[ Inaudible .]—for 20mph speed limits.

Ms McNair, there was something wrong with your audio. Please repeat the question.

Apologies, Presiding Officer.

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress in implementing the national strategy for 20mph speed limits. (S6O-03571)

The Scottish Government remains committed to implementing 20mph speed limits on appropriate roads by the end of 2025, and we are making good progress towards meeting that timeline.

All councils have now submitted their assessment of which roads would be appropriate in their area for a speed limit of 20mph. A delivery sub-group consisting of officials from Transport Scotland, local authorities and other road safety partners will oversee the implementation of the scheme nationally and will produce a detailed programme of delivery to meet the 2025 deadline, containing the actual costs to complete that important road safety initiative. Highland Council is successfully piloting speed reductions, and communities that do not yet have 20mph speed limits are expressing interest in them.

I thank the Cabinet secretary for that answer. I have been undertaking a road safety survey in the East Dunbartonshire part of my Constituency. A common theme arising from the data has been the safety of cyclists on our roads. In part, that will be due to the tragic death of a cyclist in Bearsden North earlier in the year. Can the cabinet secretary advise what work the Scottish Government has done to encourage safe cycling and to promote greater respect for cyclists on our roads?

As part of our active travel behaviour change programme, we have provided grant funding to Cycling Scotland to run a number of cycle safety training projects, including bikeability cycling training for adults and cycle awareness training for professional drivers, including heavy goods vehicle drivers. We also provide funding to Cycling Scotland to run the “Give cycle space” advertising campaign, which raises awareness of the need for people in cars to behave appropriately when sharing the road with cyclists. “Give cycle space” continues to have a positive impact on driver behaviour, with nine in 10 drivers reporting that they had been taking positive action, including by leaving at least 1.5m of space when overtaking, as a result of the campaign.

The picture across Wales is now absolutely clear: its 20mph national roll-out has reduced casualties by a third. The Tories seem to care very little about road safety, proposing a bill that would roll back on 20mph limits. Can the Cabinet secretary confirm that there is no such rollback in Scotland, that funding will be there for councils to implement their plans next year and that, as part of that, a national communications plan will also be rolled out, learning from the Welsh experience of a 20mph national roll-out?

We will follow the Welsh experience, and indeed the three-month figures on road casualties, with interest. It is worth reminding everybody that, if someone is hit at 30mph, they are seven times more likely to die than at 20mph—so this is about road safety. We have to implement the policy a way that suits Scotland. We have got the plans in from local councils, and the communication of that will need to be part of it. I can reassure Mark Ruskell that I am absolutely committed to ensuring that our roads are safe, and I see 20mph limits as part of that safety campaign.

Question 8 has not been lodged, so that concludes portfolio questions on net zero and energy, and transport.