Chamber and committees

The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

However, in 2021-22, sport scotland invested approximately £1,315,600 into Scottish Swimming. Over the past five years, sport scotland has invested £6,836,282 into Scottish Swimming. Scottish Swimming developed and introduced a National Learn to Swim Framework in 2014 to support aquatic providers to enhance their community learn to swim programmes.

The Framework, which is supported by Scottish Water and delivered by aquatic partners every week already helps children to become safe, competent, and confident swimmers and these water safety themed lessons are an essential part of the Framework to help educate on water safety.

In Scotland, water charges continue to be linked to council tax bands to ensures that charges are the most progressive in the UK. Higher banded houses are usually expected to be occupied by higher income households and so linking water charges to council tax band will generally reflect ability to pay. In addition, the linkage to Council Tax means that many discounts and exemptions which apply to Council Tax - principally to ensure affordability - are also available for water and sewerage charges (for example single occupant discount, student exemption).

The Principles of Charging for 2021-27 were published on 7 December 2020 and include measures that seek to protect those least able to afford water charges by increasing the maximum discount under our existing water charges reduction scheme (WCRS) from 25% to 35% - this should protect those households from any charge increases across this period. These changes are expected to provide an extra £86 million financial support over the 2021-27 period. Currently over 470,000 households receive some level of council tax reduction. Revised arrangements are expected to nearly treble the number of households that are eligible to receive a reduced water and sewerage bill because of their financial circumstances.

The Heat in Buildings Strategy, published October 2021, outlined an ambitious policy package to significantly accelerate the decarbonisation of Scotland’s homes and buildings. It highlighted tried and tested technologies that can be deployed today, highlighting as strategic priorities energy efficiency, heat pumps in off-gas buildings and some on-gas settings, and heat networks in suitable areas. Over the longer term, additional technologies such as hydrogen may become available.

We continue to support people converting their heating systems to zero emissions ones, targeting that help at those least able to pay. Our delivery schemes which target households in fuel poverty already take a “zero emissions heat first” approach.

Scottish Government-funded domestic energy efficiency schemes recommend low-carbon measures first to increase the energy efficiency of the property and decrease carbon emissions. On 6 September 2021, we ended public subsidy for oil and LPG boilers, the most polluting technologies, in favour of offering zero emissions alternatives.

Our national fuel poverty scheme, Warmer Homes Scotland, designed to help those living in, or at risk of, fuel poverty through installing insulation and heating measures to individual homes recommends low-carbon measures first, alongside a package of insulation measures. In addition, since April 2021, our Area Based Schemes have included additional funding to provide low carbon and micro-generation measures as part of a whole house approach.

Home Energy Scotland Loans are also available to homeowners who live in the property they own and to self-builders. Loans for both energy efficiency measures and renewables measures are available with up to 40% and 75% cashback grants respectively.

We also continue to fund Home Energy Scotland to provide free and impartial advice on how to reduce bills and make homes warmer and cheaper to heat.

The Heat in Buildings Strategy confirms our intention to introduce – subject to consultation – regulations from 2023-2025 requiring Scotland’s homes and other buildings to meet EPC Band C equivalent by 2033, where that is technically feasible and cost effective. We have set out proposals for regulations to come into effect during major refurbishment, change of tenancy and point of sale and are currently working on developing the details of those trigger points.

We have also set out in our Heat in Buildings Strategy plans to reform Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) so they can effectively be used as a basis for regulation and drive and prioritise the energy efficiency and zero-emissions heating systems needed to reach net zero.

We will consult on proposals for regulations, trigger points and EPC reform later this year.

Electric scooters (e-scooters) are illegal to ride on streets and in other public places across Scotland due to a number of pieces of UK-wide and Scottish legislation.

The Scottish Government supports Police Scotland’s recent warning for people looking to purchase an e-scooter this Christmas. It will continue to monitor trends in order to inform future policy on e-scooters.

Electric scooters (e-scooters) are illegal to ride on streets and in other public places across Scotland due to a number of pieces of UK-wide and Scottish legislation. E-scooters can only be ridden legally on private land with the owner’s permission.

The UK Government has signalled its intention to publish proposals in 2022 for potential further legalisation of e-scooters beyond the current trials in England. The Scottish Government is engaged with the UK Government in this regard and once more is known, we will consider any such proposals in order to inform future policy on e-scooters.

Enforcement of the law is a matter for Police Scotland.

Bus service providers and passenger representatives regularly inform us about the additional pressures placed on the bus industry by the COVID-19 pandemic which are compounded by the ongoing consequences of EU EXIT.

We also receive data on driver shortages in Scotland from ongoing Department for Transport bus operator surveys and Transport Scotland is conducting its own monitoring exercise to gather information specifically on COVID-related absences.

The Scottish Government does not hold information centrally on Local Authority workforce data or vacancies.

Scotland’s chemicals, oil refining and manufacturing sectors - to which the Grangemouth region is the main contributor - employs c.7,000 people and contributes an annual GVA of over £800m. However, with that economic strength also comes 30% of all Scottish industrial emissions. A specific focus on Grangemouth is therefore key to achieving a net-zero economy by 2045, and getting this right will be crucial if we are to deliver a Just Transition, not only for the region, but for Scotland as a whole. Futureproofing this vital industrial hub will help support a long-term, sustainable future for Grangemouth.

The Grangemouth Future Industry Board, of which Falkirk Council is a key partner, was established in 2020 in recognition of this. The Board brings together public sector leaders in order to unlock potential investment that boosts the economic development, innovation, and competitiveness of the site, with decarbonisation and just transition at the heart of everything it does. Just Transition has been a topic of Board discussions during the last year, and minutes of these meetings can be found on the Scottish Government’s website.

The Board’s focus has been on the best ways to support the delivery of a Just Transition for the industrial cluster as a whole. Delivering a successful Just Transition will require the input of all who will be affected. The Grangemouth Future Industry Board will be engaging with both industry and wider interest groups across the coming year to understand how to support the delivery of a Just Transition for the industrial cluster in a way that positively benefits all of those involved.

Professor Griggs sought additional time to undertake further engagement before producing the report for the Aquaculture Review.

We expect to receive that report shortly and will of course consider its findings fully, updating Parliament when appropriate.

As part of our Accessible Travel Framework, and recent engagement with disabled people and organisations that represent them, the Scottish Government have committed to exploring the current provision of passenger assistance currently provided at Scotland’s bus stations. To that end officials within the Accessible Travel Policy Team are currently engaging with bus station managers.