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The Scottish Government offers a range of grants for the installation of electric vehicle charge points at properties, including flatted dwellings where there is access to shared off-street parking. The residential grants are delivered by the Energy Saving Trust (EST) on behalf of Scottish Ministers and are designed to ensure that a lack of traditional off-street parking is not a barrier to EV adoption. More information can be found on the EST website.

Being unable to charge at home using a private charger should not be a deterrent to making the transition to EV. The Scottish Government has invested over £65m to develop the ChargePlace Scotland (CPS) public electric vehicle charging network. CPS now has a network of over 2,500 publicly available charge points spread across Scotland, making it the 4th largest network in the UK and the most comprehensive per head of population outside London.

As part of the comprehensive approach being taken by the Scottish Government, new legislation has also been introduced to ensure new buildings in Scotland are equipped with charge points – for flats with designated parking, one socket for per flat should be provided. Steps have also been taken to amend existing Permitted Development Rights legislation to make it even simpler and quicker to install charging infrastructure, including in residential areas containing all dwelling types.

Police Scotland provided an update on the National Dashcam Safety Portal (NDSP) to officials at the Strategic Partnership Board meeting on 5 June, the highest tier to the Road Safety Framework to 2030 governance structure.

Prior to this, officials received a scoping paper from Police Scotland that outlines what will be required in order to initiate a business case that considers the development and anticipated demand of the pilot project before full national capability can be implemented.

Officials will meet with Police Scotland on 20 July to discuss the next steps.

Our Agencies, on behalf of Scottish Government, commissioned a series of reports into the economic opportunities around battery use and the circular economy, including Scotland as a potential location for future gigafactory opportunities. Our Enterprise Agencies in partnership with Department of Business and Trade and others will continue to respond positively to any business considering gigafactory scale manufacturing in Scotland.

The National Statistics publication Provisional Scottish Sea Fisheries Statistics: 2022 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) provides information on the number of fishers on Scottish registered vessels. On 31 December 2022, there were 4,117 fishers employed on Scottish registered fishing vessels.

We do not routinely collect information on the nationality or migrant status of fishers. We last collected information on the nationality of fishers in 2015 from around 15% of the Scottish fishing fleet. This is published in Scottish Sea Fisheries Employment 2015 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) and showed that 28% of the crew surveyed were from outside the UK.

Some more recent information on the nationality of fishers was collected from a sample of vessels by Seafish in 2021. This is published in 2021 Employment in the UK Fishing Fleet — Seafish. This publication shows that, based on the sample of Scottish vessels surveyed, 31% of the workers were from outside the UK. If a similar proportion of non-UK workers were employed on Scottish fishing vessels in 2022, then approximately 1,300 fishers were from outside the UK.

As required by Section 103 of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010, the next report to the Scottish Parliament on Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) will be published in 2024. Reporting occurs in a 6-year cycle. The last report was published in 2018, and is available here: Marine Protected Area Network - 2018 Report to the Scottish Parliament - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).

The Islands Connectivity Plan (ICP) will replace the Ferries Plan but be broader in scope, taking account of aviation, ferries and fixed links, as well as onward and connecting travel issues. The ICP will consist of several delivery plans with a short strategic document setting out the Government’s strategic objectives and policies for island connectivity, based on supporting delivery of the National Transport Strategy (NTS2) and the National Islands Plan, and be informed by the outcomes of the Strategic Transport Projects Review 2.

It is envisaged that the strategic ICP document will set a vision and outline good practice for delivery of ferry services in Scotland which will support local authorities in the preparation of any delivery plans they require for their areas of responsibility.

The Scottish Government unequivocally condemns any form of hate crime. The latest figures from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service are a reminder to redouble our efforts to tackle hate and confront prejudice wherever it occurs. We are resolute in our commitment to tackling all incidents of hate crime and we encourage everyone who experiences or witnesses hate crime to report it directly to the police or by using a third party reporting centre.

In March, we published a new Hate Crime Strategy which sets out our vision for a Scotland where everyone lives free from hatred and prejudice, and where our communities are empowered, inclusive and safe. The strategy makes a number of commitments including ensuring improved support for victims of hate crime, improving data and evidence on hate crime and developing effective approaches to preventing hate crime. It will also support implementation of the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021.

A delivery plan, setting out our immediate and longer term activity, will be published later this year.

The responsibility for the ferry and terminal replacement programme for inter-island ferries, is wholly a matter for the local authority that run those services. The Scottish Government continues to engage regarding these matters, including through the Orkney and Shetland Islands Councils' Ferry Replacement Task Forces.

As part of the Scottish Government’s Infrastructure Investment Plan set out in February 2021, £580 million was secured to fund a series of vessel and port projects from April 2021 to March 2026. Beyond this, and as part of the Islands Connectivity Plan, the Long-Term Plan for Vessels and Ports is focusing on the key current challenges of replacing or renewing vessel and port assets and increasing the resilience of ferry services and ferry fleets across both the Clyde and Hebrides and Northern Isles networks.

The potential impacts on the future transport connectivity needs and any impacts on the Clyde & Hebrides and Northern Isles Ferry Services will be considered as part of the Islands Connectivity Plan in conjunction with the local authorities responsible for implementing the Islands Growth Deal.

Orkney Islands Council and Shetland Islands Council are wholly responsible for their inter-island ferries, including considering any such impacts.

Orkney Islands Council is wholly responsible for their inter-island ferries, including setting the service levels. However, the strategic document of the Islands Connectivity Plan will aim to set a vision and outline good practice for delivery of ferry services in Scotland which will support local authority delivery plans.