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Planning for Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) funding for 2026-27 is currently ongoing.

We are committed to working with partners to continue to grow the community energy sector, including by investing in CARES. We want to ensure that the delivery of renewable energy comes with benefits for people in Scotland, as well as supporting progress towards net zero.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of continued access to specialist services to support Scotland’s deaf community. I am due to meet with members of the Cross Party Group on Deafness next month to learn directly from stakeholders and those with lived experience on access to audiology and wider services.

In addition to meeting with stakeholders, Scottish Government has published a number of plans which underline its commitment to providing support to those who are deaf in Scotland, including the British Sign Language (BSL) National Plan (2023-29) which has ten priority areas to address barriers to transport, justice and democratic participation which BSL users have highlighted.

A list of national support organisations for people with hearing loss and deafness can be found online at www.all-ears.nhs.scot/. Details of localised support services can be obtained from local authorities and health and social care partnerships.

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.

The overall reduction to Scottish Water’s 2026-27 allocation does not reflect a reduction in spending, but an increase in interest to be received by Scottish Government on voted loans issued to Scottish Water. Voted Loans remain consistent with 2025-26 levels at £170m. The Hydro Nation allocation has reduced from 2025-26 levels in line with contractual commitments.

In comparison to the 2025-26 ABR position, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency’s (SEPA) allocation has reduced 1.8%. However, the ABR comparator includes in-year transfers predominantly for delivery of River Basin Management Plans and Marine funding which are expected to be repeated in 2026-27. Compared to the 2025-26 Budget Bill, SEPA’s funding has actually increased by £1.9m, to enable SEPA to deliver its statutory responsibilities.

SEPA will also receive in-year funding (in line with recent years) that will support, for example, the Water Environment Fund. ‘Core’ funding for SEPA has therefore increased with project funding to be confirmed in-year, in line with standard practice.

SEPA funds 57% of its operating costs from charging schemes, applying the principle of 'polluter pays'. SEPA’s income forecast increases by 5% in 2026-27, reducing demand for public funding.

This BSL National Plan (2023-2029) plan represents our ongoing commitment to making Scotland the best place in the world for BSL users to live, work, visit and learn, in line with the principles of the BSL (Scotland) Act 2015. The Scottish Government is committed not only to delivering this six-year plan but also ensuring that continued efforts are made in improving the quality of life for BSL users. Ensuring equal access, opportunity, representation and inclusion are key components of our plan stemming across areas such as education, health, justice and culture. These are areas that the BSL community have told us are important to them.

We know there is more work to do and that is why we have accepted, either in part or fully, 40 out of 44 of the recommendations made in the recent Equalities, Human Rights, and Civil Justice Committee report into BSL, which covered key areas including education, health, justice, and transport. We will consider further 3 recommendations, and we have declined one recommendation as this is not within the remit of the Scottish Government to respond to. That declined recommendation is for the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Services to consider as it relates to specific issues in the civil courts. These recommendations vary in scope and duration, with many being cross-portfolio, so we will continue that work as we head into the next parliamentary session. In addition, we will publish a progress report on the National Plan in November 2026, as per the requirements of the Act.

We continue to work with key partners who represent the Deaf and Deafblind communities in Scotland as part of the Implementation Advisory Group and are grateful for their provision of lived experience and expertise to help strengthen the delivery of the National plan, and our response to the committee recommendations.

Through the Equality and Human Rights Fund, we have provided over £1.7m to support organisations to provide access, advocacy, and support for Deaf and Deafblind people in Scotland.

Listed authorities play a key role in realising the ambitions of the BSL (Scotland) Act 2015, as they deliver services and information to BSL users where they live.

We fund British Deaf Association Scotland through the Equality and Human Rights Fund to support community engagement and bring lived experience, expertise and support to BSL local plans. On 3rd February 2026, the Scottish Government attended an annual event held by BDA Scotland in Glasgow. This event brought together listed authorities and members of the BSL community to share both their experiences of developing local plans and to provide examples of best practice as we move towards publication of the BSL National Plan progress report in November 2026.

In addition, the Scottish Government funds the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE) to create a support network for listed authorities to enable opportunities to share good practice, resources and raise challenges around implementing local BSL plans. The network will encourage partnership working, improve data collection, foster connectivity and enable greater accountability on progress towards implementation of local plans.

We have deployed Scotwind revenues to boost the funding available across the Spending Review period, achieve smoother funding profiles, and support investment that provides longer term benefits for Scotland.

In 2026-27 £50 million is targeted at improving public services, and addressing the cost-of-living pressures faced by households. This funding is supporting public sector reform (£30m) and The Summer of Sport initiative (£20m). In 2027-28 £236 million has been deployed to resource, reflecting the challenging funding position in this year with the resource block grant growing just 0.3% in real terms, this funding hasn’t been allocated to specific projects yet.

As with all the deployment of Scotwind to support the resource position, the intention is to reverse this deployment if the funding position improves as has been achieved in previous years.

There is currently no specific funding allocated to the capital costs for a construction of railway station at Winchburgh. As co-promoters, West Lothian Council and Winchburgh Developments Ltd are responsible for developing a robust business case and securing the funding required for the construction of the station.

The Council’s funding application to the Scottish Government for capital construction costs has been submitted for review and, as stated in our Budget 2026-27 statement, we are committed to working with partners to support delivery of a new station at Winchburgh.

This is a matter for co-promoters of Winchburgh railway station: West Lothian Council and Winchburgh Developments Ltd.