Chamber and committees

It is estimated that reimbursements made to operators participating in the £2 bus fare cap within Highlands and Islands area, will cost between £23 to £26 million for the 2026-27 financial year. All cost estimates remain subject to change due to the demand-led nature of the scheme

Transport Scotland analysts estimate that around 64.5 million journeys per year originate from residents of the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport area. The demand response to the bus fare cap is estimated to result in an increase of between around 20% to 40% based on industry standard parameters, reflecting uncertainty around the impact. Baseline data (predating the scheme) will be collected to produce a refined measure of the actual impact.

It is estimated that reimbursements made to operators participating in the £2 bus fare cap within the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport area, will cost between £53m to £61m for the 2026-27 financial year.

As detailed information on commercial bus journeys is not available, estimates were produced using a model developed for the fare cap pilot. The model uses concessionary travel data and local population information to estimate the number of non-concessionary bus journeys across the area. It then compares these estimates with overall bus revenue and applies standard assumptions about how passenger numbers may change in response to lower fares. These estimates were used to calculate the likely number of eligible journeys and the expected cost of the scheme.

Further details will be published in the Outline Business Case for the scheme.

Payment claims of £9,477,806.74 from bus operators in relation to the bus fare cap in the Highlands and Islands have been received to 8th September. Claims for 1,509,749 passenger journeys, that have benefited from the cap, have been received to the same date for the Highlands and Island bus fare cap scheme.

A local authority based model was used to estimate the cost and impact of the £2 fare cap. It is based on concessionary fares data scaled to non-concessionary population in each area and calibrated nationally to commercial bus revenue. It uses standard industry assumptions to assess that demand will increase by between around 20% to 40%. This equates to around 2.5 million to 3.0 million journeys in total that will benefit from the cap in the Highlands and Island but is subject to considerable uncertainty, given the original pilot nature of the scheme.

Marine Directorate targets determination of offshore wind applications within 12 months, excluding periods where Additional Information is being prepared and consulted on in accordance with Environmental Impact Assessment regulations, and recognising that some applications are particularly complex.

MD-LOT is currently processing 14 applications. Receipt of all statutory consultee responses does not mean an application is ready for a determination. Of the 3 applications which exceed the 12 month target, engagement with statutory consultees is ongoing on Marine Protected Area Assessments, Appropriate Assessments and Derogation Cases until shortly before a recommendation is provided to Ministers.

The total spend to increase public awareness of the government’s programme was £102,467.90 of which £22,392 was spent on production and £80,075.90 on paid media.

Media costs are broken down by platform as requested;

Meta                        £43,602.38

Numodo (YouTube) £34,000.00

TikTok                      £2,473.52

Total                        £80,075.90

Warmer Homes Scotland is delivered through a managed service contract with our delivery partner, Warmworks, rather than through grant payments to households.

The data below relates to the current version of the scheme, which began in October 2023. Households interested in the scheme first contact Home Energy Scotland (HES), which carries out an initial eligibility assessment and refers potentially eligible households to Warmworks. Warmworks then undertakes a more detailed assessment of the property and household circumstances before confirming eligibility and progressing any installations.

The figures below show:

• the number of referrals received from Home Energy Scotland;
• the number of referrals that did not ultimately proceed to installation (including cases where households were found not to be eligible, technical issues prevented delivery, or the household chose not to continue); and
• the number of households where energy efficiency or heating installations were completed.

Please note that referrals do not always complete within the same financial year in which they are received. As a result, the figures in each column should not be compared directly.

Civil servants must adhere to the civil service code of conduct and carry out their duties with integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality. Scottish Government Internal and leadership communications routinely highlight the code to staff. In addition, all Scottish Government communicators (including those creating digital content and advertising) follow the guidance from the UK Government’s Government Communication Service which provides Propriety and ethics in government communications - Government Communications in addition to the code. The Government has a responsibility to inform the public of policy and the Government may use a variety of media, including paid and unpaid publicity, to achieve its objectives.