Climate minister can't walk the talk

IN MORE ways than one, it could be described as a U-turn.

The Climate Change and Transport Minister, who claimed he would try to ditch his ministerial car to help the environment, has been caught burning rubber.

Stewart Stevenson came to power last year pledging to only use his chauffeur-driven limousine when it was strictly necessary.

While in Edinburgh, he added, he would try to walk between meetings in order to reduce his carbon footprint to a minimum.

But published records show that Stevenson's taxpayer-funded limousine has been busy at work.

The minister made 165 trips in the car in his first five months in office, using Volvo S80s or Honda Civic hybrids just as much as his predecessor in the job.

More embarrassingly, some of his journeys in Edinburgh – including one trip from the Parliament to Government headquarters seven minutes away on foot – could easily have been accomplished without the need of a car.

Back in May, when he announced his plans, he declared his intention to walk around the city as much as possible.

"I've asked civil servants to timetable engagements if they're in Edinburgh so that I can walk between them," he said.

"I'm not saying I will never use an official car, but I like walking and, where possible, that's what I'll do."

He added: "I certainly want to use my feet where I can, take the bus or the train when appropriate, and fall back on the car only when necessary. My private secretary, who controls the diary, said she thought it was a good idea – and I'm sure they will find a way to make sure I'm still working even when I'm walking."

Three days after that claim, however, Stevenson is recorded as using his car to head around Edinburgh, from the Scottish Parliament building at Holyrood to a meeting, and then back to the BBC headquarters next to the Parliament. The car then waited to take him on to a "personal address".

Stevenson was back in the car the following day, using it to get from his personal address to the Scottish TV studios in Edinburgh's George Street and then back to the BBC studios in Holyrood.

Most embarrassingly of all, the records show that last July, Stevenson used the car to transport him from the Scottish Government's St Andrew's House headquarters to the Scottish Parliament. The journey can be undertaken by foot in less than 10 minutes.

A comparison with his predecessor, the Lib Dems' Tavish Scott, shows that Stevenson's pledge has made little difference to the amount the minister's car is used.

In his 23 months in the post, Scott used the car 844 times, or 36 times a month. Stevenson's 165 trips in five months amount to 33 trips a month.

Stevenson came under fire from environmentalists last night. Stuart Hay, head of campaigns at Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: "We have yet to see a minister make good on promises to ditch the ministerial cars in favour of green alternatives.

"A review of how the Government uses ministerial cars is urgently needed to break the Government's car culture. This probably means slashing the number of ministerial vehicles and forcing civil servants to better plan meetings in terms of time and location. Until this happens, the Government's credibility on climate change will be questioned."

A spokesman for the Scottish Green Party added: "Stewart Stevenson, fast becoming the SNP's Minister for Motorways, should definitely be encouraged to read his own press releases. Having committed themselves to walking and cycling around town, it now looks like most of the walking that ministers do is just down to the car park."

The new embarrassment comes two weeks after it emerged that Finance Secretary John Swinney took his own limousine on a 200-yard journey from the Parliament to the BBC studios next door.

The car was kept running for 20 minutes as Swinney conducted a television interview, before he headed off to another engagement.

It follows a string of complaints about the amount that cars are used. Since devolution, observers have become used to a queue of limousines waiting to take ministers to their homes or to meetings.

Stevenson's claims last year were intended to dampen criticism that ministers were failing to take a lead on the environment.

He said then: "Individual actions contribute to controlling climate change, but we also have to do the big thinking about the issue."

Last night, his spokeswoman said: "All Scottish Government ministers routinely undertake full days of ministerial meetings and events. Ministers do use public transport and walk to engagements wherever possible. However, the ministerial cars carry official Government papers, and ministers use car journeys to work on their papers and make confidential Government phone calls. Ministers are making fewer car journeys than those made by the previous administration over a comparable time."

She added: "As Minister for Climate Change, Stewart Stevenson makes a conscious effort to use public transport and to walk as much as possible. He travels by train to Parliament instead of using the Government Car Service. On the rare occasions when he has used ministerial cars for shorter journeys, it has been for the purpose of conducting Government business en route."

Ministers were also criticised last year after figures showed that the cost of the limousines for the first four months of their period in office had reached £332,000.

The figure was up 13% on the previous year, when Labour and the Liberal Democrats were in power.

The increase in mileage was blamed on the fact that many of Salmond's ministers lived as far as 200 miles from Edinburgh.

However, the SNP insists that even though the mileage may have risen, it has actually cut down on the number of journeys undertaken, compared with the previous Labour-led administration.

Which is quicker? The limo or a walk?

We sent out two reporters – one in a car, one on foot – to record how long it takes to get from St Andrew's House to the Scottish Parliament (a third of a mile) and then from the Parliament to Bute House (1.5 miles).

The first stage took seven minutes, 21 seconds on foot and eight minutes, 51 seconds by taxi. The second part of the journey took 21 minutes by foot but was beaten by the car ride, which took 16 minutes.