ScotGov draft budget 26/27: Active Travel obfuscation

The ‘Level 4 spreadsheet’ accompanying the Scottish Government’s draft budget shows Support for Active and Sustainable Travel rising by an incredible 66.3%, from £135.8m in 25/26 to £226m in 26/27. This has been widely commended.

However, when the smoke and mirrors are removed, it seems likely that total funding for active travel will actually fall slightly in cash terms, and, as a % of total transport, from 4.3% in 25/26 to less than 4% in 26/27.

How can such an apparently good news story be so misleading?