Scottish Conservatives will always stand up for motorists, unlike the left-wing parties in this chamber, who continue to treat them with disdain. For too long, road users in this country have faced punitive and ill-considered measures that do little to support our economy, communities or environment in a fair and effective way.

Motorists are not the enemy. They are parents doing school runs, workers getting to jobs, tradespeople running businesses and carers reaching the most vulnerable. They are ordinary people going about their everyday lives.

Motorists are essential to Scotland’s economy and crucial for our connectivity, but they are being punished by the Scottish National Party Government through punitive low-emission zones, controlled parking zones, botched disincentives to car use, endless road works and a constant battle against pothole-ridden roads. Further, there are now the SNP’s ludicrous plans for a 50mph national speed limit.

If Mr Cole-Hamilton does not mind, I will come to him in a second, once I have got a bit more traction.

Despite what the SNP says in its amendment, it is not an exaggeration to describe the situation as a war against motorists. Cars remain the most popular form of transport in Scotland, but hard-working Scots feel that they are increasingly treated as an afterthought. That is what people tell me—this is how they feel—about relentless policies that make their lives harder and more expensive without a feasible alternative being available.

Will the minister give way?