What a difference 3 pence could make

Having considered that I might be asked by the One Show how the school crossing patrols should be funded, I have done a bit of calculating and worked out that for the 20,000 SCPs in the country to be funded it would cost the 31,000,000 vehicle drivers 2p more on their road tax! Seems like a good idea to me, in fact they can have 3p and pay the whole lot a more reasonable wage.

School Crossing Patrols and Sustainable Travel

This is what the Whitepaper on Sustainable Transport has to say on page 30...

● The Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF), which will provide £560 million of revenue and capital funding (£350 million revenue, £210 million capital) to enable local authorities to bid for funding to support the delivery of sustainable measures that support economic growth and reduce carbon emissions, delivering cleaner environments, improved safety and increased levels of physical activity.

I sincerely believe that SCPs are part of the existing sustainable transport structure and their removal will lead to more parents taking children to school in the car. This will obviously lead to an increase in carbon emissions and a lessening of physical activity. I therefore believe every local authority should be applying for this funding on these grounds. Even if every county in the country applied for a grant for SCPs is will only be a small fraction of £560 million and the children will be safe.