Chamber and committees

The ChargePlace Scotland (CPS) operator, SWARCO Smart Charging, introduced the STRIPE payment system in April 2024. Transport Scotland were made aware of technical issues during the introduction period which affected some CPS customers. In line with agreed incident management procedures, the issues were investigated by the CPS operator and actions outlined for their swift resolution. On 27 June 2024, Transport Scotland met with the CPS operator to discuss the effectiveness of the actions and to ensure no other issues had been reported. There have been no further reports of issues relating to the STRIPE implementation. CPS has not been contacted by any customers requesting compensation to-date.

A Ministerial Working Group, chaired by myself, has been set up to support the Scottish Government in considering the Grenfell Inquiry Phase 2 Report and how its 58 recommendations could apply in a Scottish context. Where necessary, we will take further action to address building safety.

The Scottish Government will consider each recommendation and its supporting evidence in order to prepare a response on the matters for which it has responsibility. A report will be prepared by Spring 2025.

Engagement with Ministers in the UK Government, Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Assembly will take place throughout this process.

Scottish Government officials have regular engagement with officials from the Department for Business and Trade. As you are aware, Subsidy Control is a reserved matter and it is our understanding that UK Government have no current plans to amend the Subsidy Control Act 2022.

Scottish Ministers are bound by this UK legislation and also have a legal obligation to comply with World Trade Organisations rules. The Subsidy Control Act 2022 and World Trade Organisation rules are in place to promote fair competition, and prevent any distortion in competition or negative effects on trade and investment within the UK, or between the UK and another country.

In accordance with the ChargePlace Scotland (CPS) contract, the CPS operator will provide Transport Scotland with a written report outlining the cause, impact and actions take to rectify the issues which recently affected less than 1% of CPS members. The report will also detail steps that will be taken to mitigate the risk of future occurrences. Transport Scotland officials will meet senior managers from the CPS operator to discuss key lessons learned.

The current ChargePlace Scotland (CPS) framework agreement is due to end February 2025 with the call-off contract running until mid-2026. The framework agreement, which includes provisions for the circumstances in which early termination would be appropriate, have been published on Transport Scotland’s public facing website: ChargePlace Scotland Framework Agreement 2021 | Transport Scotland.

The ChargePlace Scotland (CPS) operator is contractually obliged to continually improve the quality of the service for drivers. This includes a necessary shift from monthly billing to pay-as-you-go payment for charging using the CPS card or mobile app. This enables an experience akin to how drivers pay for petrol and diesel at traditional forecourts and has been widely welcomed by users. This has necessitated the migration to a new payment service provider (PSP).

Transport Scotland officials and the CPS operator have held regular discussions about future enhancements, including the planned roll-out of the new PSP. Following the launch of the new PSP on 24 April this year, the CPS operator immediately notified Transport Scotland about the emergence of a technical issue which impacted less than 1% of CPS users. The CPS operator has provided regular briefings to Transport Scotland on the cause, impact and corrective actions, including advanced notice of the resolution that was implemented on 10 May.

The CPS operator will provide Transport Scotland with a detailed report on the issue, Transport Scotland officials will also meet senior managers from the CPS operator to discuss key lessons learned.

Following the implementation of a new payment service provider, Transport Scotland were notified by the ChargePlace Scotland (CPS) operator of a technical issue that was affecting less than 1% of CPS users. The issue caused the cards of those CPS members affected to be automatically ‘blocked’ by the system, leaving them unable to charge. Affected drivers were able to use other methods to charge, such as Webpay and contactless where available, and could also contact the CPS customer service team to start a charge remotely. The issue was fully resolved on 10 May. No compensation arrangements are in place, and to date CPS has not been contacted by any CPS users, including business users, seeking any.

The Hydrogen Innovation Scheme (HIS) aims to support the development and demonstration of renewable hydrogen technologies and products needed to support our ambition of 5GW installed hydrogen production capacity by 2030. The HIS targets support for innovation under the themes of renewable hydrogen production, hydrogen storage and distribution, and integration of hydrogen into our energy system.

Successful applicants were announced by the then First Minister Humza Yousaf at the All Energy Conference in May 2023. Over £7m in HIS funding grant awards were made to 31 to feasibility and demonstration projects in Scotland.

To date, 10 projects have been successfully completed, with the remaining 21 projects due for completion by March 2025. All have performed or are performing well in meeting their agreed outputs.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting the development of the Acorn project and the Scottish Cluster, which are essential for the production of low carbon hydrogen at scale. I attended the Inter-Ministerial Group in February and sit on the UK CCUS Ministerial Forum to represent Scottish interests and make the case for progress on Acorn to be accelerated. The Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy, and the previous Cabinet Secretary for Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy have also written to the UK Government in recent months to make the case for the acceleration of the Acorn project.

The decision to award the Acorn project is reserved to the UK Government and despite announcing in July 2023 that the Acorn project is ‘best placed’ to meet the criteria, there is still no final decision from the UK Government. This adds further delays to the deployment of CCUS in Scotland.

The Scottish Government is clear that hydrogen has a key part to play as a renewable and low carbon source of energy to help meet our net zero ambitions. We remain committed to delivering the strategic approach and actions required to support the development of the hydrogen economy in Scotland over the course of this Parliament.

We are committed to delivering on our Hydrogen Action Plan, and to a hydrogen investment programme. Whilst there are currently no plans to open a call for applications to the Green Hydrogen Fund as a direct result of the UK Government imposed 10% cut to the Scottish Government capital budget, we continue to support hydrogen projects across Scotland on a case-by-case basis and will engage with projects as they come forward. In doing so, we will be working with Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, South of Scotland Enterprise and other stakeholders.

We also continue to support hydrogen innovation through our Hydrogen Innovation Scheme and, alongside Scotland’s academic researchers and industry, facilitate collaboration and develop impactful R&D projects including work on establishing the case for pipeline transportation of hydrogen from Scotland to Europe.