About you
3. What is your name?
Name
(Required)
Colin Howden
Organisation details
1. Name of organisation
Name of organisation
(Required)
Transform Scotland
2. Information about your organisation
Please add information about your organisation in the box below
We are Scotland’s alliance for sustainable transport. Our diverse membership brings together public, private and third sector organisations from across Scotland.
We are politically independent and strictly science-based; we are a registered Scottish Charity (SC041516) and Company (SC181648).
See https://transform.scot/about-us/ for further information.
We are politically independent and strictly science-based; we are a registered Scottish Charity (SC041516) and Company (SC181648).
See https://transform.scot/about-us/ for further information.
Scottish Government priorities
1. Are these the right priorities for the Scottish Budget 2025-26 and, if not, where should the Scottish Government focus its attention?
Please provide your response in the box provided.
Yes.
2. What taxation and spending decisions should the Scottish Government take to make most progress against each of the First Minister’s four priorities, within the current financial climate?
Please provide your response in the box provided.
In order to tackle the climate emergency, the Scottish Government needs to cut emissions from the transport sector, transport being the largest single source of emissions. In order to do this, the Scottish Government should switch capital expenditure from high-carbon transport spending (in particular road construction) to active travel & public transport, the low-carbon modes of transport.
Switching capital expenditure to low-carbon sustainable transport would also grow the Scottish economy. Firstly, almost all new road construction contracts are awarded to companies that are headquartered outwith Scotland. Secondly, it continues to perpetuate a car-based transport system despite Scotland having had no volume car manufacturing for over 40 years. On the other hand, Scotland does retain industrial capacity in bus manufacturing (Alexander Dennis), Meanwhile, smaller, more local transport investment would also provide greater opportunity for Scottish companies to compete for contracts (including in, for example, road maintenance, where there remains a multi-billion pound maintenance backlog).
A concentration on sustainable transport would also benefit efforts to alleviate child poverty, as the lowest-income households are much more likely to be reliant on the sustainable transport modes. A focus on investment in facilitating greater car use instead disproportionately benefits high-income, highly-mobile individuals and households.
Scotland's taxation policy should take as a central focus the 'polluter pays principle', moving taxation away from economically-productive factors (such as labour) and on to negative externalities (such as pollution). Road use & aviation are grossly under-priced when economic, social and environmental externalities are taken into account -- which, unfortunately, the Scottish Budget process continues to entirely fail to do. As an early example, the Scottish Government should be using the powers provided to it to implement the transition from Air Passenger Duty to Air Departure Tax, and in doing so increase income generated from ADT to better cover the grotesque levels of climate pollution emitted by the aviation industry.
Switching capital expenditure to low-carbon sustainable transport would also grow the Scottish economy. Firstly, almost all new road construction contracts are awarded to companies that are headquartered outwith Scotland. Secondly, it continues to perpetuate a car-based transport system despite Scotland having had no volume car manufacturing for over 40 years. On the other hand, Scotland does retain industrial capacity in bus manufacturing (Alexander Dennis), Meanwhile, smaller, more local transport investment would also provide greater opportunity for Scottish companies to compete for contracts (including in, for example, road maintenance, where there remains a multi-billion pound maintenance backlog).
A concentration on sustainable transport would also benefit efforts to alleviate child poverty, as the lowest-income households are much more likely to be reliant on the sustainable transport modes. A focus on investment in facilitating greater car use instead disproportionately benefits high-income, highly-mobile individuals and households.
Scotland's taxation policy should take as a central focus the 'polluter pays principle', moving taxation away from economically-productive factors (such as labour) and on to negative externalities (such as pollution). Road use & aviation are grossly under-priced when economic, social and environmental externalities are taken into account -- which, unfortunately, the Scottish Budget process continues to entirely fail to do. As an early example, the Scottish Government should be using the powers provided to it to implement the transition from Air Passenger Duty to Air Departure Tax, and in doing so increase income generated from ADT to better cover the grotesque levels of climate pollution emitted by the aviation industry.
Climate emergency
1. What steps should the Scottish Government take, in its Budget for 2025-26, to grow the economy in this way?
Please provide your response in the box provided.
We repeat here our response to the first question in the first section:
In order to tackle the climate emergency, the Scottish Government needs to cut emissions from the transport sector, transport being the largest single source of emissions. In order to do this, the Scottish Government should switch capital expenditure from high-carbon transport spending (in particular road construction) to active travel & public transport, the low-carbon modes of transport.
Switching capital expenditure to low-carbon sustainable transport would also grow the Scottish economy. Firstly, almost all new road construction contracts are awarded to companies that are headquartered outwith Scotland. Secondly, it continues to perpetuate a car-based transport system despite Scotland having had no volume car manufacturing for over 40 years. On the other hand, Scotland does retain industrial capacity in bus manufacturing (Alexander Dennis), Meanwhile, smaller, more local transport investment would also provide greater opportunity for Scottish companies to compete for contracts (including in, for example, road maintenance, where there remains a multi-billion pound maintenance backlog).
A concentration on sustainable transport would also benefit efforts to alleviate child poverty, as the lowest-income households are much more likely to be reliant on the sustainable transport modes. A focus on investment in facilitating greater car use instead disproportionately benefits high-income, highly-mobile individuals and households.
Scotland's taxation policy should take as a central focus the 'polluter pays principle', moving taxation away from economically-productive factors (such as labour) and on to negative externalities (such as pollution). Road use & aviation are grossly under-priced when economic, social and environmental externalities are taken into account -- which, unfortunately, the Scottish Budget process continues to entirely fail to do. As an early example, the Scottish Government should be using the powers provided to it to implement the transition from Air Passenger Duty to Air Departure Tax, and in doing so increase income generated from ADT to better cover the grotesque levels of climate pollution emitted by the aviation industry.
In order to tackle the climate emergency, the Scottish Government needs to cut emissions from the transport sector, transport being the largest single source of emissions. In order to do this, the Scottish Government should switch capital expenditure from high-carbon transport spending (in particular road construction) to active travel & public transport, the low-carbon modes of transport.
Switching capital expenditure to low-carbon sustainable transport would also grow the Scottish economy. Firstly, almost all new road construction contracts are awarded to companies that are headquartered outwith Scotland. Secondly, it continues to perpetuate a car-based transport system despite Scotland having had no volume car manufacturing for over 40 years. On the other hand, Scotland does retain industrial capacity in bus manufacturing (Alexander Dennis), Meanwhile, smaller, more local transport investment would also provide greater opportunity for Scottish companies to compete for contracts (including in, for example, road maintenance, where there remains a multi-billion pound maintenance backlog).
A concentration on sustainable transport would also benefit efforts to alleviate child poverty, as the lowest-income households are much more likely to be reliant on the sustainable transport modes. A focus on investment in facilitating greater car use instead disproportionately benefits high-income, highly-mobile individuals and households.
Scotland's taxation policy should take as a central focus the 'polluter pays principle', moving taxation away from economically-productive factors (such as labour) and on to negative externalities (such as pollution). Road use & aviation are grossly under-priced when economic, social and environmental externalities are taken into account -- which, unfortunately, the Scottish Budget process continues to entirely fail to do. As an early example, the Scottish Government should be using the powers provided to it to implement the transition from Air Passenger Duty to Air Departure Tax, and in doing so increase income generated from ADT to better cover the grotesque levels of climate pollution emitted by the aviation industry.
Capital expenditure
1. Given the limited capital budget available, in which areas should the Scottish Government prioritise its capital spend in the Scottish Budget 2025-26 to deliver increased productivity, innovation, and growth?
Please provide your response in the box provided.
We repeat here (part of) our response to the first question in the first section:
In order to tackle the climate emergency, the Scottish Government needs to cut emissions from the transport sector, transport being the largest single source of emissions. In order to do this, the Scottish Government should switch capital expenditure from high-carbon transport spending (in particular road construction) to active travel & public transport, the low-carbon modes of transport.
Switching capital expenditure to low-carbon sustainable transport would also grow the Scottish economy. Firstly, almost all new road construction contracts are awarded to companies that are headquartered outwith Scotland. Secondly, it continues to perpetuate a car-based transport system despite Scotland having had no volume car manufacturing for over 40 years. On the other hand, Scotland does retain industrial capacity in bus manufacturing (Alexander Dennis), Meanwhile, smaller, more local transport investment would also provide greater opportunity for Scottish companies to compete for contracts (including in, for example, road maintenance, where there remains a multi-billion pound maintenance backlog).
A concentration on sustainable transport would also benefit efforts to alleviate child poverty, as the lowest-income households are much more likely to be reliant on the sustainable transport modes. A focus on investment in facilitating greater car use instead disproportionately benefits high-income, highly-mobile individuals and households.
In order to tackle the climate emergency, the Scottish Government needs to cut emissions from the transport sector, transport being the largest single source of emissions. In order to do this, the Scottish Government should switch capital expenditure from high-carbon transport spending (in particular road construction) to active travel & public transport, the low-carbon modes of transport.
Switching capital expenditure to low-carbon sustainable transport would also grow the Scottish economy. Firstly, almost all new road construction contracts are awarded to companies that are headquartered outwith Scotland. Secondly, it continues to perpetuate a car-based transport system despite Scotland having had no volume car manufacturing for over 40 years. On the other hand, Scotland does retain industrial capacity in bus manufacturing (Alexander Dennis), Meanwhile, smaller, more local transport investment would also provide greater opportunity for Scottish companies to compete for contracts (including in, for example, road maintenance, where there remains a multi-billion pound maintenance backlog).
A concentration on sustainable transport would also benefit efforts to alleviate child poverty, as the lowest-income households are much more likely to be reliant on the sustainable transport modes. A focus on investment in facilitating greater car use instead disproportionately benefits high-income, highly-mobile individuals and households.