Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government offers a range of grants for the installation of electric vehicle charge points at properties, including flatted dwellings where there is access to shared off-street parking. The residential grants are delivered by the Energy Saving Trust (EST) on behalf of Scottish Ministers and are designed to ensure that a lack of traditional off-street parking is not a barrier to EV adoption. More information can be found on the EST website.

Being unable to charge at home using a private charger should not be a deterrent to making the transition to EV. The Scottish Government has invested over £65m to develop the ChargePlace Scotland (CPS) public electric vehicle charging network. CPS now has a network of over 2,500 publicly available charge points spread across Scotland, making it the 4th largest network in the UK and the most comprehensive per head of population outside London.

As part of the comprehensive approach being taken by the Scottish Government, new legislation has also been introduced to ensure new buildings in Scotland are equipped with charge points – for flats with designated parking, one socket for per flat should be provided. Steps have also been taken to amend existing Permitted Development Rights legislation to make it even simpler and quicker to install charging infrastructure, including in residential areas containing all dwelling types.

SEPA and Scottish Water communications campaigns highlight the public’s role in managing our water environment, this summer and beyond.

SEPA encourages the reporting of dry rivers and burns. They request that photographs of the conditions are submitted if available together with location data. This helps provide the best possible understanding of the impacts of dry weather.

Scottish Government urges households using private water supplies for drinking water which have run dry to contact their local authorities for assistance.

While we encourage public reporting SEPA and Scottish Water have the lead in monitoring water resources and ensuring action can be taken swiftly where required.

The Scottish Government is working closely with SEPA and the Farm Advisory Service (FAS) to communicate the risk of water scarcity to businesses who abstract water.

SEPA have been running a communications campaign since the start of May to encourage agricultural businesses and others to manage water wisely. This involves regular national and local press releases, media interviews, partnership with industry publications and participation in FAS podcasts, providing practical advice and support to farmers. SEPA also directly communicate with license holders if there a risk to abstraction supplies.

A communications stakeholder group has also been set up involving the Scottish Government, SEPA, Scottish Water, Nature Scot and the NFUS to coordinate and ensure the reinforcement of key messages.

The Scottish Government is committed to an infrastructure solution to address landslip risks at the A83 Rest and Be Thankful and shares the urgency communities and businesses place on maintaining and improving connectivity of this vital route.

The identification of the preferred route option through the Glen Croe valley on 2 June 2023 is a very important milestone in finding a solution to this long-standing problem. The proposed new debris flow shelter will help protect the road and road users from future landslides.

In developing the route options to improve the resilience and operational safety of the A83 and identifying the permanent, long term solution, early consideration has been given to the transportation of abnormal loads. Work is now being taken forward at pace as we move to the next stage of the project where we will continue to develop the design of the preferred option, the detail of which will be informed by consultation with a wide array of stakeholders, including with respect to possible abnormal load transportation requirements.

During the Cannich incident, SFRS liaised with Forestry and Land Scotland, RSPB and the Scottish Gamekeepers Association, who provided personnel and specialist equipment throughout the incident. The involvement of gamekeepers, farmers and other partners at wildfire incidents is always welcomed by SFRS and provides a great deal of capacity and knowledge for Incident Commanders. SFRS is utilising this valuable resource at incidents and recognising the skills, experience and equipment that partners bring to this incident type.

At recent significant wildfires the involvement of partners has been instrumental in successfully managing the incidents, and SFRS will seek to learn lessons from this to identify what worked well, as well as where improvements can be made to ensure it continuously improves. SFRS has contributed to the North of Scotland Regional Resilience Partnership’s recent seminar on response to severe weather events (heat in particular) and is in the planning stage of providing the same to the East of Scotland Regional Resilience Partnership.

The Scottish Wildfire Forum (SWF), chaired by SFRS, has Civil Contingency Advisors from Local Authorities, Regional Resilience Partnerships and other Agencies as members. The SWF created the Wildfire Risk that is now contained in the Scottish National Risk Assessment. This now requires the Regional and Local Resilience Partnerships (which includes all Local Authorities) as part of the Risk Preparedness Assessment Process to consider the risk, score it for their region/area and consider what mitigation actions can be taken to reduce the risk as well as how the wider consequences of the risk will be managed.

The Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) is a privately-owned telecoms network and the decision to upgrade it has been taken by the telecoms industry, and not the UK Government. PSTN migration from analogue to digital telephony services also does not affect the Universal Service Obligations set out in the Electronic Communications (Universal Service) Order 2003, which require designated providers to offer telephony services throughout the UK, and providers will remain bound by their existing statutory responsibilities.

However, we are working closely with the UK Government, Industry, Ofcom and other Devolved Administrations through the Electronic Communications – Resilience and Response Group (EC-RRG), a UK Government-supported telecoms industry group, whose aim is to develop and maintain cooperation between the communications sector and Government on issues regarding telecoms resilience and emergency planning.

The number of staff based in Scottish Government International Offices in the past five years is listed in the following table.

The Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) is a privately-owned telecoms network and the decision to upgrade it has been taken by the telecoms industry. The primary focus of PSTN migration is to switch over the telephony signal from analogue to digital services, not the broadband signal. As such, delivery of the R100 programme will not be impacted by PSTN migration.

National Records of Scotland (NRS) has reviewed its asset information and has found no reference to reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) having been used anywhere within its estate. NRS has not incurred cost for repairs associated with RAAC.

The Scottish Government supports a range of organisations which help preserve our culture and heritage in communities across Scotland.

Creative Scotland support community-run venues and assets through funds such as their Open Fund and partner funds like Awards for All. The Creative Scotland Regular Funding Network includes support for community-run venues including Lyra, Stove Network and WHALE arts.