 The next item of business is a member's debate on motion 1281 in the name of Steven Kerr on road safety in Falkirk. The debate will be concluded without any questions being put. I would invite members who wish to participate to press the request to speak buttons or place an hour in the chat function if they are joining us online. I call on Steven Kerr to speak to the motion for around seven minutes. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I am delighted to have the opportunity to bring forward that motion about road safety in Falkirk. Road safety is of paramount importance, saving lives when properly enforced. One of the most important factors in road safety is speed. The road safety charity BREC states that one in three fatal road crashes can be contributed to excess speed and that an average speed reduction of one mile per hour reduces crash frequency by 5 per cent. Since becoming a member of the Scottish Parliament in May, I have been made aware of various community-led campaigns to improve road safety in Falkirk by reducing or enforcing speed limits. One of those campaigns is in the village of earth led by earth community council. For many years, residents have been complaining about the noise pollution and increased risk caused by cars, vans, lorries and even tractors ignoring the 30 mile per hour speed limit on the main street. Earlier this year, over 100 residents took part in a survey that showed that 87 per cent of people living in earth backed proposals to reduce the speed limit of the main street to 20 miles per hour. Despite the support, the people of earth are no closer to the introduction of a 20 mile per hour speed limit becoming a reality. Reading Muirhead and Wallaston community council have also been leading a campaign to enforce the 30 mile per hour speed limit on Shieldhill road. There is a school beside this road but no continuous pavement on either side, resulting in children crossing the road back and forth on their walk to and from school. That by itself is incredibly dangerous. However, taking into account data that shows that 75 per cent of the traffic on Shieldhill road ignores the 30 mile per hour speed limit, we can see just how dangerous this daily walk is for the pupils of Brays high school. After writing to Falkirk council to highlight speeding on Shieldhill road, Falkirk council's network coordinator responded by saying that the road traffic act 1998 requires local authorities to carry out studies into accidents that occur within their areas and in the light of those studies take such measures as appear appropriate to prevent accidents. They then went on to say that there have been three personal injury accidents on the section of Shieldhill road, subject to a 30 mile per hour speed limit within the last 10 years. However, vehicle speed was only recorded as a possible contributory factor in one. I am thankful that the recorded personal injuries accidents on Shieldhill road are relatively low, although I must put on record that local residents believe that the actual number of accidents is much higher. Residents who use Shieldhill road regularly are worried about safety on this road and are anxious that measures to enforce the speed limit will only be taken if a serious accident does occur. I share those concerns. I therefore ask the minister if the road traffic act 1998 allows the police and councils to take preventative measures to enhance road safety, rather than simply relying on recorded accidents in the past 10 years. Since putting forward this motion to Parliament, many constituents have gotten in touch to highlight the issue of speeding across Falkirk. Talking about Kemper avenue, one constituent said that cars fly up there, describing it as a nightmare for elderly people trying to cross the road. With the retirement housing nearby in Glenbury court, this nightmare is being lived on a daily basis. Another constituent emailed me to say that the speed of some cars going from Gartcows road into Windsor road is frightening. With many family homes on Windsor street, this speeding is increasing the anxiety of parents when children go outside to play. Reflecting on why they believe that speeding is prevalent, my constituent wrote, I believe that the main contributor to speeding is a lack of enforcement of speed limits. Commenting on Slamannan road, which is another 30-mile-per-hour road, another constituent said that people seem to think that it is a 40 to 50 area. It is only a matter of time before an accident happens. It is clear to see, Deputy Presiding Officer, that road safety is a concern for people throughout Falkirk, rather than waiting for serious accidents to happen. It is my belief that police and councils across the country should be proactive in tapping into the knowledge and understanding that local communities have about their roads. That way we could prevent accidents rather than simply reacting to accidents. I would like to ask the minister the following questions, which I hope he will be able to address at the end of the debate when he winds up. First, what steps has the Government taken to support efforts to introduce 20-mile-per-hour limits in places where local residents support an introduction such as in earth? Two, what steps has the Government taken to enforce speed limits where residents have consistently voiced concerns about road safety such as in Reading Your Head? Third, what steps has the Government taken to ensure that the safety of pedestrians such as schoolchildren and cyclists is at the heart of developments to promote active travel in Falkirk? Fourth, what steps has the Government taken to empower local residents in promoting road safety in their local communities? People in earth, Reading Your Head and throughout Falkirk are voicing their concerns out loud and clearly about road safety in Falkirk. I believe that it is our responsibility, as well as the job of Falkirk Council and the police, to listen to them and to act accordingly. I beg to move the motion in my name. First, I thank Stephen Kerr for bringing this debate about roads in my constituency, as well as other areas of Falkirk and his agreement of the ambition set out in the Scottish Government's programme for government in terms of making a move towards national 20-mile-an-hour limits where appropriate. First, I would like to put on record my condolences to the friends and family of the yet unnamed victim in a road traffic accident in Gran Sable Road, also in my constituency. Let's bear in mind that the motion speaks to only two areas within a network of nearly 1,000km of carriageways, more than 1,700 footpaths, cycleways and other structures. All of those are the responsibility of Falkirk Council, and this, our national parliament, is responsible for national strategy. I am sure that we will hear more from the minister in due course on that. I would also like to note that local councils already have powers to make decisions on speed limits, acknowledging local circumstances. Let me make a few remarks about the local issues contained within the motion. I am grateful to Councillor Laura Murtaw, a well-kent, extremely hard-working councillor in Earth, for all her efforts over a sustained period, and likewise Councillor Gordon Hughes for his efforts in the upper braze over many years. They and other SNP councillors have been at the forefront of activities to ensure community needs are listened to and addressed. In the case of Earth in the A905, it is a matter of public record that numerous investigations have been undertaken by Falkirk Council to look at issues reported on speed and other road-related concerns raised by local residents and assessed in line with advice and guidance on road safety. Those are publicly available, and I happily share them with my constituents and, indeed, Stephen Kerr to ensure that he too is up to speed. Alas, the available evidence does not support the introduction of a 20-mile-an-hour zone along the stretch of road and earth, and that is neither recommended by Police Scotland policy or by the national guidance. Although it may initially appear that 20-mile zone will be a natural bonus to road safety, if it is unenforceable and in an appropriate place, without the corresponding road architecture to support it, drivers could be unlikely to observe it. That could, ironically enough, increase the danger to pedestrians. The character of the road at Earth has an additional consideration because it runs adjacent to a stone wall, where only one side of the road is a pavement and thus gives a feeling of being hemmed in when larger vehicles pass. You should try visiting there sometime. It has been a local SNP councillors who have led on exploring options for alternative pedestrian routes through the adjacent housing estate and, indeed, on securing agreement with some local HDV companies to limit their speed to 20 miles an hour when passing through the village. It has also been local SNP councillors who have helped the implementation of spaces for people entirely close road space in Earth. I note that Mr Kerr quoted the letter to the council referencing Shieldhill Road. Of course, in summary, they note that of the three accidents that have occurred on Shieldhill Road in the past 10 years, confidence that vehicle speed was a contributory factor was noted as no more than possible in only one. That leads me to a key point. Although it is not my responsibility and it is the responsibility of Falkirk Council, it will act based on evidence, gathered evidence. Everyone wants to see measures that will improve road safety. I understand that a report is being prepared by Falkirk Council roads officer under instruction from councillor Paul Garner, the council spokesperson for the environment. The purpose of the report is to consider the approach to boards implementing 20-mile-an-hour speed limits in some towns and villages in a Falkirk Council area. The recommendations will be evidence-based. Through local knowledge, looking at increasing road safety for pedestrians and drivers, improving the lives of people and promoting active and sustainable travel—I have four minutes and I am already over—climate change, mitigation and placemaking. The report is expected to be presented before the national executive committee within the next two months. Finishing now, none of the above can be confused with the national strategy, which is the job of this national parliament to determine. I draw the attention of all to the programme of government, noting that all appropriate roads and built-up areas should have a safer speed limit of 20 miles an hour by 2025. Down the years, Stephen Kerr and I have stood on opposite sides of the barricades. It is an unashamedly ideological clash, a non-Eastlands sincere political division that stretches all the way back to the miners' strike of 1984-85 and beyond. Given that history, there is a certain irony that it is of all places the village of Eith with its strong associations with the Scottish Coalfield, the mine workers and the mine workers union. It is that community that brings us together on the same side of the argument. I want to thank Stephen Kerr for raising this issue in Parliament. I was in Eith on Monday with local Labour councillor Joan Coombs meeting with the local community council secretary Robert Smith. Over the years, Robert Smith has petitioned Falkirk Council, petitioned Transport Scotland and petitioned the Scottish Government. With a simple demand, on behalf of the villages of Eith, extend the 20 miles an hour zone, a distance of less than one mile, make it permanent and keep the community safe. This week, he told me as we walked alongside the A905 through the village, he said in his words, people frequently get the impression that HGVs are exceeding the speed limit because of the close proximity of the vehicles to them and the draft and slipstream caused. Many pedestrians, particularly women with children, prams and pushchairs, have felt as if they were being blown off their feet and he is right. That is how it felt to me and I witnessed it this week and it's why they have my full support. In the last session of Parliament, Mark Ruskell proposed a member's bill to introduce a statutory 20 miles per hour speed limit. It was a bill that I was happy to sign and support, although I recall at the time no Conservative MSP backed it. It fell before it could reach the statute book. In this session of Parliament, we are told in the SNP green agreement that all appropriate roads in built-up areas will have a safer speed limit of 20 miles per hour by 2025 and that a task group will be formed to plan the most effective route to implementation end quote. As this is the first time we've been able to debate this in Parliament, perhaps the Minister can explain in his closing remarks what exactly this means. Is it that a default position of 20 miles per hour, as proposed in the bill in the last session, will be introduced pure and simple? Will it be the situation as it currently stands or will it be somewhere in between? For the avoidance of doubt, the position as it currently stands is set out clearly by Transport Scotland in a letter that was shown to me by Robert Smith on Monday. The A905 is a local road and the responsibility of the local road authority, in this case, Falkirk Council. Local authorities are responsible for deciding how best to meet their duties on local roads in their area. That is why I have written to the chief executive of Falkirk Council again this week expressing my support for an extended 20-mile-an-hour zone through the village of Eiff. It is why I am delighted to report that it is my understanding that this proposal will now go before the council early next year. It is also why, when I spoke to Welsh Senedd member Hugh Arranca-Davies just this morning, we discussed the situation there. He confirmed that the Government in Wales is now introducing a 20-mile-an-hour speed limit. Local authorities have the right to reverse that if they have local support, but the burden of proof is on them, not the other way around. I think that that is the right position. That is where we need to be for the sake of the people of Earth, of Reading Mew ahead and of communities up and down Scotland, because we are democratically elected representatives. We are sent to this Parliament to make people's lives better, and I think that we are at our best when we show political conviction. I am delighted to speak today, and I pay tribute to my colleague Stephen Kerr for securing this debate on road safety in Falkirk. Mr Kerr makes a strong case for introducing a 20-mile-an-hour speed limit in Eiff and Reading Mew ahead. Falkirk residents have been vocal in their support for the measure, with 87% of respondents to a recent survey by Mr Kerr calling for a 20-mile-an-hour zone to be introduced on Main Street. In particular, the community complained about the lack of visible policing on Main Street and the risk to children from speeding cars, concerns that have been repeatedly shared with me in my own region. For local roads, I do agree that councils are best placed to respond to the road safety requirements of the communities that they serve and would caution against a blanket top-down approach. 20-mile-an-hour zones can be effective at reducing casualties and accidents on the road, but they are not the only approach. Road humps, speed cushions, traffic islands and signs and markings provide alternative and sometimes more suitable traffic calming measures. Those decisions are best taken at local authority level, based on—I take the intervention. Tess White agreed with me that Richard Leonard's speech was a splendid example of where we can set aside party badges and colours and do the right thing for people that live in the communities that we are elected to serve. Does she share my disappointment in the tone of Michelle Thompson's speech, which was a highly partisan and wholly inappropriate for the subject matter that we are discussing? I agree on matters of safety. Could the minister not laugh from a sedentary position? I think that the safety of children and around schools is very important. I say that this is not—shame on you. Safety is not a laughing matter. Can I continue? I discourage you from responding to interventions from a safety position. I will deal with those. These decisions are best taken at local authority level, based on local knowledge and community feedback. I note that there has been a 35 per cent decline in the number of road casualties across Scotland last year, and the number has significantly reduced because of the restrictions on travel. That, of course, is extremely welcome. The evidence that the member Michelle Thompson asks for, I will give you the evidence. There were almost 5,000 casualties, including 490 children—not a laughing matter. Six children lost their lives. Higher than in the two years prior to the pandemic, 176 children were seriously injured. There is the evidence. Those figures provide a sobering reminder of the critical importance of road safety for all users. Now that restrictions on travel have been lifted and, as the winter approaches with reduced visibility and adverse weather conditions, we cannot be complacent, traffic calming measures have an important role to play, but their success depends on drivers respecting those measures and on those measures being suitably enforced where appropriate. I understand that Aberdeenshire Council is investigating the correlation rate between certain age demographics, high-collision rates on the roads, the work commute and the school run. I am particularly concerned about non-compliance with 20 mile an hour zones around schools in my region. I have, for example, been contacted with concerns shared by parents and teachers around Mary Kirk primary school, where drivers regularly flout the 20 mile an hour speed limit on Kirkton hill road. There are already too many near misses on our roads. Too often, we see action after it is too late. I am committed to working with the school, local councillors and the police to ensure that children are safe on the school run. I appeal to residents and visitors to the area to please reduce their speed around the school to ensure safety of pupils, parents and teaching staff. It simply is not worth the risk. I call on the minister to respond to the debate for around seven minutes. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Let me congratulate Stephen Kerr for raising what is a very important issue, the issue of road safety, not just in Falkirk but everywhere across the country. Let me also commend the efforts of both communities, Ayrth and Reryngmurehead in promoting their concerns in this regard. I agree that lowering speed limits in cities, towns and villages can help to make communities feel safer not only in Falkirk but across Scotland. However, it is right that the furniture that accompanies the speed limits is equally important. I reiterate that the roads in and around both of those communities are local roads. Given the varied nature of Scotland's urban road network and the number of factors that need to be considered when setting appropriate limits, the Scottish Government's position remains that decisions on setting speed limits on local roads are best taken by individual local authorities who can and do successfully implement 20-mile per hour limits where it is appropriate to do so. That is the case elsewhere in the islands in England and Northern Ireland, although Richard Glynner is right when he talks about Wales having taken a different path. The Road Traffic Act 1988 places a statutory duty on local authorities to promote road safety and take steps to reduce and prevent accidents. That can, where data supports it, include setting appropriate speed limits. Therefore, local authorities do not require further powers to assist them in such matters. It is not for Scottish ministers to intervene in a council's day-to-day performance of those specific duties. Stephen Kerr is grateful to the minister for giving me a bit. Can he understand the frustration of, for example, the people of earth? If you continue along the A905 towards Stirling, when you leave the jurisdiction of Falkirk Council and you move into Stirling Council, there are 20-mile per hour speed limits on the A905 there, and they are deeply frustrated by the lack of action. I am afraid that Michelle Thompson's speech sets the tone of the response that those people have been getting from her colleagues in Falkirk for some time now. Of course, I understand local communities' concerns in those areas. I represent a constituency, but I am not going to get dragged into the basis on one 20-mile per hour limit being set and another not, as Michelle Thompson rightly pointed out, to be evidence-based. All of that said, Government does encourage the implementation of 20-mile per hour speed limits and zones in the appropriate environment. We have produced guidance from 2016 called good practice guide on 20-mile per hour speed restrictions. The guidance offers flexibility to local authorities on the setting of local 20-mile per hour speed limits that are right for the individual road, reflecting local needs and taking account of all local considerations. It aims to provide clarity to councils on all the options available when setting 20-mile per hour speed limits throughout Scotland. I want to assure the chamber that the Scottish Government is committed to further facilitating lowering speed limits in cities, towns and villages. As Michelle Thompson made clear, that is reflected. I thank the minister for taking the intervention. He rightly points out that the guidance allows councils to show flexibility. The problem is that many of them do not show that flexibility, and they hide behind the guidance. I have had experience of that as having been a councillor. They will just present you with the guidance, and that is an excuse for not doing anything rather than doing the common sense thing—in this case, applying a 20-mile per hour zone. Let us move on to what is coming down the track in this regard. As Michelle Thompson rightly pointed out, there is a commitment and programme for government for all appropriate roads in built-up areas to have a safe for speed limit of 20 miles per hour by 2025. A reduction of traffic speed to 20 miles per hour in the right environment can be a positive step in meeting our towns and cities friendlier and safer places where people are confident to walk and cycle more often. The importance of appropriate speeds is reflected in the road safety framework, which is a vision for Scotland of the best road safety performance in the world. The framework also supports active travel, setting out that Scotland's communities are shaped around people with walking and cycling, the most popular choice for short everyday journeys. I want to come on to the questions that Richard Leonard posed earlier. As such, we have committed in the framework's first delivery plan to develop a national strategy for the expansion of 20-mile per hour zones or limits in Scotland. It will introduce a package of measures that will support a range of policies to tackle the issue about the perception of road danger and encourage people to walk, wheel and cycle and create more pleasant streets and neighbourhoods. The point that was made earlier, the multi-stakeholder task force has been set up, the membership has been agreed, and at its first meeting, which will be early in the new year, the participation and input from local authorities will be key. However, as well as the membership has been established, the parameters for that piece of work have been established. That is to provide a series of options to be looked at, covering the range of points that members have made, the range of stances that members of the status quo all the way through to more substantial change. I reiterate at the outset the decisions around the deployment of 20-mile per hour limits on local roads where deemed appropriate should and must be made at a local level.