Chamber and committees

The recent BBC investigation was heavily reliant on data sourced from third party websites and limited anecdotal evidence from a very small proportion of the network as opposed to comprehensive, consistent, verified data directly from the CPS operator. The third party website utilised in their investigation does not present accurate up-to-date information and should be treated with caution when used to form the basis of overarching claims about reliability.

CPS network reliability has consistently improved in the last year, with the entire network now up and running at around 95% of the time each month. Furthermore, the vast majority of faults are being closed swiftly and with minimal impact on driver experience with approximately 90% closed within 24-48 hours.

The CPS website now provides the public with ready access to detailed information on the performance of the public charging network, showing each charge point’s reliability levels, fault history and usage. CPS is also working closely with third party EV charging websites to ensure they have access to more up-to-date information.

We are committed to providing a reliable network and an easy charging experience for drivers. Overall reliability across the ChargePlace Scotland network is typically very good with the entire network up and running around 95% of the time each month . Most faults on the network are short-lived and in the majority of cases require no physical intervention or a visit by an engineer. Typically around 90% of faults are resolved within 48 hrs with the ChargePlace Scotland helpdesk often remedying faults remotely.

Please note there are many reason a fault can be reported but these do not always affect the operation of the charge point itself. Some faults may be reported by more than one member of the public and this will be reflected in the figures below.

ChargePlace Scotland has recently published a new Network Performance page on the website which will continuously be updated with ready access to detailed information on the performance of the public charging network.

The Scottish Government does no t hold information dating back to 2016, but we have met COSLA eight times in 2022 to progress the introduction of the Scottish Recommended Allowance for kinship and foster care. We will continue to work closely with them to find a way forward as quickly as possible.

The following table provides a monthly breakdown of network uptime across the entire ChargePlace Scotland network for the last year with an average uptime of 97.1%.

The Scottish Government do not currently hold this information by Local Authority area for the previous 12 months. However CPS has recently published a new Network Performance page on the website which will continuously be updated with ready access to detailed information on the performance of the public charging network with information such as uptime by Local Authority area.

We welcome the valuable input from the First Minister's Environment Council, which we will take into account as part of wider policy development, for example work to develop Scotland's battery technology supply chain.

The Scottish Government has engaged with a wide range of drinks businesses throughout the policy development and implementation stages for our Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), including through two stages of consultation (running from 25 June 2018 – 25 September 2018 and 10 September 2019 – 10 December 2019) which any business could participate in. We have not carried out any engagement relating to DRS specifically directed at retailers selling hampers, parcels, or gift sets, but many such retailers would have been captured by this wider engagement.

We are continuing to engage with industry in order to ensure a successful launch of Scotland's DRS in August next year.

The First Minister’s Environmental Council’s responses to the question regarding mechanisms to reduce consumption in raw materials can be found in the minutes of the meeting on 13 June 2022: www.gov.scot/publications/first-ministers-environmental-council-minutes-june-2022/

Specifically, the minutes report that:

• members suggested an increase in community and stakeholder engagement to understand how best to incentivise household recycling - noting the lack of standardised recycling across local authorities and the social barriers to recycling.
• members highlighted chemical recycling as a key example to support a fundamental shift: i.e. chemicals in products holding back recycling potential. Members suggested further investigation on targeting the use of critical elements such as Lithium
• support was provided on embedding circular economy practices into construction and product design. Key challenge is addressing the generation of waste, not just managing existing waste.
• need to consider low carbon as well as recycled materials and understand the evidence behind different choices is important here.

Yes, as set out in our recent Waste and Circular Economy Route Map consultation, we intend to set new circular economy targets for the period to 2030 which go beyond weight-based criteria.

We must ensure that any future targets correspond to our Environment Strategy and overall vision for a circular economy, alongside the principles we set out in the consultation. One of these key principles is that any future targets should help to ensure that we deliver a sustainable international material footprint.

The feedback from the First Minister’s Environmental Council will be considered along with responses to the Route Map consultation, which are currently being analysed.

No modelling has been carried out to ascertain the impact of the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) on donations of drinks to charities and other good causes.

As the scheme is cost neutral to consumers, provided they return their empty containers in order to redeem the deposit, we do not expect DRS to affect donation habits.

The Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) discussed the Deposit Return Scheme with the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy on 24 March 2022 and myself on 31 October 2022. Scottish Government officials also meet regularly with small brewers’ representatives, most commonly through the DRS System-Wide Assurance Group, of which SIBA is a member.