Information regarding Access Bike Scheme: FOI release

Information requested

For the Scottish Government to provide the following points in relation to the Cycling UK Access Bikes Scheme;

• The total cost of the Scottish Government's Access Bike Scheme.
• The number of people that have signed up for the Access Bike Scheme.
• What procedures does the government have in place to ensure that people pay off the loans offered by the Access Bike Scheme?
• The number of people that have repaid their loans to the Access Bike Scheme.

Response

The Scottish Government holds the following information in relation to your request;

The total cost of the Scottish Government's Access Bike Scheme.

The Scottish Government has provided Cycling UK with £144,824 for running costs of the scheme. A further £250,000 for the loans has been provided in the form of financial transactions, which will be repaid to HM Treasury.

The number of people that have signed up for the Access Bike Scheme.

The scheme launched on 13 September 2021. Since then 290 people have noted an expression of interest in accessing a loan.

What procedures does the government have in place to ensure that people pay off the loans offered by the Access Bike Scheme?

The Scottish Government has a loan agreement in place with Cycling UK who subsequently has a Service Level Agreement in place with the partner Credit Unions. Both Capital Credit Union and Scotwest are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Loan applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis, details of which are accessible through the Cycling UK webpage.

The number of people that have repaid their loans to the Access Bike Scheme.

No loans have yet been issued as part of the scheme to date.

About FOI

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