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Charge points on the ChargePlace Scotland (CPS) network are owned by approximately 400 public, private and third sector organisations that are each responsible for determining the tariffs at the public EV charge points they own. The Scottish Government is not responsible for the procurement of network management services for public EV charge points that transition off the CPS network.

Funding provided by Scottish Government for public EV charging is expected to support the ongoing development of a commercially-driven EV charging market, and so does not impose conditions that limit or specify tariffs to be applied for the use of public EV charging. Projects funded through the EV Infrastructure Fund are required to apply the fair, sustainable and enabling tariff principles, as referenced in Scottish Government’s Vision for Public EV charging, when establishing contracts with private sector charge point operators.

The North of Scotland partnership was awarded over £7 million from Scottish Government’s £30 million EV Infrastructure Fund to enable Highland, Aberdeenshire, Aberdeen City and Moray Councils to work with the private sector to invest in and operate public EV charging.

The funding award was based on a joint application, submitted by Highland Council as lead partner on behalf of all four local authorities. Funding was not awarded to each individual local authority, it was awarded to Highland Council on behalf of the partnership, which is underpinned by an Inter Authority Agreement. The anticipated outcome of the funding allocation is to apply a regional approach to expanding public EV charging infrastructure and leverage matched private sector investment to deliver 570 additional public charge points across these local authority areas.

The regulation of public EV charging is a matter reserved to the UK Government. The Scottish Government is not responsible for performance or contract management of the contract between charge point operator EZO and Highland, Aberdeenshire, Aberdeen City and Moray Councils. Questions regarding this contract are for the local authorities responsible for awarding this contract.

The award of this contract was enabled by the Scottish Government’s £30 million EV Infrastructure Fund. Grant conditions for this fund require that local authorities ensure contracts for operation of public EV charging infrastructure include Key Performance Indicators related to service quality, reliability and availability. The grant conditions also require compliance with current and future UK Government regulations related to public EV charging, including the Public Charge Point Regulations 2023.

Scottish Government currently funds the operation of ChargePlace Scotland (CPS) under a single supplier framework agreement, however, public charge points on the CPS network are not owned by the Scottish Government.

Charge points on the ChargePlace Scotland network are owned by approximately 400 public, private and third sector organisations that are each responsible for awarding contracts for the future operation of the public EV charging points they own. Specific information on current or future contractual arrangements for the operation of these public charge points would need to be requested from their respective owners.

Where a contract is awarded by a public body and subject to Public Procurement Regulations, information on that procurement procedure will be published on the Public Contracts Scotland website.

Through our devolved approach to employability, No One Left Behind, Local Employability Partnerships (LEPs) have responsibility for designing and commissioning services that respond to the needs of the local labour market.

As part of our investment in Specialist Employability Support, all 32 Local Authorities have agreed to implement place and train models of employability support. These models, including DFN Project Search, provide tailored, workplace-based support that helps disabled people and those with long-term health conditions move into and sustain employment. Engagement with employers is a critical aspect of these models, and the Scottish Government would encourage employers to speak to their Local Authority about the opportunities their business can provide, and the support that is available to them.

The Scottish Government also recognises the important role that public bodies can play here as Anchor institutions and in widening access to fair, inclusive and sustainable employment. Health Boards have a strong track record of supporting DFN Project Search and continue to do so. In 2023-24, they offered 59 DFN Project Search internships, providing young people with valuable opportunities to develop skills and gain practical experience across a wide range of NHS roles.

Through our No One Left Behind approach, we remain firmly committed to strengthening specialist employability support for experiencing structural barriers to entering and sustaining employment. Since July 2025, all 32 Local Employability Partnerships have been required to deliver Specialist Employability Support to disabled people and people with long term health conditions, supported by an additional £5million in 2025-26. Our draft 2026-27 budget protects this investment for the coming financial year.

The Scottish Government has not been prescriptive on the model of specialist support that should be implemented. In line with our partnership working agreement with Local Government, local areas will have the flexibility to design and commission services based on their needs. However, I would expect DFN Project Search to be a consideration when partners are planning their provision.

The Scottish Government was not involved in the development of the UK Government Animal Welfare Strategy for England. We will carefully consider the proposals in the Strategy, and where it is possible, and pragmatic, to work jointly and improve the welfare of animals across the UK, we will certainly seek to do so.

Scottish Forestry ensures the protection of nationally important habitats and species by applying a robust and proportionate process to all afforestation proposals under the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Regulations. This process begins by assessing if significant negative effects have been avoided or prevented. Where there are identified significant adverse impacts, particularly within sensitive or high-value ecological areas, Scottish Forestry requires the proposal to enter the full EIA consent process. This ensures that risks are comprehensively assessed and that appropriate mitigation measures are secured before any consent is granted.

Scottish Forestry is the competent authority responsible for regulating woodland creation. Their assessment of afforestation proposals follows a defined process governed by the Forestry (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017 and supported by the UK Forestry Standard (UKFS). The process involves several stages designed to identify, avoid, prevent and where necessary, mitigate negative impacts on environmental receptors, including biodiversity, set out in the Regulations. Therefore, there is already a robust assessment process that provides a strong consideration of protected habitats, priority habitats, protected species and designated sites.

This information is not held centrally. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service publish workforce figures annually and the latest figures can be found at Statistics | Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.