Meeting of the Parliament 09 December 2025
Okay—that is fine.
I was speaking about e-scooters. If Christine Grahame was speaking about e-bikes, I apologise.
However, going back to my original point, I do not believe that simply requiring people to get licences and regulating their vehicles in some way will solve the problems. I believe that the people who will do things properly are the ones who buy e-bikes and e-scooters for the right reason, which is not to use them on the road. They will not be the ones who are causing the problems, and the people who are causing them will simply ignore that guidance.
Consequently, we need to get to the bottom of the policing issue, which I want to focus on. I would be interested to know whether the minister is aware of how often Police Scotland pursues such vehicles. Michael Marra mentioned that damage was done following a police pursuit. My understanding is that such pursuits are relatively rare. To go back to Liam Kerr’s point, the police are worried about pursuing such vehicles, because if the offenders, who are on illegal vehicles—whether they be scooters or e-bikes—fall off and are injured, the police are potentially liable, as they entered into a pursuit. I would be interested to know what discussions the minister has had with Police Scotland about what police officers can do to pursue such vehicles and those who use them.
I also said that this is quite a timely debate. If people leave their Christmas shopping as late as I have, they will still be going about it. I believe that, when some parents are buying these e-scooters and e-bikes, they are unaware that they are illegal. Christine Grahame wants more legislation, but I just want people to understand the legislation that is in place at the moment and that these vehicles are not suitable as gifts, because of all the problems that we have discussed.
Chief Inspector McKenzie went on to say that
“anyone purchasing an e-scooter has a responsibility to be aware of the law and the implications of using one in a public space.”
I think that too many people are unaware of that.
Clare Adamson made a very good point about batteries. Councillor David Gordon, chair of Moray Council’s planning and regulatory services committee, echoed that point when he said:
“E-scooters are powered by lithium-ion batteries and in recent years some people have unknowingly bought unsafe or counterfeit models that fail to meet UK safety standards—with tragic consequences.”
He went on to say that people should know exactly what they are bringing into their homes. He explained:
“Unregulated devices can pose a serious fire risk.”
The problems in communities have been well articulated, and we have experienced those in Moray. We have also seen the problem with batteries, some of which are potentially counterfeit, that are coming into people’s homes. That is a disaster waiting to happen. We have seen the tragic consequences of the use of such e-scooters and e-bikes. Therefore, we need tougher enforcement. We need to get the message out from this debate that e-scooters and e-bikes are not toys that are suitable for people to purchase and place under the Christmas tree—they are dangerous vehicles that are wreaking havoc. I would like to hear from the Scottish Government what it will do to ensure that action is taken and that the police can do their job by tackling such crimes.
18:46