 Thank you Minister, we will now have to move on to the next item of business. The next item of business is a statement by Michael Matheson on supporting the transition to zero-emission vehicles. The Scottish Government's vision for the future public electric vehicle charging network. The Cabinet Secretary will take questions at the end of his statement and so there should be no interventions or interruptions. I now call on Cabinet Secretary Michael Matheson, up to 10 minutes please. I think maybe the cab sex card's not in, or not in, could maybe the cab sex extract it and re, yes. Thank you, Presiding Officer. How we travel on Scotland will be transformed in the next decade. We want people to travel more sustainably. Last week I set out this Government's 20-year strategy for investment in transport infrastructure with a clear emphasis on making transport in Scotland more sustainable. On Monday the first under 22s will start travelling for free anywhere in Scotland by bus, helping the next generation to choose to travel more sustainably. We have also set out our route map to cut the car kilometres travelled by cars in Scotland by 20 per cent by 2030. Today I am pleased to announce the publication of a draft vision for Scotland's public electric vehicle charging network. I acknowledge that this might seem at odds to the route map. It makes clear that we want more people out of their cars, however they are fuelled, and travelling more sustainably. However, where road journeys are needed, those must use the cleanest technologies available. Electric vehicles have a key role to play, not least in helping us to reach our target to car emissions by 70 per cent by 2030 and to zero by 2045. Moreover, we have already acknowledged that cars and vans will still be needed, particularly to get around in rural and island communities. If we want those cars to be electric, we will also need a seamless network of public electric vehicle chargers. That network must be accessible and available to all. That draft vision sets out how we will seek to achieve that and recognises that tomorrow's network will be very different to the network of today. The public charging network must become an essential part of local and national infrastructure, a key pillar of a prosperous green economy and a cohesive and fair society. We can be rightly proud of the progress that Scotland has already made in delivering the Charge Place Scotland network. We have invested more than £50 million to create a network of more than 2,100 public charge points across Scotland. According to the latest statistics, the network is the largest per head of population in the UK outside of London. Scotland's rapid charge point provision far outstrips anywhere else in the UK. In December 2021, electric cars made up 21.4 per cent of all new car sales, and the rolling 12-month average of new electric car sales grew by 24 per cent on 2020. The Scottish Government has supported this growth. We have provided almost £150 million of interest-free loan funding to enable households and businesses to switch to zero-emission vehicles. We have supported the installation of over 14,000 charge points at people's homes and almost 1,400 at business places. We have invested over £60 million to help the public sector decarbonise almost 3,500 public sector vehicles. Demand will clearly continue to grow. By 2030, we might expect there to be between 500,000 and 1 million electric vehicles, and from then, it will not be possible to buy a new petrol or diesel car for van. Meaning this demand requires a comprehensive approach. Last July, a joint report from Transport Scotland and the Scottish Future Trust set out how we might develop the public electric vehicle charging network, including through greater investment skills and expertise from the commercial sector. That is a key point. I recognise that some might wish for a fully publicly owned and funded network, but with the fiscal levers and the resources that we currently have, that is simply not feasible. Nor is it desirable that 30 per cent of people do not own or run a car. That figure rises to 60 per cent for people from lower incomes and those who live in deprived areas. That is also a fast-growing market, with rapidly developing technologies and innovation, and a mix of new companies and established businesses in car, fuel and related industries. We want Scotland to benefit from that. A key aim in the draft vision is to lever in more private sector investment to support the growth of Scotland's public charging network. I can announce today that we will launch a new public electric vehicle infrastructure fund worth £60 million over the next four years, with around half of that coming from the private sector. We can anticipate that investment doubling the size of Scotland's existing network of charge points over the next few years. That new fund will draw in a smooth commercial investment so that the future charging network is there to work for everyone. In particular, it will seek to ensure that public and private funding reaches remote, rural and island communities, as well as more deprived urban areas. It will deliver charging opportunities to areas where off-street parking is not possible, and it will support households living in flats to ensure that every individual, family and business can benefit from that transformation. Our partnership with local authorities matters, too. I can also announce today that we have provided £350,000 of funding to projects covering 17 local authorities. That will enable them to determine how best to develop electric vehicle infrastructure in their areas. Scotland's public electric vehicle charging network must also be sustainable in its own right. There is no point creating infrastructure to help to reduce emissions if that infrastructure is fuelled in a way that contributes to emissions indirectly. In short, our public charging network must be powered on clean green energy. A whole system approach is needed as signalled in our 2017 energy strategy, and work is under way to deliver that. Collaboration is already delivering results, as demonstrated through the strategic partnership with Scotland's electricity distribution network operators, including Project PACE, which delivered around 170 charge points in north and south Lanarkshire, with savings of up to £2.6 million. We want our vision for Scotland's public charging network to deliver jobs, investment and support adjust transition. By aligning with future smart grids and adapting and innovating, that network will seek to place Scotland as the global destination for investment in zero-emission mobility. The Government is determined to realise all the opportunities for new skills, new jobs and businesses to support the implementation and maintenance of widespread EV charging infrastructure. It is part of our plans to also transform Scotland's economy. However, there is no point in developing an infrastructure if it is not easy to use and reliable. Scotland's future charging network must deliver what the public needs and wants. We know that existing charging infrastructure does not always adequately serve people with mobility needs, and women drivers have also raised concerns about some charge point being in poorly lit locations and feeling unsafe. Residents, pedestrians and people with disabilities also complain of charging infrastructure that impedes pedestrians' access to pavements and their ability to move around freely. We can do things better. I am pleased, therefore, that we will soon begin work to do it with design specialists at the V&A in Dundee to plan a genuinely user-centric public network. This innovative groundbreaking approach will see people's diverse needs and interests shape the future network. Transforming how Scotland travels requires bold ambitions and actions. Over the past few weeks, this is what this Government has set out, and, of course, there is more to come. Our draft vision for Scotland's future public charging network and the announcements that I have made contribute to this. It sets out how we will evolve and involve other public agencies and the private sector to create a truly nationwide network. It outlines how the network will contribute to a sustainable economy and a greener and fairer Scotland. Our aim, ultimately, is to build a network that is available to everyone who needs to use it everywhere in Scotland. Thank you. The cabinet secretary will now take questions on the issues raised in his statement, and I intend to allow around 20 minutes for questions after which we will move on to the next line of business. I would ask those members who wish to ask a question to please press the request-to-speak buttons now, and I call on Liam Kerr. We all share a vision of car journeys being made in the cleanest way possible, but absent the seamless, accessible and available EV network the cabinet secretary dreams of is difficult to see how it is going to happen. It is absent. The climate change committee said that we need 30,000 public chargers by 2030. The statement suggests that we have around 2,100. That means that we need to be installing around 4,000 a year. Despite the fact that I stood here in September and made exactly this point, all that we have here is an intention to double the network over the next few years. I ask again, will the Scottish Government get to the necessary 30,000 chargers by 2030? Secondly, the public EV infrastructure fund of 60 million over four years has half coming from the private sector. Can he tell us which companies are investing that 30 million? When he says that he anticipates the investment doubling the number, does his anticipation have any basis in data and analysis that can be supplied? Finally, the cabinet secretary says that our partnerships with local authorities matter too. Yet the net zero committee heard that there has been a lack of strategic consultation and coordination between the Scottish Government and local authorities. What consultation has taken place with the local authorities to determine what is deliverable, why are 15 of them not getting anything? Does he really think that that funding will compensate for a 371 million cut in the budget? Let me pick up on a number of points that the member has made reference to in terms of anticipating that this will double the network. On the basis that our existing network has been delivered with investment from around £50 million of investment, £60 million, it would be reasonable to say that it will double the network. Also, technology is moving on in terms of the nature of the way in which chargers operate and the cost associated with them as well. He rightly makes the point in terms of the potential demand for charging infrastructure right across the whole of the UK. In fact, he makes the point about 30,000 potential chargers being required in Scotland or what is 250,000 charging points right across the whole of the UK. It is a significant challenge because it is a significant piece of infrastructure that needs to be put in place. I am sure that the member is grateful for the fact that Scotland has one of the most detailed and highest levels of charging infrastructure of any part of the UK outside London. In seeking to increase that charging network by almost double over the closer of the next few years, it demonstrates the scale of our ambition in driving that forward. In relation to the private sector investors, what is very clear from the work that we have carried out through the Scottish Future Trust in Transport Scotland is that there is significant interest in the private sector to invest in our public charging network. The key issue here is about making sure that that investment also complements the investment that taxpayers are making so that we get the best spread of investment across all parts of Scotland and that we do not repeat the errors of the UK Government when it came to the roll-out of broadband, for example, which left rural errors completely disadvantaged. We want to make sure that we get that investment right in a way that we do not find ourselves having to clear up the mess that is created by the UK Government in broadband by making sure that that investment is spread right across the country. That is the difference with a Government in Scotland taking the right action as opposed to his colleagues at Westminster. I can also assure the member of that this is the type of ambitious approach that we have here in Scotland to deliver the type of charging infrastructure that helps to make sure that only do we see the investment happening in urban areas but we see it happening in rural and island communities as well to ensure that no one loses out in the transformation to low-carbon vehicles. I call Colin Smyth, who is joining us remotely. Thank you, Presiding Officer, and thank you to the Cabinet Secretary for Advanced Sight of His Statement. The Cabinet Secretary says that today's announcement will mean over the next few years the size of Scotland's existing network of public charge ports, which is currently just over 2,000, he says. We will double. Presiding Officer, we do need to go further and we need to go a lot faster than that. As we have heard, the Climate Change Committee implies that a Scottish total of around 30,000 will be needed by 2030. Transport Scotland also says that a ratio of one public charge point for every 10 electric vehicles is sometimes quoted as a guide for provision. Based on the estimate given today by the Cabinet Secretary for the Number of Electric Vehicles, that would mean anywhere between 50,000 and 100,000 public charging points by 2030. Cabinet Secretary said that today's announcement won't deliver either 30,000, never mind 50,000 of those public charging points. What exactly is the Government's target by 2030? He also says that a partnership with local authorities matters, too, but we know that charging points must be maintained. Will the Cabinet Secretary tell us what revenue funding will be given to councils to carry out that maintenance? Finally, today's announcement refers only to public charging points. However, when will the Government bring Scotland in line with England and make a legal requirement that all new homes with a park in place should be built with an electric charging point? Let me deal with the last point that was raised by Colin Smyth in relation to new homes and new non-residential properties, which we have recently consulted on and we are presently considering the feedback from that consultation with a view to introducing requirements for charging infrastructure to be provided in new homes and in new non-residential premises, and we will make an announcement of that in the very near future. In relation to the partnership working that the member makes reference to with local authorities, he will recall from my statement that I have just announced £350,000 being made available to take forward what are six pilot projects to work across 17 local authorities, who have all indicated their interest in helping to shape their charging infrastructure planning. That money has been provided to them to assist them in that particular process, to allow them to develop those plans in order to make sure that both the public and private sector investment that is into them reflects what they believe is required within their local communities. In relation to his point, around 30,000 charging points, I accept the challenge, as I mentioned to Liam Kerr, about the need to scale up the level of investment that is necessary in our public charging network, which is why we need to lever in commercial finance to help to support delivering in that. That is exactly what this proposal sets out in an announcement that I have made today of up to £60 million over the course of the next couple of years, both public and private finance, to help to deliver that objective of what I hope will now see a doubling of our network in the next couple of years, and we want to build on that in the years to come following that investment. The announced fund is hugely welcome. I would like to ask if that will mean that there will be more rapid chargers in our main routes across Scotland and that those will be in safe and well-lit locations, full disclosure, someone who has an electric car herself. It has become very apparent to me in the past seven or eight months as a lone female driver that reliable rapid charge is absolutely essential so that you are not spending hours alone in your car, and that the chargers should be located in areas that are safe. I was pleased to hear that reference in the cabinet secretary's statement. I would also like to ask what has been done to ensure that issues with chargers are fixed more quickly by the companies who have the contracts to do so. I hope that those who do have the contracts take experiences of drivers into account, and I would be happy to pass mine on good and bad. Gillian Martin is an important point. I am in relation to the location of chargers and I need to make sure that they are in safe and well-lit locations. If I think of a couple of examples that I have been directly involved in, for example at Falkirk Stadium, which is a well-lit CCT covered area, the same at Castle View over in Stirling, which is a new facility. Some of the older facilities are not in those types of locations. They can be poorly lit with no CCTV coverage, so we need to make sure that, in planning, that is why we are providing funding to local authorities to help to support them in planning around some of this, to ensure that there are the types of locations that the member made reference to and including the expansion of rapid chargers. As I made the point in my statement, my statement is that Scotland has one of the most extensive networks of rapid chargers for any part of the UK, and we are building on that with further investment into the public sector rapid charger network. In relation to repairs, the contract has shifted to a new agency that is responsible for charge-placed Scotland and, by and large, most of those that are reported with a fault are repaired within 48 hours. There is an issue in terms of at times some going beyond that, but that is an issue that continues to be pursued with the Charms Maintenance Companies. I just want to go back to the question that Liam Kerr asked. That is about how the Cabinet Secretary plans to hit that 30,000 target by 2030, if indeed he thinks he can, because at the current rate of progress, it will take us until 2066 to hit that target. I do not see anything in this statement and the accompanying document which charts a course to get there. Perhaps I have missed it and, if I have, can the cabinet secretary correct me? There are a number of different factors to take into account. It is a combination of public charging and private domestic charging, so what there will be is a much greater expansion of domestic charging than we have at the present moment. Although we have saw investment that has helped to support some 14,000 chargers to be installed into homes and premises, we will see a greater expansion of that, including if we change a legislation that requires them to be installed both in domestic and non-domestic residential premises. That will help to support the overall number that will be necessary and the way in which people use the charging infrastructure. Alongside that, the number of chargers is also dependent upon the nature and strength of the chargers, so the greater number of rapid chargers that we put in means that the actual duration time that a vehicle is on a charging point is lower and therefore you can get a quicker turnaround in vehicles on them. It is a combination of an application of technology and a greater expansion of domestic and non-domestic charging infrastructure will help to support us in achieving the target that is necessary to support people in making the transition to using zero-emission vehicles. I call Bob Doris to be followed by Richard Leonard. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I have been approached by owners of new homes who are disappointed at the lack of EV charge points within new build developments. I know that the Cabinet Secretary has talked about specific charging points for specific homes, but what opportunities are there to ensure that publicly available charging points can be secured in significant numbers during the planning and build process when new housing developments are being proposed? That is one of the key issues that I mentioned that we are presently. We have just completed a consultation on, and I will look at the provision of EV charging points in new build domestic and non-domestic premises in order to ensure that there is adequate provision being made at the time when they are being constructed. That is an issue that we are also pursuing, not just with the private sector but with the social housing sector. We are also looking at how we can ensure that, in development of any social housing provision, we are also putting in place the necessary charging infrastructure to address the very type of issue that Bob Doris has raised. Does the cabinet secretary think that it is right that 74.2 per cent of Scotland's public network spend on electrical vehicle charging points went to one private company, the Austrian multinational corporation SWARCO, leaving home base suppliers out in the cold? Only today's SWARCO has had to publicly apologise because, once again, the entire network has come crashing down. One electric vehicle driver said to me this morning it has been, I quote, an unmitigated disaster since SWARCO took over. Does the cabinet secretary really think that an overseas owned, private monopoly supplier is the best way to meet Scotland's needs? I presume that he is referring to the operating companies opposed to the hardware company in relation to those particular charging points. I presume that that is the point that he is making. The reason we have an operator behind that is to provide connectivity between our public electric charging network, so that there is a consistency of approach in dealing with any problems that arise from the public sector network. That is why, through a normal tendering process, they were able to secure that particular contract. I hope that the member will be reassured that it is not about one company over the other that is being a normal public procurement process, but it is about trying to make sure that there is a consistent approach on the public sector electric vehicle charging infrastructure by having the operating company behind it. However, if the member has a particular issue that he believes has not been appropriately addressed on behalf of his constituent, I would be more than happy for the member to write to me, and I am sure that that matter will be properly looked into. I welcome the role that is envisaged for the private sector, but how do we ensure that their involvement does not distort the market? We end up with a network driven by commercial considerations that ends up leaving rural and deprived communities behind. The member makes a really important point here, because the danger is that we repeat the errors. As I mentioned earlier on, to hilarity, as we have heard from the Conservatives, about broadband in the UK Government, where it just allowed broadband to be open to the market. What happened was that rural areas were deprived of the network that was necessary, which the Scottish Government then had to step in and invest in order to deliver that network because of the approach that was taken by the UK Government. I do not want to see that happening in our charging network. That is why this particular plan ensures that we will see investment taking place, not just in our urban areas but also in our rural areas and our island communities as well, ensuring that no one is left behind. That is a very clear demonstration of a Government that is acting in the whole of the nation's interests rather than, as ever, with the UK Government, what is very often just the big monopoly areas—metropolitan areas—in England, as opposed to the rural communities across the country. I thank the cabinet secretary for advance sight of the statement. Rural, remote and island communities in particular rely on their cars and will rely on the EV charge network in the future. What can the cabinet secretary say about the greater commitment for ensuring that all new public sector vehicles are electric? As demand grows, what commitment can be given to the charge given that the charge network will be reliable and robust enough to keep up? The member makes a good point, particularly given her constituents. Orkney has got one of the most extensive charging networks. One of the highest levels of EV cars for any part of the UK is serving it. One of the things that we have with the existing charging network is, on average, about 90 to 95 per cent of the network is available at any particular point. There will be an on-going reporting of faults to make sure that they are addressed around 30 a day, which is about 2 per cent of the network, most of which are repaired within a 48-hour period. I mean to make sure that that level of performance is maintained or improved where it can. In relation to how we ensure that we support the transition, it is very much about making sure that we provide support to those who want to move to electric vehicles, which we do through our electric vehicle loan scheme to support people, which is at a zero rate of interest, to support people in making that choice. We have opened it up to second-hand electric vehicles in order to do so, the first part of the UK, to make that possible. By bringing forward our commitment to banning the sale of diesel and petrol vehicles to 2030 in order to make sure that, as of that date, anyone who is purchasing a new vehicle will need to do so in an EV form. It is important that all those measures are taken forward to help to support the transition to low-carbon vehicles that individuals are using right across the country, including in the member's constituency. Point of order, Liam McArthur. I think that I might know what this might be about. Thank you very much indeed for your indulgence, Presiding Officer. While the cabinet secretary is absolutely correct in what he says about Orkney leading the way in relation to electric vehicle roll-out and charging network and we have aspirations to go much further as he will be aware, my friend and colleague Beatrice Wishart does indeed represent Shetland and not Orkney. I think that the member has made his point and the cabinet secretary has noted the same. I said his point and I did not refer to the point of order to respond to a comment from a sedentary position, but to move on with the statement, I call John Mason to be followed by Dean Lockhart. Thank you very much. I noted that the cabinet secretary mentioned flats in his statement and places where people do not have off-street parking available, so can he say anything about what can be done for residents, which I have to say includes myself, who live in tenements or work in places where there is no off-street parking? My humble apologies to Mr McArthur for giving the wrong constituency to Ms Wishart, although I did notice when I made that point to Ms Wishart that she was nodding in agreement with me. However, I recognise the member's long-standing interest in the issue on behalf of his constituency. He makes a good point, but it is one of the things that we need to do to recognise that not all domestic premises will be able to have a charging point for a whole variety of reasons, which is why we need to make sure that the public charging infrastructure alongside the commercial charging infrastructure is fit for purpose and that it is there and able to be utilised by anyone who has an EV car, whether they are able to charge it at home or whether they are not able to charge it at home. Very often, those who live in tenement properties and flatted properties are by and large—not always, but by and large—on urban areas and have other options in terms of making use of public transport, but we need to recognise that it will not always be possible for all houses to have access to a dedicated charging point, which is why we need to create the right hubs in the right places to help to support people who do own an electric vehicle to be able to charge that as and when they need to. At the net zero committee yesterday, we heard about a major supermarket that is rolling out EV charging points across the UK. In England, the charging points come under permitted development, but in Scotland each site has to go through the planning process, which is slowing down progress significantly. Will the cabinet secretary now work together with local authorities to tackle this issue and ensure that the planning process in Scotland does not act as a roadblock to the roll-out of charging points? I think that supermarkets can play an important part in helping to support the deployment of electric vehicle charging infrastructure. On the very point in which the member has raised, I believe, as an issue that is being considered at the present moment, and I have no doubt that the minister's response before planning who is in the chamber here just now would be more than happy to ensure that the member is kept informed of progress on that particular issue. I call Mark Ruskell, who is joining us remotely to be followed by Co-Cab Stewart. Thank you. Most people who have EVs want to charge them at night. Of course, that has some benefits, the electricity grid as well. The issue here is about off-street parking, as John Mason has already raised, because there are difficulties for those householders in putting in place their own infrastructure, difficulties in accessing grants and the ST. Can the cabinet secretary say anything more about that? Is it possible that the design work that he has commissioned from the VNA might provide a solution so that we get better public facilities that are very close to where people live? It is a convenient choice rather than having to travel to some hub in the middle of a city that might be some considerable distance away from where they live. I recognise the point that the member is making. One of the things that we are doing with the initiative with the VNA and Dundee is to look at how we can help to design the type of infrastructure that can help to ensure that it is much more accessible to people to make use of it. When I mention hubs, it might be that it is a localised hub. If there is no off-street parking that can be utilised by the community for charging their vehicles, it does not have to be miles away. It could be within its own neighbourhood. It is about local authorities planning that. That is why the details in the plan are really important, to try to help to make sure that we balance out where public sector investment can help to provide that type of infrastructure and where the commercial sector might want to provide that type of infrastructure within local urban communities. We need to make sure that we get that right. We cannot compete with one another, but we do so in a way that it helps to ensure that people who live in locations where there is no off-street parking are able to charge their cars within reasonable distances to where they live. Many businesses and organisations have EV charging points for their exclusive use by their staff and customers. I would like to ask the Scottish Government what discussions have taken place with businesses and organisations to make private EV charging infrastructure available to public EV charging networks when staff and customers are not using such facilities? The challenge with that is that, very often, this is infrastructure that is privately owned by the company that has paid for it to be installed. It would be at their discretion should they choose to allow those facilities to be used outwith the core times that they may be utilising them. Most of the investment that we make in helping to support businesses and public sector organisations to put in infrastructure will very often have an element where it is open to public outwith core hours to make use of the facilities. One of the things that we will continue to do is to try to work with the private sector to look at how we can capitalise on and make as much use of the EV charging infrastructure that is being installed by the private sector to try to open that up to public use when it may be available. There is a challenge with that and that is that it is funded and paid for privately and it is very much at the discretion of the owners of those particular facilities. That concludes the statement and apologies to the couple of members that I was not able to squeeze in, but we have overrun our time and need to move on to the next item of business. There will be a very short pause before we do so.