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SPOKES COUNCIL SURVEY - CYCLE & TRANSPORT FUNDING

After years of decline, overall council transport budgets have bottomed out, but the percentage councils plan to spend on cycling/SRS [see col h in table], which has been stuck between 3.2% and 3.9% since 1997, stays at 3.8%.

One very disappointing feature is that only 5 councils exceed this average [see col h], and they together account for £1.8m, 70% of total cycle/SRS council spending. The 21 other responding councils between them only spend £0.8m, on average just 1.6% of their transport budgets.

More positively, some councils are now very successful in raising outside funds for cycle schemes [col j], so that across Scotland £2.36 per head is to be spent on cycling/ SRS [col m], a big increase on last year's budgeted £1.56.

Some of the praise for this extra outside funding goes to the Scottish Executive who, after a very slow start [Spokes 74], are now giving financial incentives, through the PTF, to councils with ambitious cycle schemes. And such incentives are increasing thanks to the big PTF increase, higher walk/cycle emphasis within the fund, and the new Integrated Transport Fund[article on web page 1].

Moreover, early this year the SE gave a one-off special £5.2m SRS allocation to Scottish Councils [col i]. Despite some faults [p6] this scheme will force many councils to at last give SRS some priority, and should also raise total cycle/SRS spending from £2.36 per head to £3.38 [col n].

How Councils spend their own money

External/Additional Funding

The main sources of external funding are as follows....
 

Funding source	Total	No. of councils
Lottery - Sustrans	£2031k	7
SE PTF	£1290k	5
Europe	£1280k	3
Lottery - other	£870k	3
SE trunk road	£550k	3
Other big sources	£757k	7

Note: The table is approximate, including known contributions over £50k only. Not all councils identified sources, and the cycle element of wider projects can be hard to identify. 'Other' sources include developer contributions, Scottish Enterprise, Landfill tax, and other council departments.

For future years, the end of Lottery Millennium funding means substantial falls in the £2031k+£870k in the table. However the PTF increase, the new Integrated Transport Fund, and government emphasis on cycle/walk in PTF schemes [article on p1], should all mean a very big rise in the PTF's £1290k - e.g. Argyll & Bute's current £2.9m bid [article on p1].

Finally, whilst some councils [eg D&G, Fife, Stirling, S.Ayrshire] use their cycle budget to attract big extra funds from outside, several others who spend highly on cycling/SRS do not seem to maximise this opportunity. For example W.Lothian, S.Lanarkshire, Clackmannanshire, Glasgow, and Angus - though some did in previous years.

Total Cycle/SRS Expenditure per Head

Direct Government Funding

Interesting Councils

Cycling is a major element in S.Ayrshire's integrated transport strategy, with rail stations becoming 'multi-modal hubs', bike carriage on buses, extensive main-road bus/bike lanes, town cycle networks, and high SRS emphasis. Part of the funding comes from a successful PTF bid last year.

W.Lothian, a middle-size council, has Scotland's biggest SRS ambitions, including a 2-year £750k programme of 20mph zones at all primary schools - a Labour election manifesto promise, and the Council's biggest transport project since 1996. All schools have been comprehensively assessed and prioritised, with a small number found to have particularly high casualty rates. Costs per school range from £2500 for signs/markings only to £40k for extensive schemes requiring humps or cushions. [see also article on web page 3]

Reading the table

The most important columns are cols h, j and m.

Col h shows the percent of the council's 2000/01 transport budget which it is allocating to cycling and SRS.

Col j shows what the council has raised for cycling/SRS [£k], from external/internal sources other than its transport budget. e.g. Sustrans, PTF, ERDF, LEC, council recreation/education dept, but excluding the one-off government SESRS allocation.

Col m shows the total per head of population [in pence] to be spent on cycling/SRS, from all sources except SESRS.

Column e: £k for cycle schemes from council transport capital budgets other than cycle or SRS budgets e.g. cycle lanes as part of council-funded bus schemes, or from a road safety budget.

Column i: Special one-off SESRS allocation, 2000/01 only.

Targets column:

Z government target adopted [quadruple use by 2012]

X more stringent target than government target

W targets on council actions, not cycle levels

N no target

C considering/developing target

Audit column:

C Formal cycle audit as in SE Cycling by Design or NCS

D As C, but for trunk road schemes only

S Safety audit includes cycling; no separate cycle audit

T All traffic/road schemes checked re. cycle facilities

F Formal cycle audit under development

N Informal or no audit/check

Abbreviations & Explanations:

ERDF European Regional Development Fund

LEC Local Enterprise Company

NCS Government National Cycling Strategy

SE Scottish Executive [i.e. the Scottish government]

PTF SE Public Transport Fund

SRS Safer Routes to School

SESRS Special 2000/01 SE SRS allocation to councils [col i]

Footnotes:

* Plus unquantified sum(s) under this heading

! Unknown - used data from previous year's survey

d Includes funds carried over from last year

e Figures shown are reduced, due to overspend last year

f Plus ring-fenced external funds, usually SE PTF

g Uncertainties or bids may provide (extra) funds here

h Includes funding from SE PTF

i SRS allocation from within road safety budget

j SESRS allocated by council to Education, not Transport

k May be less, as limited time/staff to use full SESRS amount

m Approximate/provisional/guesstimate

n 99/00 high Council spend, matching Sustrans 00/01 grant

p Cycle budget slashed due to major transport budget cut

q Big council cycle allocation to pull in major outside funding

r Includes £2.2m to extend SPT rural public transport

s Plus £125k from Education budget, included in col j

t Would be 7.8% if the £2.2m in (r) is excluded

v Excluded from totals/averages in table, for reason shown

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