Taxpayers' 'absurd' £250,000 bill revealed in Scottish Government plan to lower speed limit for cars

A quarter of a million pounds of taxpayers’ money was allocated to public consultation events for plans to lower the speed limit on single-carriageway roads.

New figures, issued by the Scottish Conservatives, show between November 1 and January 31, ministers had already spent their budget on hotels, flights and ferries, as well as venue hire and banner costs with a month still remaining of the consultation.

In total, more than £124,000 had been forked out in this time, with £20,000 spent on hotels, flights and ferries for government officials to attend the events.

A further £96,000 had been spent on wages for those hosting the public consultation, £5,000 for venue hire, and almost £3,500 for banner costs.

Transport Scotland, the government agency for transport, allocated £249,563 for the cost of the public engagement events.

What’s being proposed?

Under the proposals, motorists on trunk roads such as the A9, A96, A82 and A90 could face a limit in speed reduce from 60mph to 50mph.

Speed limits for HGVs would rise on single carriageways from 40mph to 50mph and on dual carriageways from 50mph to 60mph.

The Scottish Government is about a decade late in dualling the A9 between Perth and Inverness. The completion date is expected in 2035 instead of 2025.

It has yet to confirm whether the A96, between Aberdeen and Inverness, will fully become a dual carriage way, despite earlier promises to do so by 2030.

Cabinet Secretary for Transport Fiona Hyslop.

Secretary for transport Fiona Hyslop has previously said the speed limit proposals could help prevent road deaths and serious injuries, maintain journey times and enhance journey reliability.

But some 1,100 people have signed a campaign calling on the Government to stop its “war on motorists”.

Scottish Conservative MSP for Aberdeenshire West Alexander Burnett said the “eye-watering sums allocated” are “absurd.”

Scottish Conservative MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Alexander Burnett, standing at the A96 junction at Huntly in Aberdeenshire | Scottish Conservatives

He said: “50mph speed limits on single carriageway roads will penalise ordinary people, without cutting down on dangerous driving, and will just add to the workload of roads policing officers.

“Fiona Hyslop and the SNP government should scrap these proposals and finally deliver improvements to roads like the A96 that motorists have been waiting almost two decades for.”

A spokesperson for Ms Hyslop said: “It is sad to see the Tories talk down measures which are aimed at keeping people safer on our roads, and cut the number of people dying and being injured in road traffic incidents.”

They added: “Engaging with and listening to local people and businesses helps to ensure that policy and decision making is informed by local experience and knowledge. The SNP knows how valuable people’s time is, and that is why when they give freely of their time and expertise, the least we can do is provide refreshments in a warm, dry place. The Tories may think they know the cost of everything, however, they understand the value of nothing.”

The figures come as Scotland has seen an increase in car travel – despite ministers having set a target to slash the number of kilometres travelled by motorists by 20 per cent by the end of this decade.

Transport Scotland figures show the overall number of kilometres travelled by car rose from just under 34.4 billion in 2022-23 to almost 35.4 billion in 2023-24 – an increase of 3 per cent.

The rise comes despite increases in the number of Scots using public transport – with more people travelling by both bus and train.

The increase in car kilometres was recorded as the number of motor vehicles licensed in Scotland increased to a record high of 3.1 million in 2023 – with ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs) making up 2.9 per cent of all vehicles by the end of that year, up from 2.1 per cent at the end of 2022.

While the Scottish Government has set the target of reducing car kilometres by 20 per cent by 2030 as part of efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions, watchdogs at Audit Scotland warned in January this is “unlikely” to be met.