A DIRECTOR of a north-east bus company has backed a bill requiring vehicles transporting children to and from school to be fitted with seat belts.

David Campbell, a director at Whytes, has written to Transport Minister Humza Yousaf after Liberal Democrat MSP Mike Rumbles said no legislation was required.

Politicians at Holyrood are continuing to hear evidence on the bill, tabled by Aberdeenshire East MSP Gillian Martin, which would require all local authorities to put seat belts on buses used for school transport.

A number of councils already have done so, but the bill would make it a legal requirement.

In his letter to Yousaf and Martin, Campbell said: “I watched the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee with great interest. I would like to thank Ms Martin for bringing the bill to the Scottish Parliament, as I feel that it will significantly reduce the risk of injury, should any school bus be involved in an accident.

“However as a coach operator, it troubled me to hear Mike Rumbles suggest that, with the contractual position of most councils, perhaps the legislation isn’t required.

“I feel that, for many reasons, the legislation should be completed and added to statute. Giving the councils the opportunity to remove the requirement for seat belts in the future must be at the very least undesirable. I wish you both every success with the bill and hope that it does make it into statute in due course.”

Martin said she was shocked at Rumbles’ comments and accused him of being ambivalent about child safety.

She added: “Protecting our children on their way to and from school is not a luxury, but a necessity. I was shocked Mike Rumbles could be so ambivalent towards the safety of our children with his comments.

“I am both relieved and pleased that his words have been met with no support – particularly from a leading coach operator such as Whytes.

“Many people are not even aware seat belts on school buses have not previously been a legal requirement. By moving this bill through parliament it will ensure a safer journey for our children on the way to school.”

The Scottish Government is supporting the passage of the Seat Belts on School Transport (Scotland) Bill but Rumbles claims it would not enforce their use.

The MSP, who sits on the rural economy and connectivity committee, said children could not be made to wear seat belts on school buses even though new laws would require them to be fitted.

The committee was told the proposed law would place a duty on school authorities to ensure that vehicles used for dedicated home- to-school transport were fitted with seat belts.

Rumbles said: “This bill before us is purely about a technical aspect of having seat belts fitted [to vehicles] and isn’t about whether kids are safe travelling to and from school. If we are going to put legislation through, we need to attack the problem and not go off half-cocked.”

He asked Scottish Government policy officer Brendan Rooney whether the Scottish Government had asked the UK Government to use its legislative power to put forward a bill for both the fitting of seat belts and the enforcement of their use.

Rooney replied: “To my knowledge it hasn’t.”