Current status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 13 February 2026
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the Recovery budget of the Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) has been reduced.
Scottish public finances continue to face a challenging fiscal environment, with public services having to meet growing demand despite increasingly challenging settlements. Despite this, the Scottish Government remains committed to working with partners to continue to grow the community energy sector and has allocated £8.5 million to support community and local energy in 2026-27. This will support more communities across Scotland to participate in, and benefit from, the energy transition by providing funding for them to develop renewable energy generation, heat decarbonisation and energy efficiency projects.