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The Scottish Government does not hold centralised data on the number of bus stop bypasses, also known as floating bus stops, currently under construction or planned across Scotland. Responsibility for the planning, design and delivery of bus and active travel infrastructure rests with individual local authorities. As such, detailed information on specific infrastructure projects, including bus stop bypasses, is held with the local authority. You may wish to contact the relevant local authority directly for the information on projects in their area.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that the opinions of disabled people, including those with sight loss, are fully considered in the design and approval of active travel infrastructure. The second National Transport Strategy sets out key priorities for the transport system in Scotland, including ‘reducing inequalities’ and ‘improving our health and wellbeing’ as two of its key priorities’, and places inclusive design at the heart of transport planning. When considering designs such as bus stop bypasses, delivery partners are required to ensure that funded projects have undertaken all statutory procedures, including but not limited to an Equality Impact Assessment. Through this process, the Scottish Government expects delivery bodies to undertake meaningful engagement with equality groups to ensure that lived experience, including that of people with sight loss, directly informs design choices. This helps to ensure that active travel infrastructure supports safe, independent and confident travel for everyone.

The current guidance for Scotland was published in 2021 in the ‘Cycling by Design’ document and includes recommendations for incorporating cycling facilities where these interact with bus stops.

The Scottish Government recognises the challenges that cycle infrastructure at bus stops, including bus stop bypasses and shared use bus boarders, can present for some people. It is also conscious of the benefits that connected, coherent and protected cycle networks can achieve. Recognising this complexity Transport Scotland commissioned independent research in 2021, which was jointly funded by Department for Transport, to investigate issues of inclusion where bus stop bypasses have been introduced. The study reported in 2023, with recommendations on developing the design guidance in Scotland to enhance bus stop accessibility.

The forthcoming updates to Scotland’s design guidance, supported by this research and ongoing engagement including with disabled people, are to focus largely on emphasising best practice messages. Transport Scotland will continue to engage directly with UK Department for Transport and review any updated guidance from Active Travel England, in relation to the UK Government Bus Services (No. 2) Bill.

Bus stop bypasses are a specific type of layout which divert the protected cycle track around the back of the bus stop waiting area, ensuring that bus passengers are not affected by cycle traffic as they board and alight the bus. The Scottish Government is not aware of any intention of the UK Government to pause the installation of such types of bus stops, and does not intend to pause their installation in Scotland.

The Scottish Government understands that the UK Department for Transport intends to write to local authorities in England to request a voluntary pause in new installations where passengers board and alight directly into a cycle track. The Scottish Government does not currently intend to pause the roll-out of these facilities and already provide guidance on their use through the ‘Cycling by Design’ document. Their provision should be carefully considered on a case-by-case basis by the Transport Authority.

The Scottish Government funds active travel infrastructure through delivery partners such as Local Authorities, Regional Transport Partnerships and National Park Authorities. As such, Equality Impact Assessments (EQIAs) related to specific design elements, such as bus stop bypasses are typically carried out by these delivery partners as part of their statutory duties during project development and delivery.

While the Scottish Government does not directly conduct EQIAs for infrastructure designs related to delivery partners, we require delivery partners to ensure that all funded projects comply with relevant statutory procedures, including consideration of impact on disabled users.

This approach is consistent with the outcomes of the second National Transport Strategy, which seeks to deliver a fairer transport system that meets the needs of everyone, and with the recommendations of the second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2), which emphasise the importance of inclusive and accessible active travel networks.

The Scottish Government remains committed to ensuring that Scotland’s prison estate is safe, secure, and fit for purpose. In 2025-26, the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) was allocated £355m of capital funding to enable them to progress the major projects HMP Highland and HMP Glasgow, as well as wider estate maintenance.

HMP Highland, which will replace HMP Inverness, is expected to be completed in 2026. HMP Glasgow, which will replace HMP Barlinnie, is expected to be completed by 2028. The wider maintenance programme encompasses a range of activities aimed at ensuring the continued safety, functionality, and efficiency of the physical estate, including asset replacement, building fabric maintenance, surveys and condition assessments and compliance and safety works, with varying time-scales for delivery.

Future capital funding for the Scottish Prison Service is being considered as part of the annual budget process and the Scottish Spending Review, due to be published alongside the 2026-27 Scottish Budget.

The provision of opioid-substitution treatment in prisons is a matter for local services. The Scottish Government notes that the transition from prison to the community is a high-risk event in a recovery journey and welcomes moves to join up prison health services with the support available in local communities.

Through the National Naloxone Programme, we work in partnership with the Scottish Prison Service, NHS Boards and third sector partners to ensure Naloxone is routinely offered prior to liberation. The number of take-home naloxone kits issued by SPS is published quarterly by Public Health Scotland through the programme’s Quarterly Monitoring Bulletin, which provides data to track trends, compare outcomes over time, and assess the impact of the programme on preventing overdose deaths.

Further integration across services and consistent data collection are essential to fully assess the impacts on post-release relapse and re-offending rates.

The Scottish Government understands the importance of Scotland’s hills and mountains and provides investment to help Scots and visitors to Scotland to enjoy them safely.

In addition to the Scottish Government’s annual grant of £300,000 to Scottish Mountain Rescue, sportscotland annually invests around £2million of Scottish Government and National Lottery funding to help ensure the safety of mountain users. This includes investment into Glenmore Lodge, sportscotland’s Avalanche Information Service (SAIS), and the Mountain Weather Information Service.

In 2025-26, sportscotland is investing up to £274,446 into Mountaineering Scotland, the sport’s governing body, which helps to support work on mountain safety. Mountaineering Scotland offer training and information to mountain users to promote safety, self-reliance, and the enjoyment of our mountain environment. They also chair the Mountain Safety Group, which was established to monitor and review mountain safety strategy, collaborate with partners, and provide leadership across mountain safety.

Sportscotland investment in Mountaineering Scotland over the previous five years is as follows:

2020 – 2021- £268,850

2021 – 2022 - £226,260

2022 – 2023 - £244,300

2023 – 2024 - £254,260

2024 – 2025 - £252,050

Electric scooters are covered by the same UK-wide laws and regulations that apply to all motor vehicles. As such, e-scooters need to meet the legal requirements of the 1988 Act – including valid motor insurance; technical standards; payment of vehicle tax; licensing and registration and the use of relevant safety equipment – to use public roads lawfully. In Scotland it is illegal to ride an electric scooter on a public road, pavement, cycle paths, shared paths or any public place.

For electric scooters to be used legally, we await the necessary changes to be made to reserved legislation. Amendments would also be needed to devolved legislation such as the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions, with Local Authorities required to amend their Traffic Regulation Orders that apply to cycle lanes. In anticipation, the Scottish Government is engaging with the Department of Transport and closely monitoring the outcomes of their shared e-scooter trials. While investigating the necessary devolved legislative changes, we are preparing a programme of consultation and engagement to enable Scottish Local Authorities to participate in future shared e-scooter trials.

Scotland’s hills are inherently dangerous with treacherous with changeable conditions, and too many lives are lost unnecessarily each year.

Mountaineering Scotland and Scottish Mountain Rescue’s #ThinkWINTER campaign provides useful information, updates, and tips, shared across social media platforms and websites, as well as a series of winter skills talks.

The Scottish Government are committed to supporting safety in the mountains and are currently working with sportscotland, the Mountain Safety Group and partners, to provide safe opportunities to enjoy the outdoors and reap the physical and mental health benefits of being active in nature.