Chamber and committees

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.

There is no single crime of animal cruelty and such crimes are identified differently in the annual Accredited Official Statistics publications on Recorded Crime in Scotland and Criminal Proceedings in Scotland. These publications are based on separate and unlinked data sets and cannot be considered as proportions of each other.

Recorded Crime in Scotland is based on a count of crimes reported to Police Scotland. The year is based on when any crime(s) were reported to police. Animal cruelty offences are only identifiable at crime level. In 2023-24 there were 274 offences of animal cruelty reported to Police Scotland. This breaks down into 49 offences of cruelty to protected animals (excluding dogs), 177 offences of cruelty to dogs, 15 offences of cruelty to wild animals and 33 offences of hunting with dogs.

Criminal Proceedings in Scotland is based on a count of people proceeded against in court (and the number of those resulting in conviction). Data for 2023-24 is not yet available.

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.

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.

Enforcement of traffic offences, including the illegal use of e-scooters and electric bikes, is an operational matter for Police Scotland, with oversight provided by the Scottish Police Authority which operates independently of Scottish Ministers.

The Scottish Government fully supports Police Scotland and its partners in dealing with the misuse of such vehicles. Local policing teams are ideally placed to identify where the misuse of such vehicles is causing distress to the public and ensure that those areas can be prioritised to prevent future incidents.

Police Scotland issued communications before Christmas, reminding people to consider the legal implications when purchasing an electric scooter or e-scooters. It urged people to be cautious when buying electric bikes or e-scooters reminding the public that some models may not be permitted for use on public roads and that anyone found riding a non-compliant e-bike or e-scooter on a public road will likely have it seized by officers, with a significant cost to the owner. It highlighted that further information on the use of electric bikes is available at: https://www.gov.uk/electric-bike-rules.

The Scottish Government fully supports local authorities and their partners in dealing with the misuse of such vehicles.

There is no record of Aberdeen City Council having requested support from the Scottish Government to enforce the laws regulating e-bikes.

Support for any local authority trading standards service to enforce product safety regulations is a matter for the Office for Product Safety and Standards.