Chamber and committees

As of 1 May 2024, there were 732,654 cardholders under the Young Persons’ (Under 22s) Free Bus Travel Scheme. The following table shows the number of cardholders broken down to local authority level.

The Scottish Government remains committed to restoring 250,000 hectares of degraded peatlands by 2030. We are scaling up our efforts and annual rates of restoration are increasing.

Between October 2023 and January 2024, the following beavers were translocated to the following locations on Scotland's National Forests and Land by Forestry and Land Scotland:

Knapdale – Two beavers into Loch Laraiche;

Knapdale – One beaver into Loch Linne;

Knapdale – Two beavers into Creige Moire;

Knapdale – Two beavers into Lochan Buic.

Loch Kinardochy – Two beavers.

The Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan (ESJTP) will set clear ambitions for increasing Scotland’s renewable energy capacity. It will outline a route map of actions for the Scottish Government, the UK Government and others to take to deliver these ambitions whilst supporting a just transition.

In 2023, Scotland generated over 33 Terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity from renewable sources. The most recent consumption statistics (from 2021) show that Scotland generated the equivalent of 23.7% of its energy consumption from renewable sources.

Energy Statistics for Scotland - Q2 2023 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Energy Trends: UK renewables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Forestry and Land Scotland commissioned research that identified five potential additional sites for the translocation of beavers to Scotland’s national forests in 2024.

Forestry and Land Scotland has no plans to increase the number of artificial nest platforms for (a) raptors in Scotland’s national forests in the two National Parks nor for (b) priority national conservation initiatives.

This position will be kept under review if new evidence is presented.

As of Tuesday 30 April 2024, there had been a total of 137,014,833 journeys made under the Young Persons’ (Under 22s) Free Bus Travel Scheme.

The information requested is not held centrally. The Scottish Government does publish annual Scottish Greenhouse Gas Statistics, which include domestic and international aviation, but it is not possible to break these down by scheduled or non-scheduled flight, or by the type of engine powering each aircraft. Therefore, it is not possible to determine emissions from private jets.

Low Emission Zones (LEZs) were formally introduced in Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow on 31st May 2022, with grace periods beginning at this point.

Enforcement in Glasgow began on 1 June 2023 (with an additional year for residents within the zone). Enforcement in Dundee will begin on 30 th May 2024 and in Aberdeen and Edinburgh on 1 June 2024.

Transport Scotland continues to work closely with local authorities and DVLA to ensure consistency in the approach to LEZ enforcement.

Transport Scotland is confident that these measures will lead to a reduction of harmful emissions in our city centres.

The National Speed Management Review is due to be completed in the coming weeks and we will then consider the proposed outcomes.

The review process will thereafter include a stakeholder and public consultation to consider their views on whether any changes to speed limit policies and speed management measures should be introduced as part of our speed management plan. The stakeholder and public consultations will take place in the coming months.