Data on collisions which cause injury and take place on the road network, including adjacent pavements and cycle lanes, is collected by Police Scotland as part of the GB-wide dataset known as STATS19.

Within STATS19, vehicles involved in injury road collisions can be recorded as ‘bicycle’ or ‘electric motorcycle’. However, there is currently no systematic way of determining which of these vehicles would be described as illegal e-bikes.

Enforcement of traffic offences, including the illegal use of e-scooters and electric bikes, is an operational matter for Police Scotland, with oversight provided by the Scottish Police Authority which operates independently of Scottish Ministers.

The Scottish Government fully supports Police Scotland and its partners in dealing with the misuse of such vehicles. Local policing teams are ideally placed to identify where the misuse of such vehicles is causing distress to the public and ensure that those areas can be prioritised to prevent future incidents.

Police Scotland issued communications before Christmas, reminding people to consider the legal implications when purchasing an electric scooter or e-scooters. It urged people to be cautious when buying electric bikes or e-scooters reminding the public that some models may not be permitted for use on public roads and that anyone found riding a non-compliant e-bike or e-scooter on a public road will likely have it seized by officers, with a significant cost to the owner. It highlighted that further information on the use of electric bikes is available at: https://www.gov.uk/electric-bike-rules.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. I have asked Police Scotland to write to you on this matter.

Legislation surrounding the use of e-bikes and regulatory standards is a reserved matter for the UK Government. For an e-bike to be legal for use in the UK, they must meet the criteria of an electrically assisted pedal cycle and the electric motor should not be able to propel the bike when it’s travelling more than 15.5mph, with a maximum power output of 250 watts. This ensures speeds similar to that of other bicycles.

Ebikes that are modified to exceed speed and power limits are classify under motorcycle legislation. Police Scotland are responsible for taking action against those who ride illegal ebikes. Between January 2024 and Sept 2024 Police Scotland seized 281 illegally modified ebikes.

Members of the public who are seeking clarity on the standards required to ride on public roads should visit https://www.gov.uk/electric-bike-rules

The Scottish Government maintains contact with the UK Government on the shared challenge of tackling illegal e-bikes. The Scottish Government has noted the work undertaken by the UK Government through its Defence and Security Accelerator to undertake research on technology to tackle e-scooter and e-bike enabled crime, including technology to bring these vehicles to a controlled stop in a manner which does not pose a significant risk to the rider, the public or police officers.

The Scottish Government’s 2024-25 budget includes record police funding of £1.55 billion, which is an increase of £92.7 million on the 2023-24 Scottish Police Authority budget.

Official statistics show there were 16,427 FTE police officers at 30 September 2024. On 30 October the Chief Constable told the Criminal Justice Committee that she expected to reach the target of 16,600 officers soon - and this happened on 4 November.

Deployment of these resources to meet policing priorities is an operational matter for Police Scotland, under the scrutiny of the Scottish Police Authority.

Data on collisions which cause injury and take place on the road network, including adjacent pavements and cycle lanes, is collected by Police Scotland as part of the GB-wide dataset known as STATS19.

Within STATS19, vehicles involved in injury road collisions can be recorded as ‘bicycle’ or ‘electric motorcycle’. However, there is currently no systematic way of determining which of these vehicles would be described as illegal e-bikes.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. I have asked Police Scotland to write to you on this matter.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-32699 on 10 January 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

Legislation surrounding the use of e-bikes and the penalties for misuse is a reserved matter for the UK Government. For an e-bike to be legal for use in the UK, they must meet the criteria of an electrically assisted pedal cycle and the electric motor should not be able to propel the bike when it’s travelling more than 15.5mph, with a maximum power output of 250 watts. This ensures speeds similar to that of other bicycles.

From January 2024 and the end of September 2024 Police Scotland made 281 seizures of illegal ebikes. It is every road and path users responsibility to respect others and the Highway Code outlines both rules and guidance for everyone.