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Final applications to the Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund (ScotZEB2) were received in January 2024. An announcement about the outcome of the applications is expected in the near future.

To date, through ScotZEB 1 and the previous two rounds of the Scottish Ultra Low Emissions Bus Scheme, the Scottish Government has provided £113 million capital funding for 548 public service zero emission buses. There are currently no plans to introduce further direct funding programmes for zero emission buses. ScotZEB 2 has been designed to support bus and coach operators, manufacturers, local authorities, financiers and the energy sector to make the market for zero-emission vehicles and infrastructure commercially self-sustaining without further funding from the government.

Unlike previous schemes, school buses, community buses, and tourist and private-hire coaches were eligible for inclusion in ScotZEB 2 in addition to public service buses. ScotZEB 2 was preceded by a market transition scheme in 2022-23 which provided financial support to SMEs to assess their options to decarbonise their vehicles, allowing them to participate in the development of consortia bidding for ScotZEB 2 funding.

The installation of cross-pavement solutions for on-street Electric Vehicle charging has the potential to provide those without off-street parking access to more affordable domestic tariffs, whilst reducing trip hazards posed by loosely trailed cables. The market for cross-pavement charging solutions is at a relatively early stage, however, there are already a variety of solutions that have been trialled by local authorities across the UK, including in local authorities in Scotland. The decision to allow or reject the installation of a cross-pavement solutions on the public highway ultimately rests with local authorities and cross-pavement charging solutions may not be the suitable in all circumstances. Transport Scotland is working closely with the Scottish Road Works Commissioner and Scottish local authorities to better understand the issue and how best to support local authorities as the market develops with actions incorporated within the Vision Implementation Plan.

Since its launch, the Plugged-in Communities grant fund has supported 38 community transport organisations across Scotland make the switch to zero emission vehicles, providing over £3.5 million of funding allowing these organisations to procure 53 zero emission vehicles. These vehicles play a key role in their local communities by providing mobility, contributing to improved air quality and reducing polluting greenhouse gas emissions in the communities they serve.

These are unprecedented times with significant pressure on financial resources and difficult decisions had to be taken when setting the 2024-25 Scottish Budget. Given these constraints, Transport Scotland officials are currently considering future levels of funding for the Plugged-In Communities scheme, with no final decision yet made. Eligible community transport organisations can continue to register their interest on the EST website to receive further information.

It is an offence in Scotland, as it is in England and Wales, for utilities to fail to secure the safety of road works by ensuring that those works are adequately guarded and lit and that appropriate traffic signs are placed to guide and direct persons using the road. The Scottish Ministers may issue or approve codes of practice giving practical guidance to utilities in respect of these duties and this is incorporated in the Safety at Street Works and Road Works Code of Practice 2013. A failure to comply with the Code of Practice is evidence of a failure to discharge the relevant safety duties and accordingly evidence that an offence has been committed. These requirements for utilities arise from the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991.

For roads and highway authorities the equivalent legislation is the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 (covering Scotland), and the Highways Act 1980 (Covering England and Wales). While the 1980 Act also included a provision for a mandatory Code of Practice on safety, the 1984 Act did not, and so it was not previously possible to prescribe a mandatory Code for Scottish roads authorities on this topic. As this omission predates the formation of the Scottish Parliament, we cannot provide detail of the policy rationale of the time. This was rectified in 2019, when the Scottish Government made the necessary legislative changes to the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 to extend the requirement to follow the mandatory safety Code of Practice to Scottish Roads authorities. The legislation which requires Scottish roads authorities to follow the mandatory Code of Practice has now been in force since 10 January 2022. The 2013 version of the Code of Practice is currently under review, which will result in an amended foreword, including Scottish road authorities in the list of bodies the Code applies to.

The Scottish Government plans to investment £7.53m through the Scottish Safety Camera Programme (“the Programme”) in 2024/25. This is the highest level of investment in the Programme since 2007 and almost double the investment ten years ago in 2014. This acts to ensure safety camera technology continues to deliver its aim of reducing the number of casualties on Scotland’s roads by encouraging improved driver behaviour.

To maximise the casualty reduction potential of the Programme an annual safety camera site prioritisation exercise is undertaken. This robust exercise, which has been undertaken in collaboration between Police Scotland, Transport Scotland and all local road authorities, assessed the performance of approximately 500 existing safety camera sites. This process identified 13 new safety camera sites which are being progressed towards delivery, and that at 119 existing camera sites there had been a sustained positive impact on driver behaviour for a number of years and therefore no longer a priority for camera deployment and being placed into dormancy.

At each of these sites the camera infrastructure and signage will remain in place and a bag displayed over any fixed camera to indicate its non-operational status. This pause allows for a thorough assessment over a three-year period, after which decisions will be made regarding potential decommissioning or reactivation.

An evaluation of Digital Evidence Sharing Capability (DESC) has been commissioned and publication is expected in Autumn 2024.

The Scottish Government committed at CoP26 to protecting and effectively managing at least 30% of Scotland’s land, freshwaters and sea for nature by 2030 (known as the 30 by 30 target). Delivery of the 30 by 30 target is a cornerstone of the draft Scottish Biodiversity Strategy and Delivery Plan which aims to halt the loss of biodiversity by 2030 and substantially restore it by 2045.

The spatial element of 30 by 30 target has been achieved in the marine environment with 37% of Scottish seas within the Marine Protected Areas (MPA) network. The Scottish Government has committed to putting in place fisheries management measures for existing MPAs where these are not already in place for key coastal biodiversity locations outside of these sites.

On land, 18.2% of Scotland is currently within a protected area for nature. We are currently working with stakeholders to identify how we will close the gap in Scotland.

Bathing water quality samples are taken by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) at each bathing water throughout the bathing season from 1 June to 15 September. Bathing water classifications are calculated at the end of each bathing water season and apply for the duration of the following season. They are calculated using data from the four previous years. There are three freshwater sites designated as Bathing Waters in Scotland: Luss Bay (Loch Lomond) and Dores (Loch Ness), both designated in 1999 and classified as sufficient and Loch Morlich, designated in 2008 and classified as excellent. A pre-season sample is also taken during the last fortnight in May.

Scotland has a current total reported potential pipeline of over 40 GW of offshore wind projects.

Our Offshore Wind Policy Statement (2020) set out the Scottish Government’s ambition for 8-11 GW of offshore wind in Scotland by 2030. This is currently being reviewed in light of the significant market ambition of around 28 GW across 20 projects demonstrated by the private sector via the ScotWind leasing round.

We remain committed to achieving the ambitions as set out in the 2020 Offshore Wind Policy Statement, and will invest up to £500m over the next five years to develop the infrastructure and supply chain critical to growing Scotland’s offshore wind sector.

The Scottish Government consulted on a Report into the Effectiveness of Environmental Governance last year, as required by section 41 of the UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Continuity) (Scotland) Act 2021. The Report included consideration of issues relating to access to justice on environmental matters in Scotland. Section 41 required us to publish the report and launch the consultation within six months of ESS publishing their strategic plan, and in due course to publish recommendations in response to the consultation. The Scottish Government will complete the environmental governance review process as soon as practical.