Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government ran two rounds of the Scottish Ultra Low Emission Bus scheme in 2020/21, awarding a total of £39.6 million to support operators acquire new zero-emission buses, and £11 million to support operators install the necessary depot charging infrastructure. Phase one of the Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund, has a total of £50 million available and is currently open for bids. The funding is to support the cost of both zero-emission buses and the associated charging infrastructure. Bidders can request up to 75% of the cost of battery-electric charging infrastructure, and up to 85% of the cost of hydrogen fuel-cell charging infrastructure.

The Scottish Government has established the Bus Decarbonisation Taskforce, comprised of leaders from the bus operating, bus manufacturing, energy and finance sectors, including representation from rural bus operators. The Taskforce has explored energy infrastructure in depth and actions now being undertaken by the Taskforce include production of a “How To” guide for bus operators about working with the electricity sector to plan for and install the necessary charging infrastructure. The Taskforce has also discussed the suitability of hydrogen fuel-cell buses for rural bus services, and the challenges and opportunities associated with hydrogen refuelling stations. The Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund is currently available to bidders and is designed to encourage collaborative and consortium bids, with support of up to 75% of the cost of battery-electric charging infrastructure, and up to 85% of the cost of hydrogen fuel-cell charging infrastructure.

The Scottish Government acknowledges that publication of this report has been delayed due to our pandemic response efforts. We will be publishing the Independent Expert Working Group report on 6 October 2021.

Transport Scotland officials are in regular contact with the Department for Transport regarding bus service provision and issues impacting on bus driver numbers. Discussions, which are ongoing, seek to identify and address issues delaying licence applications and driver testing to ensure timely recruitment and training processes. Officials will remain closely engaged with Department for Transport officials as this work progresses.

Since June 2020 the Scottish Government has made up to £210 million in additional financial support available to enable bus operators to continue to run services during the pandemic. It is for individual operators to lead dialogue with trade unions and to determine pay arrangements with their employees. Scottish Government funding is provided on a not for profit basis and any pay increases for staff would need to be funded by bus operators through efficiencies or any reserves they may have accrued prior to the pandemic.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

Local authorities are independent corporate bodies with their own powers and responsibilities, separate from the Scottish Government. As long as they act lawfully, it is up to each local authority to structure the council and form a decision making process that is appropriate for the individual local authority.

New regulations require that, where applicable, from November 2022 local authorities, along with other public bodies, report a target date for achieving zero direct emissions of greenhouse gases and targets for reducing indirect emissions of greenhouse gases. Overall, around 50% of reported public sector emissions are now covered by a net zero target that aligns with, or is more ambitious than, the 2045 national target.

Since 2015, local authorities, along with other public bodies, have had a duty to report on their compliance with the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009, as well as their annual organisational emissions.

Table one shows the total number of patients seen and number that waited over 18 weeks to be seen for orthopaedic treatment in NHS Highland, from January 2020 to June 2021.

Public Health Scotland hold and publish data at consultant or speciality level, which means, for dementia clinical assessments and clinical treatments, old age psychiatry. Those consultations are not broken down by condition or illness.

The Scottish Government draws on extensive actual and estimated data to support local dementia service, workforce and resource planning, including data on estimated dementia prevalence and annual estimated diagnosed incidence, as well as estimated annual spend on dementia by Integration Joint Boards

Strategic national action on dementia to support local service design and delivery is informed by extensive national data, both actual and estimated. We commissioned and published in 2016 the first national report on estimated annual diagnosed dementia incidence, designed to show the estimated annual flow of new diagnoses into the health and social care system, specifically to help local workforce planning and resourcing around dementia post-diagnostic support, and to enable local and national measurement against the national dementia post-diagnostic commitment. This report will be re-commissioned this year.

Local systems collect and hold diagnosis data when individuals with a dementia diagnosis are referred for post-diagnostic support.