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Since 2021, Scottish Ministers have regularly met with Council Leaders, including Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, to discuss a range of issues of mutual interest.

The First Minister and previous First Minister have also committed to meeting with the COSLA Presidential team biannually to discuss key priorities and issues for local government. The First Minister and previous First Ministers have also delivered keynote speeches at the COSLA Annual Conference since 2021.

As a result of £65m of public investment since 2011, and increasing private sector investment, Scotland has one of the most comprehensive public EV charging networks of any part of the UK, with over 5,800 public EV charge points, and is on target to have 6,000 public charge points by 2026. On a per head of population basis Scotland has more public charge points than any other part of the UK except London, and more rapid charge points than any other part of the UK.

The Scottish Government does not collect information about how many public EV charge points are suitable for any particular vehicle type. However, EV charge point parking spaces designed to accommodate passenger cars should also be able to accommodate the majority of light commercial vehicles which have broadly similar dimensions. Engagement with industry suggests that many larger fleets do not intend to make use of the public EV charging network in Scotland and are instead working with commercial charge point operators to develop fleet-specific solutions.

Support with travel costs for music instructors in rural local authority areas is ultimately the responsibility of local authorities as their employer.

Music instructors working in remote schools or who are employed in a school on a distant island, receive a remote school or distant islands allowance as stipulated by the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers Handbook (SNCT) in addition to the normal salary. These payments are made directly by the relevant local authority. There are, however, conditions to these allowances which are outlined in the SNCT handbook ().

As this is an operational matter for Scottish Water, and the Scottish Government does not hold the information, I have asked them to respond. Their reply is as follows:

The third vessel will be designed to serve the Sound of Barra and Sound of Harris routes; however, it will also have the flexibility to provide cover across a variety of other routes. As we progress the SVRP, this will improve resilience and flexibility within the fleet.

Please see the following table for details of annual spend on landslide mitigation infrastructure on the trunk road network for the years 2021-2024 to date:

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-29198 on 5 September 2024. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at /chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

As this is an operational matter for Scottish Water, and the Scottish Government does not hold the information, I have asked them to respond. Their reply is as follows:

Scottish Water states the annual leakage level in its annual report and accounts, laid before Parliament and published online at

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-29198 on 5 September 2024. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at /chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.