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The Transport (Scotland) Act 2001 established the discretionary power for local authorities to implement road user charging schemes, including congestion charging and they are best placed to determine whether a local road user charging scheme supports the objectives set out in their local transport strategy.

Any approach should support our shared ambition to a Just Transition to Net Zero, taking into account the needs of those who may be less able to reduce car use, such as carers and those living with a disability, or in rural locations.

As outlined in our draft route map to reduce car use, the scale of the challenge means that we need to take forward a broad combination of interventions, including infrastructure, incentives and regulatory actions. We continue to work closely with local and regional partners to update the route map and will be published on completion of this engagement. We work with all local authorities to support equitable measures which encourage active travel and accompany greater investment in public transport for a fairer and greener transport system in order to ensure a just transition to net zero.

The Scottish Government welcomes His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary for Scotland (HMICS) highlighting the issue of journey-cam footage in its recent report, the thematic inspection of road policing in Scotland.

The Digital Evidence Sharing Capability (DESC) Programme, which is rolling out nationally, will help to enable the ability of a member of the public to submit digital evidence including CCTV, mobile device and computer footage as part of an investigation following a report to the police.

DESC represents an investment by the Scottish Government of £33 million over 10 years, and will deliver significant savings of time and cost in the way that evidence is managed and used.

How Police Scotland use and process the evidence submitted is a matter for the Chief Constable, but I fully expect swifter access to justice and the faster resolution of cases to result from the rollout which will take place across 2025.

The Scottish Government notes the report commissioned by ASLEF and its findings. Every worker should be able to work with dignity and this includes having an access to toilet facilities. The report findings are for train operating companies, as employers to consider.

As stated in the answer to question S6W-29293, NatureScot data does not differentiate between culls undertaken by the private and public sector.

Included below is the information that is held and shows reported culls for the last two years for overall deer cull in Scotland and reported culls for known public owned land. Please note that some areas of public land may be reported through private leases.

The Weeds act is referenced by the direct payments regulations in regard to minimum activity rules around region 1 land which is to say that the control of weeds is one of the minimum activities required in the absence of agricultural production from that land.

Whilst enforcement of the weeds act remains active this is largely used in response to complaints predominantly in relation to the control Ragwort for the protection of horses. The Scottish Government can review the Weeds Act as part of the agriculture reform programme and will look at the relevance of the weeds act provisions and if these should be revised.

The consideration of qualifying land and the active farmer eligibility rules is part of the agricultural reform programme. We will look at how we best support farmers and crofters to deliver the vision for agriculture including the right balance of incentives and conditions to ensure the protection of existing features such as marsh, trees, ponds and scrub.

In accordance with the Reimbursement of Members’ Expenses Scheme the SPCB is responsible for setting and maintaining minimum terms and conditions for the employment of staff by MSPs and for the terms and conditions of parliamentary service staff. I can confirm that the SPCB plans to review the terms and conditions of staff employed by MSPs early in the New Year. The SPCB regularly benchmarks its terms and conditions with other employers to ensure that they continue to support the objective of attracting and retaining staff.

We welcome the Asthma + Lung UK Scotland report and make the following comments in response to the recommendations on air quality and transport:

• WHO guidelines - the review of Cleaner Air for Scotland 2 will consider the current air quality objectives. The 2021 WHO guideline values will be a factor in our considerations.
• Monitoring - air pollution hotspots will generally be where high levels of traffic coincide with locations where large numbers of people are regularly present. The monitoring network and the supporting methodologies are sufficiently robust to ensure that any areas of concern will be picked up.
• Alert system - Know & Respond is a free service to subscribers in Scotland sending registered users an alert message if air pollution in their area is forecast to be moderate, high or very high. Air pollution episodes are rare in Scotland, but this early warning service allows people with medical conditions that may be affected by pollution, to take action to protect their health during periods of higher air pollution.
• Scrap peak rail fares - the final evaluation of the pilot clearly shows that the ScotRail Peak Fares Removal Pilot has not achieved its aim of encouraging a significant shift from car to rail, and therefore it ended on 27 September 2024.
• Accelerate the roll out of electric trains and buses and reduce the proportion of routes using diesel vehicles – we are committed to decarbonising the passenger rail network. Details of how this is to be achieved are set out in the Rail Services Decarbonisation Action Plan. The Decarbonisation Action Plan commits to all passenger diesel trains being replaced; the order and programme in which that is done will depend on business cases and available budgets.
• Utilise the powers of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 to support bus travel - we have delivered all the bus powers within the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 to enable local transport authorities to consider all the powers available to them, including partnership working, franchising and local authority run services which sit alongside their ability to subsidise services.
• Greater incentives to purchase new ultra-low emissions vehicles - since 2011 we have provided over 8,000 interest free loans worth £223,178,275 million which has funded 8,514 ultra-low emission vehicles.
• Audit the electric vehicle charging network annually - we recognise how important a reliable public EV charging network is for instilling confidence in drivers. While we cannot comment on the reliability of commercial charging networks, reliability across the Charge Place Scotland CPOS network is typically very good with charge points on the network available for around 95-98% of the time each month. Where faults do occur they are usually rectified remotely and swiftly with minimal impact on EV drivers.
• Implement Low Emission Zones (LEZ) in further cities and large towns - local authorities have been given the powers to introduce and administer Low Emission Zones as appropriate through the Transport Scot Act 2019. To date four local authorities have used this power, Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Local authorities can apply to amend their LEZ if so required following due process and according to legislative requirements. Any other local authority can submit an application for a LEZ to Scottish Ministers following the due process and according to legislative requirements.
• Vehicle idling - we are undertaking a review of the current guidance on vehicle idling with local authorities.