2. To ask the Scottish Government how many free bicycles it has issued to children in Glasgow. (S6O-01925)

Our commitment to encourage our youngest citizens to make active travel choices by providing free bikes for all children of school age who cannot afford them was initially met through nine pilots that have operated since summer 2021. An independent evaluation of the pilots was published on 27 January 2023, and the total number of bikes issued is 3,650, including 52 adapted bikes.

The free bikes activity has taken place in 20 local authority areas, including Glasgow, although we do not record data at a local authority level.

Roads in Glasgow are in disrepair, with potholes so big that some may be asking for submarines, not bikes. In addition, the avenues project, which was designed for cycling, wheeling, walking and driving, also has safety concerns. In all, the safety of our roads for cyclists is found wanting, to say the least.

Given the variation in approaches and the flexibility that is given to pilot schemes, what steps will be taken to ensure that a minimum level of safety equipment or training is provided to children who receive bikes as part of the future national roll-out?

In order to ensure safety for everyone who travels actively, we need to reduce the barriers to active travel. We also need to continue to invest in safe infrastructure. The Government is doing that on a scale beyond anything that Scotland has ever seen.

However, as Pam Duncan-Glancy rightly says, we also need to ensure that there is a wider package of support. All the pilots issue safety equipment to the children who have been provided with a bicycle, and the range of models used in the pilots also needs to inform the design of the national scheme. That is why the evaluation of those pilots will be important in providing useful information to make sure that our national scheme is as successful as possible.