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The ‘Community Energy Generation Growth Fund’, administered through our Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES), was first launched in 2024 and supports community groups to develop their own renewable energy projects, including wind and solar PV projects.

Since inception, no funding awarded through the ‘Community Energy Generation Growth Fund’ has been paid back. This is because CARES does not issue grant funding as an upfront lump sum. Instead, funds are only released upon receipt of a valid claim, backed by appropriate evidence. As a result, the scenario of having to recover funds from recipients has not arisen.

While the Scottish Government holds some information in relation to the decommissioning of wind turbines it does not hold or collate an overall dataset for onshore and offshore turbines.

It may be helpful to know, according to the UK Government’s Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD) there are no Scottish onshore or offshore wind sites in the database recorded as decommissioned since 2021. However, the caveat to this data is that the entire site needs to be decommissioned for the development status to change to ‘decommissioned’ in the database.

The Scottish Government will publish all relevant impact assessments, including a Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA), prior to the implementation of Air Departure Tax.

There are no NHS boards in the Highlands and Islands region that have formally established a Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Service for patients with non-specific symptoms of cancer.

In line with recently revised Scottish Referral Guidelines for Urgent Suspicion of Cancer all NHS territorial Health Boards now have pathways in place for those presenting with non-specific symptoms of cancer.

All NHS territorial boards in the Highlands and Islands region have been allocated funding as part of the additional £200m Operational Improvement Plan investment to deliver and expand their Hospital at Home services.

All territorial boards are currently providing a Hospital at Home service. Some of these services are more established while others are still developing. What matters most is that these services are proportionate to the population's needs and effectively connected to community support, enabling people to receive safe and timely care, in the most appropriate location.

Published figures from Healthcare Improvement Scotland estimated that Hospital at Home services for Older and Acute Adults prevented 15,470 people being admitted to hospital in 2024-2025, reducing pressure on unscheduled care and delayed discharges.

Board level data for the Older Adults pathway is a matter for Healthcare Improvement Scotland who collate and manage this data collection.

Officials are working with PHS Scotland to develop a new national data set for Hospital at Home activity and related admission alternative services. Data collection is due to commence later this year and will be expanded to include other Hospital at Home pathways such as heart failure, respiratory, paediatrics and Outpatient Parenteral Antibiotic Therapy (OPAT). Public Health Scotland plan to publish figures as this develops during 2026.

The Scottish Government is working with the UK Government to progress the implementation of Air Departure Tax. Discussions are continuing as required to ensure that this is done in a way that protects Highlands and Islands connectivity and complies with the UK Government’s subsidy control regime.

The Hydrogen Innovation Scheme, part of the Scottish Government’s Emerging Energy Technology Fund, was launched for project funding applications in June 2022 and closed in August 2022 for Stream 1 projects and in September 2022 for Stream 2 projects.

Our sixth Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Service for people with non-specific symptoms of cancer open in NHS Forth Valley in May.

The Centre for Sustainable Delivery is now working with Boards across Scotland to embed learning and work on non-specific symptoms pathways across Scotland.

In line with the publication of the recently revised Scottish Referral Guidelines for Urgent Suspicion of Cancer in July this year, the Centre for Sustainable Delivery have confirmed that all NHS territorial Health Boards now have pathways in place for those presenting with non-specific symptoms of cancer.

Details of applications in each local authority area currently under review for consideration by the Energy Consents Unit are as follows: