Chamber and committees

We had previously promoted a Legislative Consent Memorandum in the Scottish Parliament in relation to the provisions in the previous UK Government’s Criminal Justice Bill creating an offence for importing, making, adapting, supplying or offering to supply a relevant article for use in serious crime. This offence would have included vehicle concealments as an article of serious crime but the legislation fell due to the change of administration.

My officials are continuing to engage with the Home Office on its legislative proposals. I hope that this offence will be taken forward in one of the bills that will be introduced in early 2025.

Police Scotland will be also be kept informed as soon as any legislation is developed.

I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-32496 on 10 January 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-32496 on 10 January 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

Data on the number of children identified as victims of criminal exploitation is drawn from the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). The NRM is the UK-wide framework for identifying potential victims of trafficking and ensuring they receive appropriate support and assistance.

Information from the NRM is released by the Home Office Single Competent Authority quarterly and in an end of year summary. Data relating to the last five years can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-referral-mechanism-statistics.

I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-32496 on 10 January 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

Scotland has a network of 468 free public libraries and 37 mobile libraries which help to provide access to library provision for schools in rural areas or where there is no public library nearby.

Additionally, the Scottish Government provides annual funding towards the Public Library Improvement Fund (PLIF) and School Library Improvement Fund (SLIF) administered by the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC), to enable public and school libraries to undertake a wide range of pioneering initiatives within communities.

PLIF supports national programmes like Every Child a Library Member (ECALM). The ECALM initiative aims to streamline the library joining process for children across Scotland.

SLIF has delivered funding to support the development of libraries in early years settings, primary and secondary schools, and to support the implementation of Vibrant Libraries, Thriving Schools – the national strategy for school libraries in Scotland.

The Scottish Government’s Investing in Communities Fund (ICF) is a revenue fund which aims to empower communities by supporting them to deliver activity that helps tackle poverty, inequality and rural disadvantage on their own terms.

The ICF is not intended to deliver capital projects, such as housing.

Legislation surrounding the use of e-bikes and regulatory standards is a reserved matter for the UK Government. For an e-bike to be legal for use in the UK, they must meet the criteria of an electrically assisted pedal cycle and the electric motor should not be able to propel the bike when it’s travelling more than 15.5mph, with a maximum power output of 250 watts. This ensures speeds similar to that of other bicycles.

Ebikes that are modified to exceed speed and power limits are classify under motorcycle legislation. Police Scotland are responsible for taking action against those who ride illegal ebikes. Between January 2024 and Sept 2024 Police Scotland seized 281 illegally modified ebikes.

Members of the public who are seeking clarity on the standards required to ride on public roads should visit https://www.gov.uk/electric-bike-rules

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. I have asked Police Scotland to write to you on this matter.

It is not possible to separately identify prosecutions under the Road Traffic Act 1988 that specifically relate to the illegal use of e-bikes. While the Act does not explicitly mention e-bikes, their illegal use may be prosecuted under a variety of offences. However, the Criminal Proceedings dataset does not hold this level of detail.