Seòmar agus comataidhean

The following table provides a breakdown of the fleet by fuel type.

Since 2013 we have invested over £50 million in Chargeplace Scotland (CPS), Scotland’s public charging network, which now has more than 2000 publicly available chargepoints. Figures show that Scotland is leading the way on electric vehicle charging infrastructure. The latest figures show that Scottish electric vehicle drivers benefit from almost 40 public charge points per one hundred thousand people, compared to fewer than 30 in England, Just over 20 in Wales and less than 20 in Northern Ireland.

We also provide funding for the Domestic Chargepoint fund which supports the people of Scotland by providing grant funding of £250 (£350 for those in remote parts of Scotland) to install a Domestic Chargepoint at their home. To date this fund has supported the installation of almost 12,000 Domestic Chargepoints to a value of just over £4m.

Our Business (non-Public) Chargepoint fund has helped almost 1300 businesses to install chargepoints for the sole use of occupiers, staff and visitors to a value of just under £10m.

We are currently consulting on draft policy options for the installation of electric vehicle charge points in a number of different buildings types, including an option that sets out a minimum requirement for all new residential buildings with parking spaces.

Transport Scotland are working with Scottish Futures Trust and industry to consider the most appropriate structures and approach to growing and developing charging infrastructure, lever commercial investment and engaging commercial operators to develop the public electric vehicle charge point network at scale and at speed across all of Scotland.

The Scottish Government does not have information of the rate of manufacture of interlinked fire alarms. We are aware that, following our successful public awareness campaign, there is significant public interest in carrying out work to comply with the new standard for fire alarms in all Scottish homes. It is, therefore, possible, that some retailers will have short term supply issues. We are also aware that some manufacturers are dependent on import of components, and that has been affected by Brexit, and this may also have affected their production. However, we have been assured by manufacturers that there is a sufficient supply of alarms available to meet the expected demand by 1 February 2022, when the new standard comes into force.

It is not possible to determine exactly how many properties have alarms of the prescribed type installed as this information is not currently collected as part of the Scottish House Condition Survey.

The Scottish Government has no plans to regulate the sale or installation of interlinked fire alarms. The best way to avoid scams is to use trusted sources of information, to not deal with cold callers, and to be wary of any company that says their products or services have been endorsed by the Scottish Government. We have included messages on the importance of using reputable tradespeople including signposting to local government Trading Standards in our awareness campaign for the new fire alarms standard.

The pandemic has had a detrimental impact on people's finances, particularly those in low income households. Families who were already struggling before the pandemic have been pushed further into financial insecurity. For this reason, the Scottish Government has prioritised the financial security of low income families in its Covid Recovery Strategy.

Manageable debt is a normal part of many households’ financial management. The Scottish Government’s approach is to tackle problem debt in a supportive and empowering way. In 2021-22, the Scottish Government has allocated over £7 million from the debt advice levy to support frontline provision of free debt advice services for the people of Scotland. This advice is delivered face to face, over the phone or online.

In addition, the Scottish Legal Aid Board oversees over £2 million of funding on behalf of the Scottish Government, through projects that support people dealing with personal debt problems, including debt created by rent or mortgage arrears.

The Accountant in Bankruptcy administers Bankruptcy, Protected Trust Deeds and the Debt Arrangement Scheme, which provide statutory debt solutions to people struggling with their personal debt. In response to the pandemic, the Scottish Government made changes to personal insolvency to provide better support to people facing financial difficulties. A stakeholder led policy review of statutory debt solutions is underway with recommendations expected by the end of the year.

There are many other Scottish Government policies and funding streams that have an indirect but positive impact on problem debt, such as support for tenants struggling with rent arrears, the Council Tax Reduction Scheme and our wider support for low income households.

The Scottish National Investment Bank only opened in November 2020 but has so far committed over £120 million to eight businesses and projects in line with its strategic missions. Details of the each of the Bank’s investments are published on the Bank’s ‘Our Portfolio’ page: https://www.thebank.scot/our-portfolio/ .

In 2020-21 it invested in two businesses and projects with a total commitment of £52.5 million and so far in 2021-22 the Bank has committed £68.4 million to a further six businesses. The Bank’s forward plans are set out in the business plan and investment strategy which can be found on the Bank’s ‘Publications’ page: https://www.thebank.scot/publications/ .

The Bank has been established to make investments independently of Government but in line with the strategic missions set for it by Ministers. The pace of investment and investment decisions are therefore matters for the Bank’s board. The Scottish Government is committed to providing the Bank with £1 billion of funding for investment during the course of this parliament.

Since the launch of the Young Person's Guarantee in November 2020, we have invested an additional £130 million which aims to provide at least 24,000 new and enhanced opportunities to support young people find and sustain employment.

The Guarantee is not a standalone programme and is building on our already significant investment into education, employability and skills. Therefore we are working with partners to produce a rigorous Measurement and Evaluation Framework that will support our understanding of the Guarantee's impact across a range of economic, education and equalities outcomes.

The framework will build upon a range of existing reporting mechanisms, including Skills Development Scotland's (SDS) Participation Measure, which recently reported a record annual participation measure figure , with 92.2% of 16-19 year olds participating in education, training or employment from 1st April 2020 to 31st March 2021. Other sources of information underpinning the framework include the regular reporting of Apprenticeships statistics from SDS and work completed by the Scottish Funding Council on Further/Higher Education provision.

As part of this work, we published the Guarantee's Key Performance Indicators on 28 July 2021 alongside the Implementation Progress Report . We also expect to shortly restart publications of the Local Authority Youth Labour Market Dashboard and Snapshot Participation Measure.

We will be announcing more details on the framework in the coming weeks.

The Apprenticeship Levy is a tax on employers, introduced by the UK Government in 2017, and Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) hold the data on what is raised through the Apprenticeship Levy.

The Scottish share of Apprenticeship Levy receipts received through the block grant continues to be invested in wider skills, training and employability to meet the needs of employers, the workforce and Scotland’s economy.

The Scottish Government receives some raw data from HMRC on what is raised through the Apprenticeship Levy and has carried out some analysis which suggests that in both 2017-18 and 2018-19, approximately 60 percent of the Apprenticeship Levy contribution in Scotland was from the private sector, 34 per cent from the public sector and 6 per cent from the non-profit making bodies and mutual associations. However, the data that we receive does not enable a full breakdown analysis of each sector.

More recent sector level analysis from 2019-20 is not yet available.

The £41 million will be distributed as follows:

• £10 million for a Fuel Insecurity Fund to provide direct support with fuel costs for low income households, delivered through a range of organisations including registered social landlords, Advice Direct Scotland, Energy Action Scotland and the Fuel Bank Foundation.
• £25 million to Local Authorities to tackle financial insecurity and respond to emerging need. This will include providing help with food, fuel and other essentials with a strong steer in favour of a cash-first approach and proactive and preventative action for those who are known to be at risk.
• £6 million for trusted third sector partners, allowing support to be provided by local charities and community groups to families in financial need all across Scotland.

We are currently in discussions with Local Authorities and partners and the funding will be made available as soon as is reasonably practicable.