Asked by: Baillie, Jackie (Scottish Labour - Dumbarton)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the current average cost per appointment is for the NHS service, Near Me, and what the estimated total annual operating cost of the service is in each financial year from 2025-26 to 2029-30.
Answered by Gray, Neil - Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
While part funded by the Scottish Government, Near Me is also funded by and delivered through partner organisations. As a result, the Scottish Government does not centrally hold the information required to provide a ‘cost per appointment’. However, I can confirm that in 2025-26 the Scottish Government contributed £1,640,000 to the service.
The current contract ends in March 2027 and we will be considering service delivery and expenditure based on future requirement.
Asked by: Cole-Hamilton, Alex (Scottish Liberal Democrats - Edinburgh Western)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-42567 by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 6 January 2026, whether it will provide an update on any issues with the delivery of the Winter Heating Payment, in light of reports of many Edinburgh Western constituents having yet to receive it.
Answered by Somerville, Shirley-Anne - Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice
Social Security Scotland is committed to ensuring that everyone who is eligible for Winter Heating Payment receives their payment automatically.
As of 24 January 2026, over 454,500 Winter Heating Payments had been made to eligible clients across Scotland.
As noted in the response to S6W-42597, Social Security Scotland contacts clients before payments are issued. While most people received their Winter Heating Payment by the end of December 2025, payments will continue until the end of February 2026.
Further details are available on Social Security Scotland’s website at: Winter Benefits management information release to 24 January 2026
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.
Asked by: Mundell, Oliver (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Dumfriesshire)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-43529 by Fiona Hyslop on 10 February 2026, what recent communication Transport Scotland and Amey have had with Dumfries and Galloway Council regarding litter along the A75.
Answered by Hyslop, Fiona - Cabinet Secretary for Transport
Transport Scotland officials met with representatives from Amey and Dumfries and Galloway Council on 14 January 2026. At this meeting, Transport Scotland reiterated to the Council its statutory responsibilities for litter management under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
Transport Scotland will continue to work collaboratively with the Council, sharing forward works programmes to help coordinate traffic management where possible and to support efforts to address the litter issue.
Asked by: Golden, Maurice (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - North East Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the total amount of business rate income received from onshore renewable energy installations was in (a) 2023-24 and (b) 2024-25, broken down by (i) technology type, including onshore wind, solar and battery energy storage systems, and (ii) local authority area.
Answered by McKee, Ivan - Minister for Public Finance
Table 1 shows estimated non-domestic rates income from onshore electricity generators in 2023-2024, and Table 2 in 2024-2025.
As we cannot reliably identify electricity generators, or specifically renewable electricity generators, Tables 1 and 2 do not present a total for each council area.
We have identified electricity entries in the valuation roll by the ‘core’ variable listed therein, and classified energy sources by the ‘description’ variable. In most cases, the description shows the energy source or type of subject (where the subject relates to transmission or distribution). Where the description identifies a subject as an electricity generator, but does not clarify the energy source, this is listed under ‘other generators.’ Electricity entries which do not specify whether they relate to generation or not are listed as ‘other electricity,’ and this category may also include distribution and transmission subjects.
Under the Non-Domestic Rating (Valuation of Utilities) (Scotland) Order 2005, South Lanarkshire Council is responsible for the billing of designated electricity utilities (generation, distribution, and transmission). As a result, the figures presented for South Lanarkshire include estimates of non-domestic rates income for designated generation entries located across Scotland.
Figures are rounded to the nearest £10,000. Where a figure is greater than zero, but would round down to zero, this is marked as “[low]”.
Table 1: Estimated non-domestic rates income from electricity generators in 2023-2024, by council area (£)
Council area | Wind | Solar | Hydro | Biomass | Landfill gas | Other generators | Other electricity |
Aberdeen City | 30,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 340,000 |
Aberdeenshire | 7,050,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4,510,000 |
Angus | 300,000 | 60,000 | 80,000 | 30,000 | 20,000 | 0 | 0 |
Argyll and Bute | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3,730,000 | 0 |
City of Edinburgh | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | [low] | 0 |
Clackmannanshire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10,000 | 0 |
Dumfries and Galloway | 5,800,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,850,000 | 260,000 |
Dundee City | 40,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60,000 |
East Ayrshire | 540,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 260,000 | 0 |
East Dunbartonshire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
East Lothian | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,270,000 | 0 |
East Renfrewshire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 300,000 | 0 |
Falkirk | 520,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 90,000 | 0 |
Fife | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,300,000 | 400,000 |
Glasgow City | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,440,000 | 0 |
Highland | 10,740,000 | 0 | 4,310,000 | 0 | 0 | 7,840,000 | 10,000 |
Inverclyde | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 300,000 | 0 |
Midlothian | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,180,000 | 0 |
Moray | 6,010,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,750,000 |
Na h-Eileanan Siar | 650,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40,000 | 0 |
North Ayrshire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,660,000 | 0 |
North Lanarkshire | 370,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 480,000 | 0 |
Orkney Islands | 390,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Perth and Kinross | 2,210,000 | 50,000 | 790,000 | 80,000 | 90,000 | 0 | 0 |
Renfrewshire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 | 0 |
Scottish Borders | 5,650,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 90,000 | 0 |
Shetland Islands | 120,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 700,000 | 0 |
South Ayrshire | 250,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 610,000 | 0 |
South Lanarkshire | 37,050,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 58,560,000 | 0 |
Stirling | 1,960,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 820,000 | 0 |
West Dunbartonshire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 180,000 | 0 |
West Lothian | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,030,000 | 0 |
Scotland | 79,670,000 | 110,000 | 5,180,000 | 110,000 | 110,000 | 114,790,000 | 8,350,000 |
Table 2: Estimated non-domestic rates income from electricity generators in 2024-2025, by council area (£)
Council area | Wind | Solar | Hydro | Biomass | Landfill gas | Other generators | Other electricity |
Aberdeen City | 30,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,410,000 |
Aberdeenshire | 7,430,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4,960,000 |
Angus | 310,000 | 80,000 | 80,000 | 30,000 | 20,000 | 0 | 0 |
Argyll and Bute | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4,280,000 | 0 |
City of Edinburgh | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | [low] | 0 |
Clackmannanshire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 0 |
Dumfries and Galloway | 8,170,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3,050,000 | 280,000 |
Dundee City | 40,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 80,000 |
East Ayrshire | 570,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 270,000 | 0 |
East Dunbartonshire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
East Lothian | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32,430,000 | 0 |
East Renfrewshire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 240,000 | 0 |
Falkirk | 550,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 90,000 | 0 |
Fife | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,390,000 | 3,610,000 |
Glasgow City | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,540,000 | 0 |
Highland | 13,520,000 | 0 | 4,250,000 | 0 | 0 | 6,880,000 | 0 |
Inverclyde | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 320,000 | 0 |
Midlothian | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,260,000 | 0 |
Moray | 6,330,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3,190,000 |
Na h-Eileanan Siar | 480,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10,000 | 0 |
North Ayrshire | 370,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,810,000 | 0 |
North Lanarkshire | 1,250,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 530,000 | 0 |
Orkney Islands | 410,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Perth and Kinross | 2,360,000 | 80,000 | 960,000 | 80,000 | 100,000 | 0 | 0 |
Renfrewshire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40,000 | 0 |
Scottish Borders | 6,030,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 120,000 | 0 |
Shetland Islands | 120,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 750,000 | 0 |
South Ayrshire | 270,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 650,000 | 0 |
South Lanarkshire | 40,900,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 59,320,000 | 0 |
Stirling | 2,080,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 820,000 | 0 |
West Dunbartonshire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 250,000 | 0 |
West Lothian | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,110,000 | 0 |
Scotland | 91,240,000 | 150,000 | 5,300,000 | 110,000 | 120,000 | 118,170,000 | 13,530,000 |
Asked by: Baillie, Jackie (Scottish Labour - Dumbarton)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S6W-32146 and S6W-43022 by Neil Gray on 19 December 2024 and 27 January 2026 respectively, and in light of it being able to provide a breakdown in its answer to question S6W-32146, whether it will provide the information requested in question S6W-43022, regarding a detailed breakdown of the £100 million allocated to reform and improvement measures.
Answered by Gray, Neil - Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
In 2026-27, we will build on the progress already achieved, with £100 million available to support further reductions in waiting times and to enhance patient flow across the Health System. This will ensure continued improvements in timely access to care for patients.
The 2026-27 budget has not yet been passed by Parliament and is at draft stage. Spending plans are still being developed by policy leads, therefore there we are not in a position at this point to provide a detailed breakdown of what the budget will deliver.
Asked by: Cole-Hamilton, Alex (Scottish Liberal Democrats - Edinburgh Western)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the timeline is for its work to support the digitalisation of NHS Scotland, including the full roll-out of the MyCare.scot app, in order to keep pace with broader digital changes across society and to remain aligned with NHS England.
Answered by Gray, Neil - Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
The Scottish Government is progressing the digital transformation of health and care through the Digital Health and Care Strategy, with timelines set out in the Care in the Digital Age delivery plan on gov.scot: https://www.gov.scot/publications/care-digital-age-delivery-plan-2025-2026/.
A key deliverable is MyCare.scot, the new Digital Front Door. It will be introduced in phases to ensure safety, security and clinical robustness. Delivery is on track for full population rollout from April 2026. A national plan published in September 2025 sets the strategic direction, with further detail on national scaling due in Spring 2026.
MyCare.scot is being developed using shared Scottish public-sector digital infrastructure, including ScotAccount and the Digital Mailbox, supporting alignment with wider public services and integration across health and social care.
We continue to engage regularly with NHS England and partners across the UK to share learning as digital services evolve.
Asked by: Cole-Hamilton, Alex (Scottish Liberal Democrats - Edinburgh Western)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to advance the development and accessibility of non-invasive diagnostic tools for endometriosis, and whether it plans to implement diagnostic methods such as the Ziwig Endotest in NHS Scotland.
Answered by Minto, Jenni - Minister for Public Health and Women's Health
The Scottish Government welcomes innovative approaches to improve patient outcomes and service sustainability.
Commercial companies can submit proposals for innovative products and services for the public sector via the Scotland Innovates service.
The Endometriosis Care Pathway for NHS Scotland is based on guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).
Currently, these guidelines do not currently recommend the use of diagnostic tests such as the Ziwig Endotest.
Asked by: Boyack, Sarah (Scottish Labour - Lothian)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason, in its draft Budget 2026-27, the (a) funding for Energy Transitions has been significantly reduced, and (b) Just Transition Fund has been held at a flat cash level, despite the stated commitment to deliver £500 million over 10 years, which current allocations would not allow to meet.
Answered by Martin, Gillian - Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy
The Scottish Government is absolutely committed to supporting a just transition to net zero for workers, communities and businesses. Through initiatives such as the Just Transition Fund and the Energy Transition Fund, we have invested £120m in the North East and helped leverage in tens of millions in extra investment, create green jobs, support innovation, and secure the highly skilled workforce of the future.
Budget positions reflect the challenging overall fiscal context. Despite this, the Scottish Government has maintained support for key Energy Transitions initiatives such as the Grangemouth Just Transition Fund, the Oil and Gas Transition Training Fund and Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage. The Just Transition Fund for the North East and Moray is crucial in realising our just transition ambitions and is just one part of a wider package of support for the region. The Just Transition Fund’s multi-year settlement, set out in the Spending Review, underlines the Scottish Government’s commitment to the Fund.
Asked by: Ruskell, Mark (Scottish Green Party - Mid Scotland and Fife)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking in response to the UK Government report, Global biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and national security.
Answered by Martin, Gillian - Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy
We welcome DEFRA's strategic assessment report on Nature security and the attention it brings to the critical importance of biodiversity both domestically and globally. We will take these findings into consideration as we work to deliver our biodiversity ambitions through the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy and its first five year delivery plan.
Asked by: Golden, Maurice (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - North East Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many Section 36 onshore energy generation project applications are currently live and awaiting determination by the Energy Consents Unit, broken down by (a) technology type, including onshore wind, solar and battery energy storage systems, and (b) local authority area.
Answered by McKee, Ivan - Minister for Public Finance
Details of Section 36 applications in each local authority area currently live and awaiting determination by the Scottish Ministers are as follows:
Local Planning Authority | Technology Type | Total Number |
Aberdeenshire | Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) | 1 |
| Gas | 1 |
Argyll and Bute | Wind Farm | 2 |
Dumfires and Galloway | Wind Farm | 4 |
Edinburgh | Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) | 1 |
Fife | Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) | 1 |
| Hybrid (Solar and Battery) | 1 |
Glasgow City | Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) | 1 |
Highland | Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) | 2 |
| Wind Farm | 6 |
Midlothian | Wind Farm | 1 |
Moray | Wind Farm | 1 |
North Lanarkshire | Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) | 1 |
Perth and Kinross | Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) | 1 |
| Hybrid (Solar and Battery) | 1 |
| Wind Farm | 1 |
Scottish Borders | Wind Farm | 1 |
South Ayrshire | Wind Farm | 1 |
South Lanarkshire | Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) | 2 |
| Hybrid (Solar and Battery) | 1 |
| Hybrid (Wind, Solar and Battery) | 1 |