Asked by: Ewing, Fergus (Independent - Inverness and Nairn)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding any implications for its energy policy, and in light of military conflicts and global instability impacting supplies of oil and gas, what its position is on whether there should be improved support for gas-fired power stations, including Peterhead Power Station, which is the last remaining one in Scotland.
Answered by Martin, Gillian - Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy
Security of supply for gas and electricity is a matter reserved to the UK Government and is delivered by the National Electricity System Operator (NESO) across the whole of GB, under regulation from Ofgem. As we transition to a net zero energy system and reduce our dependence on fossil fuel generation, long-duration energy storage technologies, including pumped hydro storage, will play a larger role in ensuring a secure and resilient electricity system by providing a reliable and flexible electricity supply.
With regards to any specific projects that may require planning approval, Ministers cannot comment.
Asked by: Clark, Katy (Scottish Labour - West Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-43888 by Gillian Martin on 2 March 2026, whether it will provide details of the 450 specialist jobs that SSEN estimates will be supported in each year of the five years of the contract, broken down by seafarer grade.
Answered by Martin, Gillian - Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy
The Scottish Government understands that SSEN has now put in place its frameworks with contract partners. These frameworks will enable partners to bid for specific projects. This process will define the precise nature and the grade of roles created.
Given the subsea cable upgrades will be delivered through private contracts between SSEN and its partners, the Scottish Government will have no role in the creation or management of jobs resulting from the subsea network upgrades.
Asked by: Ewing, Fergus (Independent - Inverness and Nairn)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding any implications for its energy policy, and in light of reported concerns that conflicts in Ukraine, Iran and elsewhere in the world will continue and other conflicts may start, what its position is on whether there should be more gas storage in Scotland and the rest of Great Britain, and what quantity of gas storage it considers would be sufficient.
Answered by Martin, Gillian - Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy
Planning associated with the security of fuel and energy supplies is a reserved matter and it is for the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero to assess the sufficiency of gas storage for Scotland and the rest of Great Britain. We remain in close contact with the UK Government on these matters.
Asked by: Ewing, Fergus (Independent - Inverness and Nairn)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding any implications for its energy policy, what its response is to reports that Great Britain's current gas storage capacity is equivalent to less than two days' supply, and what its position is on whether this is sufficient.
Answered by Martin, Gillian - Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy
It is a matter for the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero to assess the sufficiency of gas storage in the UK. However, some reporting on this issue has been misleading and inaccurate. In addition to stored capacity the UK benefits from domestically produced gas; a direct pipeline supply from Norway; and large LNG import facilities.
Asked by: Ewing, Fergus (Independent - Inverness and Nairn)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding any implications for its energy policy, what representations it has made to the UK Government since 2021 regarding the sufficiency of gas storage capacity in the UK.
Answered by Martin, Gillian - Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy
The Scottish Government maintains regular contact with the UK Government regarding energy matters, including issues of supply. These engagements forma critical part of our approach to issues of resilience.
Asked by: Eagle, Tim (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Highlands and Islands)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many renewable energy applications in the Highlands and Islands region that were rejected by local authorities were subsequently given consent by the Energy Consents Unit, in each year since 2021.
Answered by Martin, Gillian - Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy
The Energy Consents Unit(ECU)does not grant consent to renewable energy applications that were previously refused by local authorities.
The ECU administers applications made directly to the Scottish Ministers under Sections 36 and 37 of the Electricity Act 1989.
When a local authority refuses an application made under the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997, the applicant is able to make an appeal to the Scottish Ministers.
The appeal process is administered by the Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals (DPEA), and the ECU has no role in this process.
Asked by: Dowey, Sharon (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - South Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many wind farms there currently are in operation, broken down by how many are (a) connected to the grid and (b) fully operational.
Answered by Martin, Gillian - Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) publishes ‘Renewable electricity – number of sites by region’ on an annual basis as part of the Accredited Official Statistics publication Energy Trends. The latest statistics were published on 30 September 2025 and show that as at the end of 2024, there were a total of 3,721 onshore and offshore wind sites based in Scotland.
Site specific information is not published and would be needed to provide the requested breakdowns. This is held by DESNZ.
Asked by: Eagle, Tim (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Highlands and Islands)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government in what ways it supports the Scottish Flood Forum.
Answered by Martin, Gillian - Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy
The National Flood Resilience Strategy sets out Scottish Government’s long-term commitment to improving Scotland’s resilience to flooding, developed in direct response to the climate emergency and the increasing challenges posed by flood risk. The Strategy recognises the essential role of communities in strengthening local flood resilience, and that is why we continue to support the vital work the Scottish Flood Forum does.
Scottish Government provides funding to the Scottish Flood Forum to enable them to work with communities and local authorities across Scotland to help reduce the impacts of flooding. This funding supports the Forum to deliver immediate assistance to affected communities and to provide wider preparedness, response and recovery support. This includes property-level protection assessments, the establishment and ongoing support of community resilience groups in flood-risk areas, and engagement with local authorities to assist in the delivery of flood risk management plans and training on good practice. The Scottish Flood Forum also has a flood bus which showcases Property Flood Resilience measures, giving householders a hands-on way to see how products work, understand their relevance to their homes, and ask questions.
The Scottish Government views the Scottish Flood Forum as an important partner in the development of flood resilience policy. Part of the funding enables the Scottish Flood Forum to contribute its expertise to inform policy development, helping to improve outcomes for individuals and communities vulnerable to flooding.
Funding as set out in the following table:
Financial year | Total grant amount awarded |
2021-2022 | £195,000 |
2022-2023 | £220,000 |
2023-2024 | £230,000 |
2024-2025 | £229,550 |
2025-2026 | £243,844 |
An additional £10,000 of discretionary funding was awarded to the Scottish Flood Forum in 2023-24 in light of the exceptional nature of the winter storm season and the vital support SFF provides to flood affected communities.
Asked by: Baillie, Jackie (Scottish Labour - Dumbarton)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-43799 by Dorothy Bain on 11 March 2026, and in light of the answer only including selected examples, whether it will provide all the information requested regarding whether the Lord Advocate has ever contacted any minister or special adviser about any criminal case, aside from the case against Peter Murrell, and, if so, on what occasions, and who was contacted, and for what reason it did not provide this information in its answer.
Answered by None
In my letter to the Presiding Officer of 24 February 2026 and the examples that I gave, I confirmed all of the examples that Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service could find based on the records available to them.
Asked by: Stewart, Kevin (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen Central)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its actions to advance the Acorn Carbon Capture and Storage project.
Answered by Martin, Gillian - Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy
The First Minister, Deputy First Minister and I have repeatedly urged the Prime Minister and Secretary of State to get a move on and make key decisions to progress Acorn. The immediate one is to release the £200 million that was announced last June, then we need confirmation of the full funding package, just as the Track-1 projects in England have had.
The Scottish Government remains fully committed to Acorn and continues to work closely with key partners, providing funding and policy support during this key phase of development.