Chamber and committees

While the Scottish Government continues to monitor research into issues relating to zero emission vehicles, we have not conducted specific analysis in the potential increase in microplastic waste from electric vehicles.

The Scottish Government is wholehearted in its commitment to supporting our Armed Forces, veterans and their families in Scotland. We want Scotland to be the destination of choice for Service Leavers and their families and that includes Scotland being the best place in the world in which children and young people grow up and learn .

In relation to school admissions, in Scotland, local authorities have a legal responsibility to provide education in their area and publish arrangements for admission of pupils to schools they manage. Local authorities can also reserve places in schools in anticipation of children who may move into the area during the school year. Our expectation is that local authorities, especially those with a significant local military presence, make efforts to engage with local armed forces bases to monitor new demand for places and work with them to identify suitable school places. We have no plans to place additional requirements on local authorities in this regard.

The Scottish Government has published a new Road Safety Framework to 2030 (RSF2030). The Framework sets out a vision for Scotland to have the best road safety performance in the world by 2030 and an ambitious long term goal where no one is seriously injured or killed on our roads by 2050. We will build on what we have already achieved and our new framework will do so through a sharper road safety focus, improved education and evaluation, mode specific targets and stronger connections between national and local levels.

It is the responsibility of The Scottish Government to plan campaign activity based on statistical data and the identification of the most serious risks to people in Scotland. When attending accidents, Police Scotland record contributory factors, being able to select from a list of 78 possible ones and, in 2019 (the last year for which data are available) almost 7,000 instances of these contributory factors were recorded. “Tyres illegal, defective or under-inflated” was recorded on only 14 occasions, and ranked 57 th out of 78.

Therefore, it is unlikely we would consider a dedicated campaign such as you suggest but, we will continue to support Tyresafe’s annual campaign through Road Safety Scotland’s social media channels as well as having occasional background public messages on Traffic Scotland’s Variable Message Signs advising on checking tyre pressure. A 2019 report, “Non-Exhaust Emissions from Road Traffic” concluded the most effective mitigation strategies for reducing wear-generated fine particulate matter are: to reduce overall volumes of traffic; reduce speed limits; and promote good driving behaviour, all of which are part of The Scottish Government’s plans to reduce casualties and improve air quality.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-00649 on 5 July 2021. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/votes-and-motions/votes-and-motions-search.

In relation to school admissions, in Scotland, local authorities have a legal responsibility to provide education in their area and publish arrangements for admission of pupils to schools they manage. The Scottish Government has published Choosing a School: a Guide for Parents which sets out the procedures that parents and local councils should follow in relation to school admissions. It includes specific advice for families moving into a local authority area which will also apply to Crown servants returning from a period abroad. Local authorities can also reserve places in schools in anticipation of children who may move into the area during the school year. Our expectation is that local authorities, will monitor new demand for places in order to meet increases in demand.

The Scottish Government has made a commitment to phase out the need for new petrol or diesel light commercial vehicles in public bodies by 2025; the need for any new petrol or diesel vehicles in public sector fleets by 2030; and the need for new petrol or diesel cars or vans by 2030.

The Scottish Government is aware of the issue of microplastic and other forms of pollution from road vehicles of all kinds. A 2019 report, “Non-Exhaust Emissions from Road Traffic” concluded the most effective mitigation strategies for reducing wear-generated fine particulate matter are: to reduce overall volumes of traffic; reduce speed limits; and promote good driving behaviour, all of which are part of our plans to reduce casualties and improve air quality.

Reducing the number and use of vehicles is central to reducing all types of pollution that they generate. The National Transport Strategy promotes walking, cycling, public transport and bike, car and ride sharing in preference to single occupancy car use. In the Climate Change Plan update published in December 2020, the Scottish Government committed to reducing car kilometres by 20% by 2030.

To date the Scottish Government has had no discussions with either the UK Government or tyre manufacturers on setting tyre abrasion standards.

Delays in obtaining an AWI (2) report will result in a delay in a guardianship order application being decided on by a sheriff. An application for a guardianship order can be for both property and financial matters, and for welfare matters. A sheriff will look to see that the principles of the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 have been given effect to when deciding on a case and the mental health officer considers these principles when compiling the AWI (2) report.

The vision of our National Transport Strategy is that we will have a sustainable, inclusive, safe and accessible transport system, helping deliver a healthier, fairer and more prosperous Scotland for communities, businesses and visitors. The Strategy embeds the Sustainable Travel Hierarchy into decision making, by prioritising walking, wheeling, cycling and public and shared transport options in preference to single occupancy private car use.

It also confirms that future transport investment decisions will be made in line with the Sustainable Investment Hierarchy, ensuring that transport options that focus on the need to travel sustainably and reduce inequalities are prioritised.

I can confirm that Sustrans notified Transport Scotland of its decision to pause applications to the Places for Everyone (PfE) fund for all new projects, due to the fund currently being oversubscribed. Funds continue to be available for the delivery of existing PfE projects. Sustrans will review this position again in September 2021.

The Scottish Government has provided a total of £2,563,599.48 to community transport groups in Scotland during Covid-19 to date. This includes National Concessionary Travel Scheme operator reimbursement , Covid Support Grant, Covid 19 Public Transport Retrofit grant, Community and Third Sector Recovery Programme funding and a grant to the Community Transport Association Scotland.