Car use reduction documentation: EIR release

Information requested

1. Could you supply all documentation held by Transport Scotland, including correspondence sent and received (including internal), minutes/notes from meetings, briefings, analysis, about the reducing car journeys by 20% by 2030, from the last month?

2. Could you supply all documentation from the review into this promised by Fiona Hyslop on April 23, including the final decision on whether to amend or scrap it?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1jxk9949e5o

Response

As the information you have requested is ‘environmental information’ for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations.

We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA. This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

PART ONE

For part one of your request you asked for documentation about the reducing car journeys by 20% by 2030, from the last month. As set out on 12 June 2025, within the renewed policy statement on achieving car use reduction, the Scottish Government committed to a successor car use reduction target to replace the 20% reduction in car use by 2030 as Scottish Government policy. Searches were undertaken with key words relating to 20% car use reduction by 2030 policy, from last month, and some results were found in reference to the former target. Extracts have been made from relevant documents and are available in ANNEX B of this response.

PART TWO

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because of exceptions under regulation(s) 11 of the Environmental Information (Scotland) - personal details, regulations 2004 (the EIRs) reg 10(4)(e) (internal communications) Regulation 10(4)(d) material in course of completion. Further, some of the information you have requested is published within our renewed policy statement (published 12 June 2025) This outlines the Scottish Government position on car use reduction.

Under regulation 6(1)(b) of the EIRs, we do not have to give you information which is already publicly available and easily accessible to you in another form or format.

The reasons for applying these regulations is set out in annex A.

You have linked to a BBC online news article that reports Cabinet Secretary appearance to give evidence in April 2025 at the Public Audit Committee. The article references the Cabinet Secretary for Transport confirming that car use reduction is still supported by the Scottish Government, but the target will change. There is no decision as such as you outline within your request as to “whether to amend or scrap it”. The Government has set a successor car use reduction and we have considered your request to be for documentation relating to the development of the successor target, which is now published in draft, within the draft Climate Change Plan published 6th November 2025.

It reads: to reduce emissions from cars in the first carbon budget (2026-2030) by at least 16% from today’s levels (2023). Consistent with the CCC advice, we will need to reduce annual car mileage by at least 4% by 2030 (on a 2030 ‘business as usual’ forecast baseline) and at least 90% of all new car sales will need to be electric by the same year.

The advice to the Scottish Government from the Climate Change Committee (CCC) is available here. Relevant additional documentation to published material related to the successor target is provided in Annex B

ANNEX A

REASONS FOR NOT PROVIDING INFORMATION

Exceptions apply.

An exception under regulation 10(4)(e), internal communications of the EIRs applies to some of the information you have requested.

This exception is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception. We recognise that there is some public interest in release however, this is outweighed by the public interest that releasing could cause confusion with the general public where policy has now been publicly announced.

Regulation 10(4)(d) has been applied as some modelling is still in the course of completion. This relates to modelling on the transport sector decarbonisation pathways, which the revised target relating to car use is contained within. It is expected that this material will be completed to align with the publication of the finalised Climate Change Plan.

An exception under regulation 6(1)(b) information publicly available of the EIRs applies to some of the information you have requested. Links to information already in the public domain have been provided. Regulation 11(2) Personal Data of the EIR applies to some of the information you have requested in Part 2. Where a request for environmental information includes personal data, the personal data must not be made available. This exception is not subject to the ‘public interest test’.

As outlined previously, we have considered your request to be for documentation relating to the development of and the final decision on the draft successor target related to car use, and this information is contained within annex B.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

EIR 202500498299 - Information Released - Annex B

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