- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 12 March 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 23 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.
Answer
The scheduling and management of cases is a matter for the Chamber and the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service.
There are multiple factors which can impact the timescales for cases to be heard, such as the volume and complexity of legal issues or evidence to be considered.
The Scottish Government understands that the Housing and Property Chamber is receiving a high volume of applications and correspondence which is resulting in longer than usual waiting times.
The Scottish Government continues to engage with the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service in respect of wait times generally but cannot impinge on the independence of the Tribunal.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 09 March 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 23 March 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on the number of households that do not have central heating, broken down by age for those over (a) 67, (b) 70 and (c) 75.
Answer
The Scottish House Condition Survey (SHCS) provides a snapshot of the Scottish housing stock in each survey year including the construction age and built form of Scottish domestic buildings. Within this it records if a dwelling has the presence of full or partial central heating. The percentage and total number of dwellings without full or partial central heating, broken down by age band of occupants, from the 2024 SHCS, is presented in table 1.
Table 1: Number, and percentage of, dwelling without full or partial central heating broken down by occupant age band, 2024
Age bands of occupants | Total number of dwellings (000's) | % without full or partial central heating | Number without full or partial central heating (000's) |
Dwellings with 1 or more members age 67 or above | 879 | 1.8% | 16 |
Dwellings with 1 or more members age 70 or above | 738 | 1.7% | 12 |
Dwellings with 1 or more members age 75 or above | 507 | 1.9% | 9 |
Notes
1.Source Scottish House Condition Survey 2024.
2.The SHCS is a sample survey and therefore all figures are estimates which lie at the midpoint of a confidence interval which depends primarily on sample size.
3.Age bands are inclusive of successive age bands. For example, all dwellings with a member over 67 will also include dwellings with a member 70 or older and 75 or above.
4.Full central heating is defined as: The whole dwelling, or rooms representing more than 50% of the floor area of dwelling, is heated from the main heating system. Partial central heating is recorded in cases where houses are large, and the system is only installed in part of the house or there is no possibility of drift heat spreading through the house. Flats are recorded as partial central heating if heating is installed for less than 50% of the floor area.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 12 March 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 19 March 2026
To ask the Scottish Government when the Scottish Marine Recovery Fund is expected to be accessible for renewable energy developers.
Answer
The Scottish Government recognises the urgency of establishing a Scottish Marine Recovery Fund (MRF). We are actively prioritising its delivery, and the completion of relevant policy development and due diligence, to ensure establishment can happen at the earliest practicable opportunity after the 2026 Scottish Parliament election.
The Scottish Government continues to engage closely with Scottish offshore wind developers, and pending the launch of the Scottish MRF, we have emphasised the importance of developers continuing to undertake the necessary work to identify project-level compensatory measures.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 12 March 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 19 March 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made in the establishment of the Scottish Marine Recovery Fund.
Answer
The Scottish Government is working at pace to secure delegated functions from the UK Government to operate the Scottish Marine Recovery Fund (MRF), reflecting the UK Government’s reserved competence in this area.
In parallel, development of the fund’s financial and operational models is progressing, building on the high-level principles consulted on in 2025 to inform the final policy design.
The operational model for the MRF is complex, and work is ongoing both internally and with the UK Government to develop a compliant mechanism that will give full effect to the intentions of the Energy Act.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 05 March 2026
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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.
Answer
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.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 05 March 2026
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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.
Answer
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.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 09 March 2026
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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.
Answer
The Scottish Government funds solar PV through schemes which are aimed at supporting those on lower incomes to reduce fuel poverty. We helped thousands of households to benefit from free electricity last year as part of our Area Based Schemes and national Warmer Homes Scotland scheme.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 05 March 2026
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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.
Answer
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.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 09 March 2026
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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.
Answer
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.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 09 March 2026
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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.
Answer
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.
