Legislation surrounding the use of e-bikes and e-scooters is a reserved matter for the UK Government.

For an e-bike to be legal for use in the UK, they must be an electrically assisted pedal cycle, with the electric motor unable to propel the bike when travelling at more than 15.5mph.

It is illegal to ride an e-scooter on a public road, pavement, cycle paths, shared paths or any public place in Scotland. It is only lawful to use e-scooters on private land with the landowner’s permission.

It is every road and path users’ responsibility to respect others and the Highway Code outlines both rules and guidance for everyone.

Prior to Christmas, and working with the NHS, Police Scotland published advice warning parents against gifting e-scooters - Scots parents warned against gifting e-scooters after spate of serious injuries | STV News.

This builds on advice published last year on e-bikes that provided clarity on the standards required to be permitted to ride on public roads and remains relevant today.

Members of the public who are seeking clarity on the standards required to ride on public roads can visit Riding an electric bike: the rules - GOV.UK.

Given the increasing prevalence of illegal e-scooters on our roads, and as part of our policy development work, Transport Scotland plans to investigate the potential for a public awareness campaign in 2026.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that patients across Scotland receive consistent, evidence-based care for thumb arthritis.

We expect clinicians and NHS Boards to adhere to current guidelines and follow best practice including from authoritative sources such as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), including (NICE Guidelines NG226 on osteoarthritis care and NICE Interventional Procedure Guidance IPG111) and specialty groups including The British Society for Surgery of the Hand.

The Scottish Government does not undertake direct clinical outcome assessments.

Health Boards are expected to consider these factors when determining the most appropriate surgical option for individual patients, in line with current clinical guidelines and best practice. Such as the guidance shared in response to S6W-42776 on 7 January 2026.

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 is committed to ensuring equitable access to all clinically approved surgical procedures, including thumb carpometacarpal joint replacement surgery, across NHS Scotland.

Each NHS Board has a process for assessing and adopting innovative procedures with appropriate safeguards until a procedure becomes standard practice. At present though, there is insufficient long term data to recommend thumb carpometacarpal joint replacement surgery as the routine standard of care.

Health Boards are expected to plan and deliver services in accordance with the needs of their local populations, ensuring that care is safe, effective, person-centred, and aligned with current clinical guidelines and best practice.

Currently, thumb carpometacarpal joint replacement surgery is offered in: NHS Lothian, NHS Fife, NHS Grampian, NHS Highland & NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (Inverclyde).

Referral arrangements exist within NHS Scotland to allow patients to access specialist procedures not available locally. Where thumb carpometacarpal joint replacement surgery is clinically indicated and not provided within NHS Lanarkshire, patients may be referred to another Board offering the procedure if that is appropriate.

Data on the number of referrals over the past five years is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. This information may be obtained from NHS Lanarkshire and other relevant Boards.

The Scottish Government recognises that prolonged recovery and reduced function can have personal and economic implications for patients.

We expect Health Boards to consider these factors when planning surgical pathways and to prioritise patient outcomes, including functional recovery and impact on daily living.

The definition of ‘rewilding’ in the report ‘Defining Rewilding for Scotland's Public Sector’ prepared for the Scottish Government by the James Hutton Institute, has never been adopted by the Scottish Government.

While the Scottish Government does not use the term rewilding, it recognises that the term includes many interventions which the Scottish Government and NatureScot actively support. For example, our £65 million Nature Restoration Fund has committed over £65 million since 2021 to unlock the full potential that nature restoration projects can bring to communities.

In addition, our Biodiversity Delivery Plan sets out over 100 actions that need to be taken to ensure a nature-positive Scotland by 2030. A key action in the first Delivery Plan is the creation of Nature Networks in each local authority area in Scotland. These create habitat corridors and stepping stones, which help species to migrate in response to our changing climate.

The definition of ‘rewilding’ in the report ‘Defining Rewilding for Scotland's Public Sector’ prepared for the Scottish Government by the James Hutton Institute, has never been adopted by the Scottish Government.