Chamber and committees

The Vacant and Derelict Land Investment Programme (VDLIP) is available to local authorities which bring forward suitable project proposals associated with remediating and unblocking long-term vacant and derelict land, supporting place based approaches to delivering regeneration and sustainable inclusive growth, as part of a just transition to net-zero. Additional funding to support the delivery of new homes, where this is part of the project proposals, is considered as a part of the application process by the independent investment panel.

The Vacant and Derelict Land Investment Programme (VDLIP) has invested £6,258,299 in projects that support the development of affordable homes since 2021.

The Scottish Government’s Strengthening Communities Programme (SCP) is a revenue fund which provides support to community anchor organisations to build capacity and sustainability.

No new houses have therefore been built as a direct result of funding from SCP since 2021. However, SCP provides organisations such as Raasay Development Trust (Highlands), Sanday Development Trust (Orkney), Tomintoul & Glenlivet Development Trust (Moray) and Fair Isle Development Trust (Shetland) with capacity building funding which includes support for delivering new housing developments.

The Scottish Government’s Strengthening Communities Programme (SCP) is a revenue fund which provides support to community anchor organisations to build capacity and sustainability. No funding from the SCP has therefore been spent on building new houses since 2021, however SCP provides organisations with capacity building funding which can include support for delivering new housing developments.

The Partnership Delivery Group (PDG) continues to work across organisational boundaries to identify and deliver support to individuals that can be delivered in a person centred and trauma informed way.

The PDG has worked together to support the Scottish Government to develop a Framework for Collaboration (FfC). Subject to publishing timescales, this Framework along with the PDG’s cross-sector Collaborative Commitment Action Plan will be published imminently.

The Scottish Government’s 2024-25 budget includes record police funding of £1.55 billion, which is an increase of £92.7 million on the 2023-24 Scottish Police Authority budget.

Official statistics show there were 16,427 FTE police officers at 30 September 2024. On 30 October the Chief Constable told the Criminal Justice Committee that she expected to reach the target of 16,600 officers soon - and this happened on 4 November.

Deployment of these resources to meet policing priorities is an operational matter for Police Scotland, under the scrutiny of the Scottish Police Authority.

Data on collisions which cause injury and take place on the road network, including adjacent pavements and cycle lanes, is collected by Police Scotland as part of the GB-wide dataset known as STATS19.

Within STATS19, vehicles involved in injury road collisions can be recorded as ‘bicycle’ or ‘electric motorcycle’. However, there is currently no systematic way of determining which of these vehicles would be described as illegal e-bikes.

Data on collisions which cause injury and take place on the road network, including adjacent pavements and cycle lanes, is collected by Police Scotland as part of the GB-wide dataset known as STATS19.

Within STATS19, vehicles involved in injury road collisions can be recorded as ‘bicycle’ or ‘electric motorcycle’. However, there is currently no systematic way of determining which of these vehicles would be described as illegal e-bikes.

This information is not held by the Scottish Government. When local authority trading standards services find products that are non-compliant with the relevant product safety legislation this should be input into the Product Safety Database. This is operated by the UK Government’s Office of Product Safety and Standards.

This is an operational matter for Police Scotland. I have asked Police Scotland to write to you on this matter.

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