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The Scottish Government has been clear that it will do what is right and necessary to fix the issue of unsafe cladding fully and from the outset. Developers have a key role to play in the assessment, risk mitigation and remediation of buildings with potentially unsafe cladding. We are working collaboratively with them to ensure a fair and proportionate approach to meeting the costs of cladding remediation.

We shared a draft Developer Remediation Contract on 24 September 2024 with the nine developers who signed the Developer Commitment Letter in 2023. The cost to developers who sign the legally binding contract will depend on how many, if any, buildings with potentially unsafe cladding they have developed, and the scale of remediation or mitigation required for each of those buildings following their assessment. Developers agreeing and signing the legally binding developer remediation contract will be a positive step to ensuring the safety of homeowners and residents in multi residential properties with unsafe cladding.

Additionally, this year’s Programme for Government announced that, subject to the devolution of the necessary powers, the Scottish Government intends to bring forward a Bill to establish a Building Safety Levy in Scotland to support the funding of the cladding remediation programme. As set out in the recent consultation on the Scottish Building Safety Levy, we estimate that this measure would seek to raise £30 million per annum.

Work to finalise the Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) Review is ongoing and at present no publication date has been set. The key purpose of the Review is to consider the responsiveness, impact, efficiency, value-for-money and deliverability of the AHSP. It is not a Review of the 110,000 affordable homes supply target. The Scottish Government remains committed to achievement of this target and we have increased the affordable housing budget by over £200m in 2025-26 to ensure we continue to deliver the homes Scotland needs.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. It should be noted that the presence of RAAC does not in of itself mean that a building is unsafe. Further information on RAAC in the Public Sector in Scotland can be found in this report Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) across the public sector in Scotland - gov.scot

Legislation surrounding the use of e-bikes, their risk to the public and regulatory standards, is a reserved matter for the UK Government. For an e-bike to be legal for use in the UK, they must meet the criteria of an electrically assisted pedal cycle and the electric motor should not be able to propel the bike when it’s travelling more than 15.5mph, with a maximum power output of 250 watts. This ensures speeds similar to that of other bicycles.

In December 2024 Police Scotland issued a media campaign to warn members of the public of the growing trend in illegally modified ebikes and the risk these pose to riders, pedestrians, and other road and path user.

It is every road and path users responsibility to respect others and the Highway Code outlines both rules and guidance for everyone. Members of the public who are seeking clarity on the standards required to ride on public roads should visit https://www.gov.uk/electric-bike-rules

Legislation surrounding the use of e-bikes is a reserved matter for the UK Government. For an e-bike to be legal for use in the UK, they must meet the criteria of an electrically assisted pedal cycle and the electric motor should not be able to propel the bike when it’s travelling more than 15.5mph, with a maximum power output of 250 watts. This ensures speeds similar to that of other bicycles.

From January 2024 and the end of September 2024 Police Scotland made 281 seizures of illegal ebikes. In December Police Scotland published advice on ebikes ahead of Christmas that provides clarity on the standards required to be permitted to ride on public roads.

It is every road and path users responsibility to respect others and the Highway Code outlines both rules and guidance for everyone.

Legislation surrounding the use of e-bikes is a reserved matter for the UK Government. For an e-bike to be legal for use in the UK, they must meet the criteria of an electrically assisted pedal cycle and the electric motor should not be able to propel the bike when it’s travelling more than 15.5mph, with a maximum power output of 250 watts. This ensures speeds similar to that of other bicycles.

Prior to Christmas 2024 Police Scotland published advice on ebikes that provides clarity on the standards required to be permitted to ride on public roads. This received coverage across news outlets in Scotland and on Social Media.

Members of the public who are seeking clarity on the standards required to ride on public roads can visit https://www.gov.uk/electric-bike-rules

We expect to complete the due diligence in Spring 2025, prior to award of the new contract in October 2025.

The costs included in the referral to the CMA are the overall costs of providing ferry services over the coming years, which include the costs of increasing the number of vessels in the fleet, resulting in an increased charter cost to reflect the value of new assets.

Transport Scotland officials met with the Ferries Communities Board on 18 December 2024 to discuss issues related to Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services 3 contract.

I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-31908 on 11 December 2024. 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/written-questions-and-answers

The following table shows the number of criminal cases reported to the Procurator Fiscal Office, Aberdeen where either the decision was made for no action to be taken or was marked for action other than prosecution in court. (Count is by case). Direct measures are an appropriate and proportionate response to lower level offending.

The assigning of a hearing for trial is an order of the court and is recorded within the court’s interlocutor for each case.

COPFS uses a live, operational database to manage the processing of reports submitted to Procurators Fiscal by the police and other reporting agencies throughout Scotland. It is designed to meet business needs in the processing of criminal cases, rather than for statistical analysis. Scheduled trial data is not retained once a date is cancelled regardless of the reason.

Information in respect of cases brought to court is produced by the Scottish Government, using data provided both by COPFS and SCTS. These are national figures and are not produced for individual courts or Procurator Fiscal Offices.