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Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S6W-44123

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 09 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 16 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recent findings by the Grantham Research Institute in its report on the impacts of Home Energy Scotland loans for solar and storage, Adoption, incidence and welfare impacts of interest-free loans: evidence from solar PV, whether it will reconsider its decision to withdraw those loans.

Question reference: S6W-44077

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 16 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government where local BSL-plan redesign results in increased safeguarding or access risks, what oversight or intervention mechanisms are available.

The Scottish Government does not have a regulatory function under the BSL (Scotland) Act 2015, nor does the Act have provisions in place specifically in relation to safeguarding. BSL local plans are the responsibility of listed authorities as designated under the Act. All organisations in Scotland must consider their legal obligations in relation to safeguarding or access risks when designing, implementing or making changes to their services.

Question reference: S6W-44074

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 16 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what method it uses to monitor whether local BSL plans are delivering equitable outcomes in practice.

The Scottish Government does not have a regulatory function over BSL local plans under the British Sign Language (Scotland) Act 2015. We fund British Deaf Association (BDA) Scotland and the Health and Social Care ALLIANCE Scotland (the ALLIANCE) to support listed authorities in the delivery and monitoring of local plans. BDA provide that vital community engagement and lived experience expertise to local plans, whereas the ALLIANCE operate a BSL network for listed authority for sharing best practice and working together towards solutions. This approach gathers data and intelligence on how outcomes are being delivered in practice.

Question reference: S6W-44076

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 16 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assurance it can provide that mainstream insourcing models deliver culturally competent, BSL-first, support rather than interpreted access alone.

The British Sign Language (Scotland) Act 2015 requires Scottish Ministers and listed authorities, as set out within the Act, to promote, and facilitate the promotion of, use and understanding of BSL within their services and functions. The BSL National Plan 2023-29 makes clear that for public services to be truly accessible for BSL users, there should be awareness around the culture of BSL and enabling people to access services using their own language. Actions within the plan support the delivery of this ambition. It is the responsibility of listed authorities under the Act who deliver services to make sure these are accessible to BSL users in line with their legal duties.

Question reference: S6W-44124

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 09 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 13 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any potential for so-called zero bill homes of combining the deployment of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, batteries and heat pumps, and whether it will publish any such analysis.

The Scottish Government is supportive of market innovations which deliver lower bills for households as well as providing benefits to decarbonisation and our New Build Heat Standard has created regulatory certainty for developers and energy suppliers to innovate.

As part of the development of our Heat in Buildings Strategy and Delivery Plan, we will continue to set outa clear pathway for heat decarbonisation in Scotland.

The high cost of electricity is the biggest obstacle to reducing household bills and encouraging the uptake of clean heating at scale. Despite promises, the Warm Homes Plan did not set out how the UK Government plans to reduce electricity prices for the long term.

Question reference: S6W-44121

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 09 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 13 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding any potential Barnett consequential funding arising from the forthcoming UK Warm Homes Plan, and whether it will publish any records of those discussions.

All Warm Homes Plan funding was announced in the UK Government's Autumn Budget on 27 November 2025. Scottish Budget allocations were confirmed in the Scottish Budget published on 6 March, which included an allocation of £300 million for Heat in Building programmes.

We discussed the key policy features of the Warm Homes Plan with the UK Government and the other devolved administrations at the Interministerial group for Net Zero, Energy and Climate Change on 26 January this year. The Communique from the meeting is available on the gov.uk website: Interministerial Group for Net Zero, Energy and Climate Change Communiqué: 26 January 2026 - GOV.UK.

Question reference: S6W-44125

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 09 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 13 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether its heat decarbonisation policy supports the deployment of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, alongside batteries and heat pumps.

We support the use of solar PV panels, alongside a range of technologies including batteries and heat pumps, to decarbonise existing homes. To allow us to target finite budgets where they have the greatest impact, we fund these technologies through our fuel poverty schemes, Warmer Homes Scotland and Area Based Schemes. As support to tackle fuel poverty is tailored to the circumstances of individual households and localities, the package of measures installed in any property will be the best fit for that household.

Our New Build Heat Standard also encourages solar PV, where appropriate and cost-effective, in new build properties.

Question reference: S6W-44122

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 09 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 13 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, should any Barnett consequential funding arise from the forthcoming UK Warm Homes Plan, whether it plans to use that funding to support solar and battery deployment programmes.

Question reference: S6W-44075

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 13 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment has been made of the cumulative removal of specialist deaf-led provision in Edinburgh.

All organisations, including local authorities, must meet their obligations under the Equality Act 2010, including the duty to avoid placing deaf people at a disadvantage when making decisions about services. The Scottish Government continues to engage with Edinburgh City Council to ensure appropriate services remain in place. The Scottish Government has provided more than £1.7 million to improve access to services for deaf people across Scotland since 2021.

Question reference: S6W-44362

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 March 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 25 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that some landlords applying to the First Tier Tribunal (Housing and Property Chamber) to seek an eviction order face at least a six-month wait for their case to be heard.