Chamber and committees

The former Deputy First Minister undertook a visit in December 2022 and the Minister for Housing visited the MTIS project in July 2023 in Westerhailes to understand the scope of the works being undertaken. The former Deputy First Minister also met with a homeowner to discuss the impact that the project had on their life. Scottish Government officials meet City of Edinburgh Council regularly to discuss progress with the MTIS and any issues arising. The Scottish Government has not met with Shelter Scotland or Living Rent in regards to the MTIS project in either Westerhailes or Lochend and Restalrig.

Retrofit schemes that are funded by the Scottish Government are assessed for value for money and the benefits to owners and the community as a whole. Scottish Government officials meet regularly with councils to monitor progress.

The Scottish Government laid the proposed revised National Outcomes in Parliament for scrutiny on 1 May 2024. These proposals include a new National Outcome for Housing. Parliamentary scrutiny is expected to conclude in late 2024 .

The Scottish Government is engaging with Homes for Scotland and the housebuilding industry to discuss the findings of their recent work on SME housebuilders. Part of this work involves partnership discussions between Homes for Scotland, industry participants and the Minister for Housing and others to consider what actions can best support ongoing delivery from the SME housebuilding sector.

We value the contribution of SME housebuilders who provide homes across Scotland in both urban and rural areas. We will work with industry to consider where targeted action can support this work.

The legal use of electric scooters and decisions around their introduction is broadly a reserved matter for the UK Government. The UK Government has stated its intention to bring forward a new regulatory framework for vehicles such as electric scooters, however the timescales for this are unclear and it may take a number of years for such a new framework to be in effect.

Enabling the use of electric scooters through such a regulatory framework would also require amendments to devolved legislation, therefore the Scottish Government are monitoring developments in this area and will continue to engage with the Department for Transport on this matter.

No e-scooter trials are taking place in Scotland, and recent extensions to the trials do not enable onboarding of new areas. We do not anticipate that this is likely to change therefore no preparations for a Scottish trial are taking place.

As is recognised by Scotland’s Accessible Travel Framework, it is crucial that disabled people are involved in the design, development and improvement of transport policies, services and infrastructure. Therefore, before any changes are made to devolved legislation the Scottish Government would engage with all stakeholders and ensure all necessary impact assessments are carried out.

The affordability threshold for the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (R100 SBVS) aligns with that of the broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO) set by Ofcom, which is currently £56.20 per month. This threshold is increased by CPI (Consumer Price Index – a measure of inflation) each year.

We considered it appropriate to adopt this criteria, given the robust analysis and monitoring that Ofcom undertakes to support their decisions. Ofcom continues to monitor pricing regularly, and we will continue to mirror any changes in our own terms and conditions.

The legal use of electric scooters and decisions around their introduction is broadly a reserved matter for the UK Government. The UK Government has stated its intention to bring forward a new regulatory framework for vehicles such as electric scooters.

Enabling the use of electric scooters through such a regulatory framework would also require amendments to devolved legislation, therefore the Scottish Government are monitoring developments in this area and will continue to engage with the Department for Transport on this matter. The timescales for this regulatory framework are unclear and it may take a number of years for such a new framework to be in effect, as such the Scottish Government has not yet given detailed consideration to measures to be implemented that ensure safety of people with sight loss.

No e-scooter trials are taking place in Scotland, and recent extensions to the trials do not enable onboarding of new areas. We do not anticipate that this is likely to change therefore no preparations for a Scottish trial are taking place.

The legal use of electric scooters and decisions around their introduction is broadly a reserved matter for the UK Government. The UK Government has stated its intention to bring forward a new regulatory framework for vehicles such as electric scooters, however the timescales for this are unclear and it may take a number of years for such a new framework to be in effect.

Enabling the use of electric scooters through such a regulatory framework would also require amendments to devolved legislation, therefore the Scottish Government are monitoring developments in this area and will continue to engage with the Department for Transport on this matter.

As is recognised by Scotland’s Accessible Travel Framework, it is crucial that disabled people are involved in the design, development and improvement of transport policies, services and infrastructure. Therefore, before any changes are made to devolved legislation the Scottish Government would engage with all stakeholders and ensure all necessary impact assessments are carried out.

Since 2011 the Scottish Government has supported individuals and businesses across Scotland transition to electric vehicles by providing £223 million of interest free loans through the Low Carbon Transport loan, this scheme delivered on behalf of Scottish Ministers by Energy Saving Trust (EST) has funded over 8,300 loans and has saved an estimated 230,000 tCO2e.

Transport Scotland officials are currently finalising details of the fund prior to the loan relaunching. Energy Saving Trust, who administer the loan on behalf of Scottish Ministers, will provide up to date information regarding the loan and interested parties can register their interest on their website here - Used Electric Vehicle Loan - Energy Saving Trust .

The Scottish Government does not hold information relating to the total number of public or private electric vehicle (EV) charge points in each local authority area. Information about public EV charge points in each of Scotland’s local authority areas can be found in the UK Government's Department for Transport’s ‘Electric vehicle charging device statistics’ which are published on a quarterly basis. The next quarterly report is scheduled for release in July 2024.

There are no publicly available statistics on the number of private charging devices in Scotland, such as those in workplaces, fleet depots and at residential properties.