Transport Scotland - Scottish Transport Summit information and ScotZeb funding data: FOI release

Information requested

1. Could you supply full minutes and briefings from the Scottish Transport Summit held on September 17 2025?

2. How much money has been earmarked for ScotZeb funding in each of the tranches, how much has been spent in total, with a breakdown of where the money went and how much has been left over, and what this money will be spent on?

3. Could you supply all documentation held by Transport Scotland, including correspondence sent and received (including internal), minutes/notes from meetings, briefings and analysis, about ultra low emission zones, from the last three months?

Response

I enclose a copy of most of the information you requested.

Part One Answer

Part one is being responded to under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) as requested.

As mentioned earlier, while our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because an exemption under section 38(1)(b) (personal information) of FOISA applies to that information. This exemption is not subject to the ‘public interest test’, so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.

We are releasing the following documents (with some minimal redaction of personal information as mentioned above) in relation to the full minutes and briefings from the Scottish Transport Summit held on 17 September 2025:

1. Engagement briefing for the Cabinet Secretary for Transport
2. Discussion group facilitators’ briefing
3. Panellists’ briefing
4. Summary of discussion groups

Please note that no formal minutes were taken at the event; however, the summary of discussion groups captures the key points and themes discussed on the day.

Parts Two and Three

As the information you have requested for parts two and three is ‘environmental information’ for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with these requests under those Regulations.

For part two and three of this request, we are applying the exemption at section 39 (2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA. This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

Part Two Answer

The Scottish Zero Emission Bus (ScotZEB) programme supports the adoption of zero-emission buses and their charging infrastructure. The initial value of the scheme was set at £120 million, to be delivered across successive phases. In September 2025 this budget was increased to £150 million, as permitted under subsidy control rules. Information about the scheme can be found on the UK subsidy control database at the following link: Scheme SC10759 - Search for UK Subsidies - GOV.UK - Public user search subsidy scheme details page.

Further details about each phase of the ScotZEB scheme, including funding allocations, awards, and programme details, are published on the Transport Scotland website at Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund | Transport Scotland. For ease, a summary is provided below:

• ScotZEB Phase 1 (SZ1): £62 million was awarded and spent under this round, leaving £58 million of the scheme value available for subsequent phases.
• ScotZEB Phase 2 (SZ2): Up to £58 million was made available for this round, of which £41.7 million was awarded. Of that £41.7 million, £37.4 million had been drawn down by December 2025. Spend for this phase is due to conclude by 31 March 2026.
• ScotZEB Phase 3 (SZ3): Ministers decided to carry forward the remaining budget and increase the funding available for this round, setting aside up to £45 million. Applications are currently open, with a decision about awards expected to be made in early Spring 2026.

Part Three Answer

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance, under the exception at regulation 10(4)(b) of the EIRs a public authority may refuse a request for information if it is ‘manifestly unreasonable’.

While we recognise that there may be some public interest in, “supplying all documentation held by Transport Scotland, including correspondence sent and received (including internal), minutes/notes from meetings, briefings and analysis, about ultra low emission zones, from the last three months?”, this is outweighed by the public interest in ensuring the efficient and effective use of public resources by not incurring excessive costs when complying with information requests. You may however wish also to consider reducing the scope of this request in order to make it more manageable. You may also find it helpful to look at the Scottish Information Commissioner’s ‘Tips for requesters’ on his website at: How do I ask for information? | Scottish Information Commissioner.

The Scottish Information Commissioner’s guidance on the regulation 10(4)(b) exception at: EIRs exceptions | Scottish Information Commissioner says that there may, “be instances where it is appropriate for the Commissioner to consider the proportionality of the burden on the public authority in terms of the costs and resources involved in dealing with a request when considering the application of this exception”. As the exception is conditional, we have applied the ‘public interest test’. This means we have, in all circumstances of this case, considered if the public interest in disclosing information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

FOI 202600500907 - Information released - Documents

File type

PDF

File size

1.0 MB