CAMPAIGNERS have urged the Scottish Government to take action to halt the decline in the number of pupils walking to school as a key way to improve the health of the nation's children.

Living Streets Scotland said national targets were the “next natural step” towards tackling high obesity rates and increasing poor health among the country’s young people. However, parents’ groups warned of lingering fears over the safety of young children.

Fewer than half (46%) of children in Scotland now travel to school on foot, compared with 56% 10 years ago. Almost one-quarter (23%) are driven, according to official figures.

Keith Irving, Living Streets Scotland manager, said it was time to “redouble” efforts to increase the numbers travelling by foot and prioritise the issue as part of the fight against obesity.

He said: “Local and national government should be setting targets to reverse the decline in numbers of children walking to school and providing support for schools to help pupils meet these guidelines, starting with establishing park-and-ride points to help pupils arrive safely and healthy at school and tackle school-gate congestion.

“The new health guidance specifically calls for ‘breaking up sedentary time such as swapping a long bus or car journey for walking part of the way’.

“Many schools and councils have attempted to tackle this problem. As pupils go back to school, it’s time to redouble our efforts aligned with genuine targets. We need to take action now to make children more physically active, to prevent storing up health problems later in life.”

On the issue of tackling increasing poor health across the country, Mr Irving added: “It is a key part of the solution to childhood obesity. We know that healthcare costs are estimated to be £3 billion a year by 2030 because of rising obesity.

“What you need to do is take preventative action now to help reduce that cost and the burden of obesity on families through reduced life expectancy and worsened quality of life.

“It is well worth doing so on a financial basis and also in terms of social justice as well.”

Almost one-third of children aged between two and 15 in Scotland are outwith the healthy weight range, while around three in five of adults between 16 and 64 are either overweight or obese.

The Scottish Parent Teacher Council (SPTC) said it remains “fully supportive” of moves to encourage more children to walk to school, but warned of lingering fears among parents over the safety of young children.

Eileen Prior, the SPTC’s executive director said: “Most parents agree with the principle, but the reality is often different because independent travel to school does carry risks, particularly in relation to traffic.

“In rural areas this can mean walking along trunk roads where there is no footpath. In cities, even relatively short journeys can mean negotiating major junctions.”

Jackie Tolland, development manager of Parent Network Scotland, which offers help, classes and courses to parents, said improvements in children’s health ought to be implemented via the school curriculum instead.

She added: “It would be great if we could go back to the good old days when we all walked to school, but they are gone.

“Parents are under enough pressure without worrying ‘did they get to school okay?’”

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “We are committed to active travel and outlined our ambitious vision in the Cycling Action Plan for Scotland that by 2020, 10% of all journeys in Scotland will be made by bike.

“The Sustrans’ Hands Up Survey is the most accurate data-gathering exercise of how Scottish children travel to school and these results see the most robust response yet, with nearly 65% of schools providing information.

“This excellent response not only gives a national picture, but also helps local authorities to identify where they might need to encourage more active travel.”