This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Funding for child pedestrian training schemes
05/11/2002
More local authorities in Scotland will receive funding for pilot schemes to teach young children road safety it was announced today.
Deputy Minister for Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Lewis Macdonald confirmed that three more Councils will receive additional funding specifically for child pedestrian training schemes as he visited Netherton Primary School in Wishaw. North Lanarkshire Council currently run a training scheme in the school as part of a Scottish Executive-funded pilot scheme announced earlier this year.
The child pedestrian training schemes involve appointing local co-ordinators, who work alongside trained volunteers, local authorities and road safety units to set up and run schemes in a number of selected schools to teach five and six-year-olds practical road safety skills.
Mr Macdonald said:
"Today sees the launch of a further phase of our initiative to improve the safety of children on our roads. I am pleased to announced that the City of Edinburgh, East Ayrshire and Inverclyde Councils have been selected to receive funding to set up and maintain good quality pedestrian training schemes.
"Good progress has been made in cutting the number of children killed or seriously injured on Scotland's roads - by 2001 fatal and serious child casualties were 36% lower than the level of the mid 1990s. But we need to make further progress to reach our target of halving the number of child road deaths and serious injuries by 2010.
"Effective and practical training is vital to ensure that children know how to use roads safely. Children from poorer areas are most at risk and these schemes will help to ensure that, no matter where they live, Scottish children stay safe on the roads.
"The work I have seen today at Netherton Primary School is an excellent example of the benefits of working in partnership and how we can improve the safety of children on our roads."
The Executive announced on 4 September 2001 that it was to provide funding totalling £810,000 for a programme of pilot child pedestrian training schemes to be set up and run by selected local authorities in Scotland. Resources are being provided over five years to enable selected local authorities to fund the schemes.
Every local authority in Scotland was invited to bid for funding. The assessment of bids included consideration of child pedestrian casualties and levels of disadvantage in the area covered by each proposal.
A local co-ordinator will be appointed in each of the successful authorities. The Executive will fund individual schemes for their first three years.
On 23 January it was announced that schemes in Glasgow, North Lanarkshire and West Dunbartonshire had been approved for funding in the first tranche.
Invitations to bid in the final tranche will be sent to local authorities next year.
Schemes will be run in line with Kerbcraft child pedestrian training model which developed from work carried out in Glasgow's Drumchapel area.