Introduction
Background
Transport Scotland’s purpose is to deliver the Scottish Government’s vision for transport, as set out in the 2020 National Transport Strategy 2 (please note that the Scottish Government covers both core government as well as its agencies, such as Transport Scotland).
The National Transport Strategy 2's Vision Statement is expressed as follows:
“We will have a sustainable, inclusive, safe and accessible transport system, helping deliver a healthier, fairer and more prosperous Scotland for communities, businesses and visitors.”
This Vision is based upon four priorities: reducing inequalities, taking action against Climate Change, helping to deliver inclusive economic growth and improving health and wellbeing. The importance of these priorities was reflected in the First Minister’s Priorities for Scotland statement to Parliament in May 2024, where he set out his intention to reach Net Zero to tackle the Climate Emergency as well as grow Scotland’s economy, including through promoting further investment in renewable energy.
Scottish Ministers are committed to decarbonising the transport sector. In 2023, the Vision for Scotland’s Public Electric Vehicle Charging Network was published, setting out the attributes of an exemplar Scottish public electric vehicle (EV) charging network through the achievement of five themes. These themes focus on a sustainable, effective and accessible public charge point infrastructure, largely driven by private sector investment. In line with the UK Climate Change Committee recommendations in their 2023 report to Parliament; Progress in reducing emissions in Scotland , Transport Scotland has now published a draft Vision Implementation Plan (VIP). This plan includes the proposed roles, responsibilities and actions that can be taken by stakeholders in the expansion of the EV public charging infrastructure to ensure that the Vision is delivered.
Policy Landscape
Scottish Government “parent policies”
The draft Vision Implementation Plan is a forward-looking framework document that collates activities that are already, or will in the future, be undertaken by a wide range of stakeholders. Achieving the Vision for the public EV charging network will require leadership from business, Government, individuals and the third sector. There is a history of collaboration, and continued collaboration will be essential.
The actions for Government are in line with previously announced policies that are either specific to public EV charging or part of “parent-policies” which have already set the policy direction with regards to transport decarbonisation in Scotland.
Impact assessments have informed the development of parent policies and strategies which form the policy landscape of which the Vision and its Implementation Plan are part. These policies and strategies are listed below, and a summary of each policy / strategy can be found in Annex B:
- National Transport Strategy 2 (NTS 2), 2020.
- Climate Change Plan Update 2020.
- Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR 2) 2022.
- National Planning Framework (NPF4), 2023.
UK Government strategy
The UK Government published Taking charge: the electric vehicle infrastructure strategy in March 2022, which outlines its plan to expand EV charging infrastructure to support the transition to zero-emission vehicles. It states that the UK Government’s role is to set out the overall vision, define the outcomes and monitor progress and that devolved administrations are responsible for doing the same for the charging infrastructure in their devolved area. On page 83, the role of the UK Government is also stated as to: -
“provide legislative, regulatory, funding and support frameworks to deliver a well-functioning, competitive market with targeted interventions where required.”
The two major interventions from the UK Government which relate to Scotland (as opposed to other policies which refer to England and /or England and Wales) are the Public Charging Regulations and the Electric Vehicle Chargepoint Grant.
The UK Government introduced new Public Charge Point Regulations in October 2023, with six areas of regulation being introduced over the following two years. Its key provisions are around price transparency, contactless payment, reliability, the provision of a helpline, open data and roaming.
The Electric Vehicle Chargepoint Grant for Households with On-Street Parking offers up to £350.00 to cover the cost installing cross-pavement charging (total budget unknown).
The Integrated Impact Assessments
In parallel with the development of the draft Vision Implementation Plan, which sets out actions to implement various existing parent policies, this draft Integrated Impact Assessment report provides a summary of existing impact assessments (developed alongside the parent policies / strategies detailed above) that directly support the implementation of Scotland’s Vision for public EV charging infrastructure for cars and vans and the key actions that may need to be taken forward by the Scottish Government. The Transport Transition Plan – Statutory Assessments Interim Update from September 2020 was published to support ongoing policy development as Scotland’s transport system prepared to transition through the COVID 19 crisis. This interim update has been utilised in this draft integrated impact assessment report, even though the final Transport Transition plan has yet to be published, as it contains relevant detail to the decarbonisation of transport.
An explanation of each type of impact assessment and its requirements can be found in Annex A. If new policies emerge in future, they may need their own impact assessments.
With respect to the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), we prepared a screening report for the Draft Vision Implementation Plan and can confirm that the Scottish Government has determined, using the criteria set out in Schedule 2 of the Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005, that this framework document is not likely to have significant environmental effects. This being the case, a Strategic Environmental Assessment is not required.
The draft Implementation Plan and this draft Integrated Impact Assessment Report have been shaped based on feedback from key stakeholders through a series of one-to-one meetings, written feedback, and a virtual workshop with almost 60 attendees from across Scotland and the UK. These documents are being published together to provide information on the anticipated roles, responsibilities and actions assigned to the primary stakeholders, including the Scottish Government. The inclusion of the integrated impact assessment is to enable consultees and the wider public to form a view on the impacts and mitigations put in place to comply with the requirements placed upon Government for each of the mandatory assessments which have been deemed necessary for this work. Further views will be collected via a public consultation in 2025, the outputs of which will inform the updated and final Vision Implementation Plan and this Integrated Impact Assessment report, both of which are due to be published in 2025.