Seòmar agus comataidhean

I thank Mark Ruskell for bringing forward this debate—one in the spirit of members’ debates in which, in the main, we shine a light on the activities in our constituencies.

Borders Buses is the main provider of bus transport across the Borders and parts of Midlothian, and I commend it for surviving the Covid pandemic—a period during which it transported health workers for free. Now, the company is extending routes and consulting on others. It also has an app with a tracker, so there is no need to ask the usual questions, “Is the bus due?” and “Have I missed the bus?” It also lets people know whether there is wheelchair access to the bus. I have to say that, since Borders Buses took over from First Scotland East, much has improved, including the fleet. Therefore, I do not think that privatisation is always a bad thing. I think that the company makes a pretty good job of running that service. I would say that I am its critical friend.

You do not have to be a Borders MSP to realise the significance of tourism and its related benefits to local retail and the transport sector, but it helps. In my constituency, there are so many tourist destinations you can trip over them. They range from the large, such as Melrose abbey, Abbotsford, the Great Tapestry of Scotland in Galashiels, and the national mining museum of Scotland in Newtongrange, which has an exhibition in Parliament today, to the small, such as the Trimontium museum—it is all about the Romans—again in Melrose, and the diminutive paper-making museum in Penicuik, where you can actually make paper.

Financial support in the form of Scottish Government grants stretches across the sectors. Almost £7 million was committed to the Great Tapestry of Scotland project from the Scottish Government’s regeneration capital grant fund, the Borders railway blueprint programme and the Scottish Borders Council.

Trimontium most recently received £400,000 via South of Scotland Enterprise, which is itself funded by the Scottish Government—I visited Trimontium on Monday to enjoy the new, funded high-spec extension, which is already being used for educational purposes. Newtongrange’s mining museum recently received further funding, too, through the £1 million that was allocated to museums, as did Abbotsford, so there is continuing support for landmark attractions.

You have to factor in, too, the support for public transport—the Borders railway, the extended concessionary fare scheme, the support for ScotRail and, of course, the funding that was put in to support the transport and hospitality sectors and other businesses during Covid, when, for example, £129 million was provided to the sector in response to the immediate recommendations of the Scottish tourism recovery task force.

Indeed, I commend local businesses during that period, some of which received Covid funding and some which did not. In Peebles, the Tontine hotel, which is an iconic building at the end of the high street, secured not insubstantial funding through SOSE—again, that is Scottish Government funding.

Stobo Castle health spa near Peebles received Covid support but, with no guests, the proprietor took the opportunity to refurbish and redecorate. That was done in the modest Central bar, too, which is a free house in Peebles that did not qualify for Covid support but where, again, the owner updated the decor both inside and out—it now looks just braw.

One of the real difficulties for hospitality now, which is raised with me time and again, and which contributed at one time to a shortage of bus drivers, is lack of staff since Brexit. When you add in inflation on all fronts—for example, for food, fuel or any building works—it remains tough, no matter the support that the Scottish Government gives. The UK has one of the highest rates of inflation in the G20, according to today’s release from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Part of the solution is in our hands. If you can, even in these austere times, try a holiday or a wee break at home, or simply visit and explore your own town or country—you will surprise yourself, certainly help the local economy and support businesses locally, which deserve it.

I certainly do not rule out municipal ownership, but I am watching a family-owned company that has pulled up the service in my constituency by its bootstraps. I criticise when that is necessary, but there has been huge improvement across the Scottish Borders and into Midlothian.

The extended concessionary fares do, of course, support those services, but the over-60s have not returned to using buses in pre-Covid numbers. I understand why that has happened, but it is having an impact on services.

In rural constituencies such as mine, regular bus providers cannot reach every hamlet and village, and a car can be a necessity. That brings me to the issue of community transport in the Borders and Midlothian. Gala wheels, which I have visited, provides affordable and accessible transport for disadvantaged, rurally excluded, sensory impaired and elderly residents in the central Borders. The service, which uses volunteer drivers—subject to their availability—makes a big difference to users, who are often lone pensioners with no family or friends to help them remain socially included. The service has three vehicles, an accessible 11-seater minibus and two smaller five to six-seat vehicles specially adapted for wheelchair use. It takes groups and individuals from throughout the central Borders on outings, for shopping, to lunch clubs and so on. Its sister service, Tweed wheels, provides a similar service using a minibus that has been adapted to take up to three passengers with wheelchairs and a smaller vehicle that can carry two people in wheelchairs plus four passengers.

In Midlothian, Lothian Community Transport Services, which is an independent organisation, provides, promotes and supports high-quality passenger transport services to not-for-profit organisations in Edinburgh, Midlothian and West Lothian. A community bus covers the villages of Temple and Carrington, the larger Gorebridge, Birkenside, Newtongrange—home of the National Mining Museum of Scotland—and Gowkshill, which the other bus services may not reach.

LCTS also runs a dial-a-bus service for people with mobility issues. Users must book, but it is available to them if they want to go shopping or visit the general practitioner surgery. On Mondays—I am giving you the bus timetable now—the service picks people up in Penicuik and Auchendinny at 9.30, drops them off in the town centre and collects them at 11.30. On Wednesday, the service goes from Penicuik and Auchendinny to the large shopping centre at Straiton.

Broomhill day centre in Penicuik provides transport to pick up elderly folk who spend the day there. It, too, depends on volunteer drivers. I visited the service recently and saw the driver checking the addresses where he would pick folk up.

Those are just a few examples, and I welcome the extension of those services through the £1 million that the Scottish Government has allocated to the community bus fund. That is particularly important in the rural area that I represent.

I am delighted by Mr Kerr’s concern for my wellbeing. However, it was not a pothole but a motorist.

It will be extremely brief. That is exactly what they are doing in Midlothian—I mentioned the large housing development in Shawfair.

Deputy Presiding Officer, I must know what the bonus is first—I mean, I have to have notice of what the bonus will be.

Anyway, I am pleased to support the Government motion, and I welcome the additional £20 million of funding. As others have said, one of the unexpected and rare bonuses of Covid and its restrictions was the empty roads and streets, which made walking, but particularly cycling, safer and more enjoyable.

As a consequence, in the capital, Edinburgh city streets have many designated cycle lanes, which must give a degree of comfort to cyclists and motorists. However, I say in passing that some cyclists who ride through Holyrood park do not use those lanes but insist on using the road. I do not know why. Some do not wear reflective clothing. Some might have a bright light but simply rely on the rear reflector light to alert motorists to their presence. That rear reflector is all that we can see. I cannot fathom that either.

I return to the issue of roads. Cycle lanes are, of course, not available—nor would they be practical—on the main arterial roads in my constituency: the A68, A7, A707, A702 and A703. They are tricky to drive, let alone to cycle. There is also the hazard of the Sheriffhall roundabout—known to cyclists as “the meat grinder”—where the A7 meets the city bypass. I have never seen a cyclist try to tackle the Sheriffhall roundabout.

However, local and short distances are being tackled. I will start with the example of Borders schools, which are getting children into the habit of and having confidence in cycling. In February, I visited Stow primary school, which is undertaking Living Streets’ WOW initiative, which is a walk-to-school challenge. WOW is a pupil-led initiative where children self-report how they get to school every day using the interactive WOW travel tracker. Pupils who travel actively at least once a week for a month are rewarded with a WOW badge. WOW schools in Scotland see, on average, a 5 per cent to 10 per cent increase in pupils walking to school with a corresponding drop in car use, helping to reduce congestion and increase safety outside the school gates.

The Scottish Government awarded Scottish Borders Council £1.2 million funding for spaces for people, which included spend on measures such as 20mph speed limits in every town, to make the roads safer for walkers and cyclists. The road from Clovenfords to Caddonfoot was closed as part of that. It proved to be such a success that the closure was made permanent, to create a car-free stretch, which is now used extensively by dog walkers and cyclists. The local primary school is also making use of the grass football pitch halfway down the road, because there is now safe access—previously the road, which has no pavement, had a 60mph speed limit.

The 20mph limit is now fully operational across the Borders. I believe that that has improved the lives of communities such as Stow, where there is a very narrow pavement abutting the busy and also narrow A7, which runs through the village.

Last year, the Hike & Bike Hub opened on Channel Street in Galashiels. It aims to promote active travel and healthy leisure activities, and to make them available to everyone, regardless of income on a “pay what you can” basis, so some are hired at the full rate, some are hired at a reduced rate and some are free.

There are also many bike recycling social enterprises. Examples are Re-cycles Penicuik; the Stow cycle hub at the station, which includes bike hire; and Just Cycle in Tweedbank, which recycles bikes that are destined for the tip. People do not need a lot of money to have a bike—there are some terrific bargains.

There is a 51-mile circular cycle route through the Scottish Borders that goes through Tweedbank, Melrose, past Leaderfoot viaduct and on to Scott’s view. Other routes run parallel with the Tweed, east and west. Those are absolutely protected, away from the main road, very flat and quite often tarmacked, so they are also suitable for wheelchairs and prams.

Borders Buses carries the sign “The bus you can take your bike on”. It has 23 bike-friendly buses. Those take people away from very busy roads that they cannot cycle on. People can put their bike on a bus in Edinburgh and Glasgow. They can also take their bike on the train.

Of course, there is the famous mountain biking centre at Glentress. That has different levels of biking trails and is for real cyclists. I have never been on any of them; I never intend to be. I value my bones.

In Midlothian, the council has been given funding of more than £266,000 for three projects. I will cite one as an example. Shawfair connections is to be completed in 2026. That is important, because Shawfair is an area with a huge household development and is adjacent to the Borders railway, with its own station. The project will commence in October and will consider priority routes for active travel infrastructure in the Shawfair area. Planning ahead is important. When housing developments are being considered, there is a need to build in active travel routes at the beginning.

There are many cycle paths across Midlothian. Each Midlothian school has a travel plan that aims to encourage pupils and staff to walk, cycle or, more often, scoot. Currently, Midlothian has 17 cycle-friendly primary schools. In my patch, those are Strathesk primary school, Cornbank St James primary school, Cuiken primary school, Sacred Heart primary school, which are all in Penicuik, and another in Gorebridge.

There are also secondary school cycle clubs. Beeslack and Lasswade high schools offer extracurricular cycle clubs, and Penicuik high school is in the process of starting one. A lot of important work is being done in primary and secondary schools.

Other initiatives include the installation of cycle lanes, where appropriate—not on some main roads, for example—cycle and scooter parking provision at schools and route maps that show recommended safe routes to school. There is also bike week, with events including “Bling Your Bike”, which involves pupils decorating their bike or scooter, and “Ticket to Ride”, in which pupils receive raffle tickets for cycling that go into an end-of-week prize draw for cycle prizes.

Rosslyn chapel and the national mining museum in Scotland have become the first two visitor attractions in the Lothians to achieve the cyclists welcome award from VisitScotland.

There have, therefore, been substantial developments to encourage more cycling. However, the safety of cyclists must be secure. Several years ago, I tried cycling to Parliament. In order to access the cycle path through the park, I had to cycle only a short distance without a designated cycle path, but I was knocked off by a passing car and lost my confidence. I confess that my bike is now a very handy handbag rack in the hall, and there it will stay.

Will the member give way?

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to reports that the Community Pharmacy Scotland board has described the financial settlement that it has been offered as “derisory”. (S6F-02200)

I hope that discussions conclude shortly, recognising the key role that community pharmacies play in sustaining the health and wellbeing of our constituents.

On his line about delivering the right care in the right place at the right time, does the First Minister agree that, with their expanding professional services, pharmacies such as the high street pharmacy in Lauder and the larger chain pharmacy of Boots in Galashiels—examples from my constituency—also ease pressure on general practitioners and even accident and emergency services, emphasising, yet again, their key role in our health service?

We will have a change of temperature with my questions on trees. This whole thing is new to me, but I was surprised to learn that the policy aim is to have 21 per cent of Scotland covered by forests by 2032. I do not know whether that would be terribly popular with lots of people. I would like to know whether those trees are going to be Sitka spruce. I remember the whole of Galloway being covered by Sitka spruce. I also understand from the Scottish Land Commission that an unintended consequence may have been an increase in land values.

I am learning as I go, so I may be asking things that are very stupid, which I am well known for. I note that the criteria for getting grants have a great deal to do with what is planted and where. I appreciate that the consultation concluded just this month, so this question might be premature, but can you give me your thoughts on how the grant system might operate so that we get the right trees in the right places, communities and farmers are in the main content and we can reach your 21 per cent target?