 The next item of business is a statement by Hamza Yousaf on improving Scotland's air quality, putting in place Scotland's low-emission zones. The minister will take questions at the end of his statement, so there should be no interventions or interruptions. I call on Hamza Yousaf 10 minutes, please minister. The clean air is essential for our health and wellbeing. Overall Scotland's air quality is good, but we know that areas of poorer air quality still exist in some of our towns and cities. We also know that some groups in society, the very young and old, those with existing respiratory conditions, those with cardiovascular vascular conditions, are more likely to be affected by poor air quality. People rightly expect to be able to breathe clean air. The Scottish Government is determined to ensure that we continue to make progress in tackling that particular issue and achieve our vision of Scotland having the best air quality in Europe. Low-emission zones are a tool that we can use to help to manage the impact of vehicle pollution within areas where air quality is poor. They allow us to put restrictions on the vehicles that can enter designated areas and help to encourage a move towards cleaner vehicles and, of course, the greater use of public transport and ambition that all of us share around this chamber. In our programme for government, we committed to establishing low-emission zones in each of the four biggest cities by 2020, with the first being put in place by 2018. In October, it was announced that Glasgow will be the location of the first low-emission zone in Scotland and will be in place, as I say, by 2020. In addition, by 2023, low-emission zones will be established in other air quality management areas, where the national low-emission framework demonstrated its value in improving air quality. That commitment to delivering multiple low-emission zones across Scotland over the next six years is ambitious. It represents the largest ever programme of transport-based air quality mitigation in Scotland. The design and implementation of low-emission zones will be led by local councils, but we recognise that the delivery of those ambitions will require partners for working across the whole of Scottish Government and, indeed, with a range of public bodies. We have therefore created a low-emission zones leadership group with the four largest cities and SIPA to support the implementation of low-emission zones. That will ensure that low-emission zones are based on robust evidence and that stakeholders and the public are engaged and involved. That group will share knowledge and identify issues where nationally consistent standards for the design and delivery of low-emission zones are required. We are working collaboratively with Glasgow City Council as part of the multidisciplinary delivery group that it has established to progress the design of the low-emission zone for Glasgow. Work is under way with Edinburgh City Council, Dundee and Aberdeen City Councils to support them on developing their plans for progressing low-emission zones. Decisions on the location and design of low-emission zones, as I have said, will be led by local authorities. We are urging them to be ambitious in their design, ambitious in their scope with all vehicles being included within the low-emission zones at the appropriate time. The design process will build on the assessment of the evidence developed in partnership between local councils, SIPA and Transport Scotland over the past 12 months. We know that low-emission zones will set an environmental limit on vehicles on designated roads in affected towns and cities, allowing access to only the cleanest vehicle. Only when local authorities create the final designs will we know exactly how many vehicles will be affected. It is intended that low-emission zones Scotland will be based on road access restriction schemes. Those schemes exclude vehicles that do not meet the relevant emission standard with a penalty imposed on non-compliant vehicles when they enter the designated zone. The aim of low-emission zones is to improve their quality. We want to incentivise compliance and discourage non-compliant vehicles from entering the zone. It is, of course, for local authorities to decide the timescales for phasing in or different vehicle types, but we expect that low-emission zones will have nationally consistent lead-in types. Those lead-in periods will allow those affected, bus and commercial fleet operators and private car owners time to prepare before full compliance is required. To support consideration of designing a national consultation on the principles for low-emission zones was launched on 6 September. The consultation closed at the end of last month, on 28 November, with more than 900 responses received—a remarkable response to that consultation. The consultation sought views on issues such as emissions criteria, the scope of the vehicle to be included, enforcement and penalties, and discussion about lead-in times and phasing. Analysis of the response with such high responses is under way, and outputs in the process will inform decision making around the standards to be adopted in the design of low-emission zones. The consultation responses will inform the finalising of the national low-emissions framework document. Going forward, that will provide the framework in which low-emissions zones will be introduced and is a key commitment of the Cleaner Air for Scotland strategy that was published in 2015. I will now turn to one or two of the sectors that may well be, I hope, positively affected by the low-emissions zones. The bus sector is, of course, integral to helping to manage air quality issues in towns and cities, providing a key alternative to private car use. A well-used low-emissions bus fleet will help to reduce emissions. Engagement with the bus industry on low-emissions zones is on-going. Operators have expressed understandable concerns in relation to securing compliant fleets to allow service levels to be maintained when low-emissions zones come into force. To support that, the programme for government committed to working with commercial and bus sectors, the energy saving trust and low-carbon vehicle partnership, to establish an engine retrofitting centre in Scotland. Discussions are well under way with the energy saving trust and the bus sector to establish the bus emission abatement retrofit programme in Scotland. To support that, we have committed £1.6 million for the first phase of the programme by March 2018. The seventh round of the green bus fund has also been successfully completed and will introduce another 47 low-emissions buses into service in due course. We believe that low-emissions zones should also interact with other transport policies. We will encourage local councils to consider wider measures to tackle congestion, such as traffic management and parking arrangements, as part of the consideration of implementing low-emissions zones. That approach could help to improve bus journey times, make car use less attractive and increase modal shift towards active travel and public transport. Low-emissions zones have the potential to act as a catalyst for the reimagined city centre placemaking, which helps to ensure that our city centres remain vibrant places to live, work, shop and socialise. We will encourage local councils to consider low-emissions zones as a component part of larger projects going on in their cities. Low-emissions zones must also be designed with consideration of the potential for unintended secondary effects, such as, for example, the potential for displacement of air pollution to other areas outwith the low-emissions zone. Equality issues are central to consideration, particularly to the communities around our towns and cities who rely on public transport to move around. We anticipate that local councils will carry out equality impact assessments as part of the process of designing the low-emissions zone. Low-emissions zones are not the only measure that will help us to address the issues around vehicle pollution and deliver our vision for the best air quality in Europe. We will continue to drive down vehicle exhaust emissions through our ambitious target for phasing out the need for new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2032. To support that, we will continue to expand the electric vehicle charging network through a range of incentives provided to local authorities, businesses and indeed individuals. Funding will be crucial to that, of course, to support the design and implementation of low-emissions zones to meet the 2020 commitment, which will be considered as part of the forthcoming spending review. The programme for government also established an air quality fund to support local authorities with air quality management areas to deliver transport-based mitigation as identified by the national low-emissions framework. Despite making considerable progress, air pollution remains a significant public health and social justice issue in some towns and cities. Through the introduction of low-emissions zones, we are adopting an approach that will help us to deliver improvements in air quality and public health. It will, of course, benefit people here and now today, but, crucially, it will create a healthier world for future generations to come. The minister will now take questions on the issues raised in the statement, and I will allow you around 20 minutes for that. Members who wish to ask a question, please press the request buttons, and I call Jamie Greene. I thank the minister for sight of his statement, though, with the greatest of respect, there is nothing in this 10-minute statement that we did not already know. The minister confirmed today that the first scheme will be in place by 2018 and are four largest cities by 2020. Well, 2018 is just 24 days away. On these benches, we are supportive of the eventual outcome of the zones but are concerned about the unrealistic timescales for roll-out and a distinct lack of detail in the plans. There remain straightforward and substantial questions that need to be answered. What type of vehicles will be affected by the new access restrictions? When will those vehicles be restricted from entering our cities? Will we end up with confusing and differential schemes in different cities? What type of infrastructure will need to be in place when it goes live? How long will that infrastructure take to build? How much will it cost? Who is going to pay for it? There are many thousands of law-abiding everyday drivers, city centre residents and local businesses who will be affected by those restrictions and are watching those proceedings justifiably worried about the potential of being barred from driving to and from their own doorsteps. Can the minister answer some of those very basic questions today? Hamlethysai Ysaf? Yes, I can. I have the greatest respect for the member and he knows that. What I would say is that it is only right and proper that we come to Parliament, not just with the detail of which I respect him. He may well know some of that but also for having to ask questions just in the manner that he has and to get some clarification and for members across the chamber to ask and to scrutinise and where appropriate critique government policy is. I think that the statement is very much justified in that regard. Some of the questions that he asks, many of them will be answered once we do the analysis of the consultation. I am sure that he may well have responded to that consultation, which asks what kind of vehicle type and so on and so forth. When I was asked about low-missions zones in the committee a couple of days ago, I made the point, which I think that I hope that he will agree with me as a very reasonable one. We will have a national framework for towns, cities and local authorities who wish to adopt a low-missions zone, but clearly that will have to leave flexibility because we know that one size does not fit all. We know that what might work for Glasgow's low-missions zone might not work for Dundee's or other areas of air quality management. We have to allow that flexibility. In terms of 2018 and how, of course, we are only less than a month away from 2018, we do say that we would introduce the first low-missions zone in 2018. I do not expect that it will be on 1 January. Of course, not Glasgow and the national government here are working very, very closely in order to make sure that that is introduced in 2018. To give him some reassurances, I received an email—I think that members across the chamber will have received it from the Federation of Small Businesses—a very welcomed email, an email highlighting what they thought there had to be some consideration, particularly around the idea of phasing and lead-in times. I thought that that was very, very important. Let me give the member—I will finish on this point—as much reassurance as I can that the Government and I know the local authority that we have spoken to understand the need for appropriate phasing and lead-in times. If you look at low-missions zones across the country or across Europe, those lead-in times and phasing times have been crucial. I will give the member the absolute reassurance that we would want to work with the business community and others to ensure that similar labour is done in Scotland. I thank the minister for advance sight of his statement. Labour welcomes the lowering of emissions as a strategy to improve air quality in Scotland. As the British Heart Foundation evidence makes clear, 80 per cent of deaths relating to outdoor air pollution are due to heart disease or stroke. In Scotland, that deadly air pollution is most likely to come from traffic, particularly older, polluting diesel vehicles. With the Glasgow pilot LEZ, does the minister envisage a 2018 launch date with enforcement some years later? Will the LEZs, as we have heard, include private vehicles as well as commercial and public transport? Will automatic number plate recognition technology be used to ensure greater compliance level? Will this be funded by the Scottish Government? Should emissions be reduced per passenger or vehicle? Will SEPA be funded to have more automatic emissions detector equipment, rather than the traditional diffusion tube? Will LEZs require primary or secondary legislation? Finally, will local authorities with LEZs have additional powers of enforcement over polluting vehicles? I will do my best to answer the nine questions that I managed to note down. I will confess from the very beginning that I have no further detail on the diffusion tube issue, which David Stewart raised with me and the Cabinet Secretary a couple of days ago, but my officials are hoping to provide what is an important answer to an important question. I can also start by recognising very much on the record the work that David Stewart has done on bringing forward his ambitions on low-missions zones. I know that he has banged the drum for many years on the issue. Let me try to address some of the issues as best as I possibly can. I said at the committee of which David Stewart is a member, of course, that the Government here realises that we will have to be partners in the funding and the resourcing of low-missions zones. I said in my statement that, of course, we are a week away from the spending review, and, of course, I have been pre-empt than an attempt to pre-empt that. Certainly, we have an understanding from the Government's point of view that we will clearly have to step up and put our money where our mouth is. That conversation is on going with Glasgow, with Edinburgh, with Aberdeen and Dundee. Clearly, we want the local authority to also put its resource towards that. However, there are a couple of questions about enforcement, which I will do my best to give them an answer to. Yes, having looked at the other low-missions zones across the UK, particularly looking at the London example, they do not suggest that enforcement begins from day 1 of the introduction. The committee received evidence from London, if my memory serves me correctly, and they made a very good point about why enforcement had to have a phased approach to that, a leading time for enforcement. I think that there is a sensible argument for that. There is also on the flip side of that, we have to ensure that the timeline does not run away from us. We want, of course, enforceable LEZs as soon as is practical and pragmatically possible because of the outcomes that that can achieve. However, of course, a successful LEZ is one in which there is not racking up any fines, of course, and in which, of course, people are complying with the designated zone. The other question that had enforcement was about number plate recognition. Again, it will be for the local authority to come forward with the infrastructure that they think is the most appropriate. I think that the member and I are probably one in the same on this, that there should be no talk of doing LEZs on the cheap. Frankly, when it comes to enforcement, when it comes to the designation of the zone, the latest technology, the best technology possible, where Scotland can lead on that, is something that we should strive to, while, of course, consideration of the budgetary constraints that we are under. I could not give my definitive about whether Glasgow or Edinburgh are looking at number plate recognition. I know that they are certainly exploring it, but whether they have settled on one enforcement and piece of infrastructure over the other. In terms of question on per vehicle per passenger, what I would say is that, using the measurements that are internationally recognised in relation to air quality, particularly nitrogen oxide, in particular matter, they are the driving force and the measurement criteria behind where an air quality management area exists and where a local strategy exists. We are not looking at necessarily per vehicle per passenger as a measurement criteria. However, the bus industry makes the point to us, and, of course, the more bombs on seats, frankly, on the buses and less on cars, the better for everybody in a win-win. Buses for me are absolutely part of the solution. In relation to the legislation question that he asked, we believe that the legislation exists for the introduction of low-emission zones for some elements of the enforcement. For other elements of the enforcement, I can tell him that we will, if there is any legislative requirement of which we think there might be for some elements of enforcement, I can give him some more detail later on. We will bring that forward in the transport bill to which we have committed to. I can see already that we are not going to get through all the questions. Over to members and to the minister in relation to quicker questions and answers. Graham Day, followed by Donald Cameron. Thank you. Just over 360 buses have been replaced through the Green Bus Fund, and the minister in evidence to the committee earlier this week indicated that some operators were replacing polluting vehicles at their own expense. I wonder if he could give a broader indication of how many low-emission buses he expects to be in service by 2020, taking account of new and through the emission abatement programme retrofitted vehicles. I could not give him an exact number and neither would I try to hazard a guess, but he is right of course in saying that the 16 plus million that we spent on the Green Bus Fund has allowed 362 buses to be greened in. Of course, I have mentioned that there is another tranche forthcoming in the First Minister and a programme for government promise to extend the Green Bus Fund and expand the Green Bus Fund, which I think will be very, very welcome. I would say to the member that, on top of that, we are also going to be working closely with the bus industry to see how we can create the abatement scheme, the retrofitting and abatement scheme, which will, of course, incentivise retrofitting, if that is appropriate. Many bus companies say to me that it is not money for retrofitting and that we do not really want to retrofit a 13-year-old bus that we would rather buy or have assistance to buy a brand new electric bus or a Euro 6 bus. We have to ensure that that fund is also very flexible so that, for different bus companies at different stages, it depends on the age of their fleet, it can make use of that fund. The minister mentioned the concerns of FSB and he will accept that residents and small businesses will be worried about the short timescales outlined in the statement. What assurances can the minister give small businesses, who have enough costs and bureaucracy as it is, about the impact on their enterprises and what action is the minister taking to ensure that those who live and work within those zones and use diesel vehicles are not prejudiced by a failure to engage them during the implementation of ALEZs? You would have heard from my answer to his colleague Jamie Greene that I thought that the FSB contribution was a very welcomed one. I will be looking forward to meeting with the FSB and the chambers of commerce who I have written to today to see where we can have a conversation around low-emissions zones. I hope that he heard from my answer to his colleague Jamie Greene that, although we are looking at introducing the ALEZ in Glasgow by 2018, a phased approach with lead-in times would be taken. That will hopefully give some reassurance to businesses. I am unsure at this stage whether the Conservatives support ALEZs or not, but it would be helpful to get some clarification from them on that matter in due course. However, I can give him an absolute assurance that we will be engaging with the public and with businesses, as well as continually and collaboratively with local authorities. Concerns have been raised in my constituency by, among others, the campus land community council about air pollution and campus land main street in particular. While I welcome the Scottish Government's commitment to put in place low-emissions zones in cities, can the minister advise me what measures will be put in place to reduce air pollution in Scotland's towns? The member will be aware that, as well as the four largest cities that we have committed to introducing a low-emissions zone by 2020, we are also committed to low-emissions zones, where the evidence shows it, and air quality management areas by 2023. We will continue to work with CPA, Transport Scotland, Health Protection Scotland and others very much to further reduce air pollution and deliver benefits for human and environmental health. All local authorities with air quality management areas have in place final or draft action plans, so we are working closely with them. We provide practical and financial support to local authorities to tackle air pollution hotspots, including a total of £4 million in annual funding to improve air quality, and £1 million of which was additional funding. Clean Air Scotland for Scotland has the road to healthier future and sets out how the Scottish Government and partner organisations will further deliver improvements to air quality over the coming years. Although there are no AQMAs declared in, for example, the campus land area, the South Lanarkshire Council will keep the situation under review and will take appropriate action where needed. Claudia Beamish, followed by Mark Ruskell. The minister refers in his statement to the potential for unintended secondary effects of LEZs. I welcome the £1.6 million funding for the bus abatement retrofit programme in Scotland. Can the minister reassure the chamber that heavy polluting buses will not be allowed to move into areas outside LEZ zones? Often, I fear threatening residents' health and deprived suburbs. The member is absolutely right. Again, let me put her in record, I know her interest in this issue and her campaigning on this issue. The member is absolutely right to mention the issue of displacement. I hope that I spoke about that and she heard me speak about it in the statements. We are very, very conscious of that, and I know that local authorities are conscious of that. Glasgow is still to come forward with its final proposals on the scope of the low-emission zone for Glasgow, but clearly we do not want that displacement to affect those areas outside of the Glasgow box or the Glasgow zone, so we are very conscious of that. The question that the minister asked, I would give her reassurances from the bus companies that I have spoken to, particularly the large operators—first buses, stage coaches, McGill's and so on and so forth—and others, Lothian buses—is that their plans for greening their fleet are hugely impressive and ambitious? If she has not visited any of those bus operators that I have mentioned—the large ones—she would do well to do so, because they all understand that this is the way that Scotland is going. I give her an absolute commitment and an absolute promise that, on day 1, no bus with a Euro 3 engine will be outside the low-emission zone. Of course, I do not think that she would expect that to be the case. Can I say that we are working towards having the greenest fleet that we possibly can, and can we help to assist that through the abatement scheme? Absolutely, but can I give her a further assurance that it is not just the Government that has that ambition, but from the bus companies that I have spoken to that they absolutely share that? Mark Ruskell, followed by Liam McArthur. I am notwithstanding the answer to that last question. The statement does identify that only 47 buses went through the green bus fund in the last round, round seven, and that is less than 1 per cent of the total bus fleet across Scotland. Does the minister acknowledge that the acceleration that we need in conversion or the purchase of new buses will need to happen in the years ahead, if we are to tackle not just the LEZs but also to roll out actions to the air quality management areas? Humza Yousaf? Yes, and brevity is absolutely the case now. Clearly, we have made significant progress, but we understand that when it comes to the introduction of low-emission zones, we are going to have to make progress at a quicker speed than we have. That is why, when the spending review comes forward, we will see, hopefully, some more detail on that. However, we are already committing, as I said, 1.6 million to the abatement scheme, which I hope will progress that issue, but notwithstanding what I already said to Claudia Beamish, the member would do very well to assist to get an interest in this issue, to visit the bus operators and hear from them what I think are really ambitious but very well-complanced for greening their fleet. Liam McArthur, followed by Maurice Golden. I thank the minister for early sight of his statement. He refers to the ambition to expand the electric vehicle charging network, which I very much support. Will he recognise that the key to improving the take-up of EVs is improving the maintenance and reliability of that network? Can he outline the steps that the Government plans to take to ensure that that happens? In particular, will he commit to ensuring that there is a default of free-vend on charging points to address some of the problems that have been arising with the current network? I thank the member for the question. I also acknowledge his interest in this. We have met on many occasions electric vehicles and Orkney, of course, as a leader when it comes to the take-up per head per capita of electric vehicles. I share his ambitions and I should say that some of our charging points do default to free, but he is absolutely right that seeing that across the network is a very good idea. I can give him assurance that, after our last meeting, my officials are exploring that very idea that he put forward to me. In terms of the infrastructure, we are very proud that we have over 700 charge points. I think that, from memory, more than 150 of them are rapid charge points. On the infrastructure, yes, we have to expand that. We have a good charging network in Scotland, but we have to absolutely expand that if we want to get towards our vision for 2032. We also have to work on behavioural change as well. I think that that is hugely important. The third thing that we have to do is work on reducing the up-front capital cost of electric vehicles. That is happening due to market forces anyway, due to supply and demand. Clearly, the schemes that we have in terms of conjunction with the Energy Saving Trust, which allow an interest-free loan for the purchase of electric vehicles, are a part of that as well. Any other initiatives will, of course, bring forward in good time, and I am sure that they will be welcomed by the member. Maurice Golden Thank you, Presiding Officer. Urban consolidation hubs can enhance low-emission zones by reducing business costs, helping to standardise freight traffic and tackling congestion and pollution problems. Will the minister expand the trial project in Dundeec to comprehensively cover the city, which is a pollution hotspot, as well as to create another hub in Glasgow, another pollution hotspot, in 2018? Hamza Yousaf I acknowledge the member's persistence on the issue, and I have met him on Freight Consolidation Centre. Of course, there is much evidence to suggest that they help in relation to carbon reduction and improving air quality. I should say that some evidence across the United Kingdom suggests that the impact of them is perhaps not as significant as other measures that we could take, such as low-emission zones. That is not to discard the issue, it is simply to take an evidence-based approach at it. I will say to him that there is a look at and reflect on the question that he asks me. It is not within our current plans to further fund consolidation hubs in Glasgow and some of the other cities that he mentioned, but, again, I will give it consideration. However, he will realise that, with the budget constrictions and restrictions that we have, we will have to invest in them, where I think we can make the biggest bang for that buck. For me, low-emission zones are an exciting opportunity, one that is tried and tested in other parts of the United Kingdom and the European continent. That is not to discard what he says in consolidation hubs at all, and, as I said, I will reflect on his question. I have time for a short question from Ivan McKee. Thank you. I thank the minister for the statement, and I am glad to see its significant focus on modal shift from private to public transport. Clearly, there is a risk of unintended consequences of bus fleets that are not in a position to operate in the LEZs, particularly in Glasgow City Centre, where the same bus would run right through the city. Is there a risk of unintended consequences that lead to a rise in private transport due to unavailability of buses? Can the minister give us any more information on the plans and timescales for the engine refit centre? A short answer, please, minister. He is absolutely right. I would not disagree with Ivan McKee. The introduction of a low-emission zone, its enforcement, has to be coupled with better, more affordable public transport that is more frequent and is more accessible to people. I agree with his points, and that is why phasing times and leading times are very important. I will reiterate my answer to David Stewart. There has to be a balance between the appropriate time that the bus industry needs, that private car owners need and that business needs. I am making sure that we push ahead with that so that we realise the benefits of air quality for future generations to come. That concludes questions. The minister's statement. Apologies to those who I was unable to call. I will give a couple of minutes for folks to move seats round.