Email sent 6.12.12

To: Keith Brown MSP, Minister for Transport and Veterans

Dear Minister

I am emailing from Spokes.  I know we do not need to impress on you the need for greater cycling investment, given the government's 2020 cycle-use target, and we very much welcomed your promise earlier this year to fight for consequentials funding should it became available.

We understand from today's Herald that the Scottish Government is now expected to receive £331m consequentials for capital investment, as a result of the UK Chancellor's Autumn Statement, and that there is pressure for this to be invested at an early date so that work on projects can begin soon.

We were pleased to note recently that John Swinney's list of 'shovel-ready' projects* included some potential cycling investment, albeit forming only a very small percentage of the total list costs.  I am sure that Sustrans will have many further projects ready-to-go with their local authority and other partners.

We trust therefore that you will be pressing hard within the administration to maximise the element of consequentials which is allocated to cycling investment, and we would be grateful if you could inform us of the outcome.

Yours Sincerely
Dave du Feu
for Spokes

*http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2012/11/shovelready25112012

Additional point for anyone emailing their MSP [I remembered this too late to include in the Spokes email] ...

The UK Chancellor allocated an additional £42m to cycling investment in England in his autumn statement.  This adds to the case for the Scottish Government to allocate some of their new capital allocation to cycling investment.