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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.

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Question reference: S6W-43950

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 12 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with local authorities regarding the retention of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) recycling in Scotland, and whether this engagement encourages the use of recycling facilities based in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-43949

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 12 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is regarding the risks associated with the transportation and handling of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), particularly in relation to lithium-ion battery fire risks and persistent organic pollutant (POP) containing materials, and how it is engaging with the sector to discuss best practice.

Question reference: S6W-43951

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 12 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how it works with local authorities, producer compliance schemes and waste operators to improve the consistency, efficiency and scope of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) collection systems, so that domestic recycling sites can operate at full capacity and deliver maximum circular economy benefits.

Question reference: S6W-43716

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 25 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-43381 by Gillian Martin on 10 February 2026, whether it will provide the same figures for 2025.

Question reference: S6W-43625

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 17 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what the total amount of business rate income received from onshore renewable energy installations was in (a) 2023-24 and (b) 2024-25, broken down by (i) technology type, including onshore wind, solar and battery energy storage systems, and (ii) local authority area.

Table 1 shows estimated non-domestic rates income from onshore electricity generators in 2023-2024, and Table 2 in 2024-2025.

As we cannot reliably identify electricity generators, or specifically renewable electricity generators, Tables 1 and 2 do not present a total for each council area.

We have identified electricity entries in the valuation roll by the ‘core’ variable listed therein, and classified energy sources by the ‘description’ variable. In most cases, the description shows the energy source or type of subject (where the subject relates to transmission or distribution). Where the description identifies a subject as an electricity generator, but does not clarify the energy source, this is listed under ‘other generators.’ Electricity entries which do not specify whether they relate to generation or not are listed as ‘other electricity,’ and this category may also include distribution and transmission subjects.

Under the Non-Domestic Rating (Valuation of Utilities) (Scotland) Order 2005, South Lanarkshire Council is responsible for the billing of designated electricity utilities (generation, distribution, and transmission). As a result, the figures presented for South Lanarkshire include estimates of non-domestic rates income for designated generation entries located across Scotland.

Figures are rounded to the nearest £10,000. Where a figure is greater than zero, but would round down to zero, this is marked as “[low]”.

Table 1: Estimated non-domestic rates income from electricity generators in 2023-2024, by council area (£)

Council area	Wind	Solar	Hydro	Biomass	Landfill gas	Other generators	Other electricity
Aberdeen City	30,000	0	0	0	0	0	340,000
Aberdeenshire	7,050,000	0	0	0	0	0	4,510,000
Angus	300,000	60,000	80,000	30,000	20,000	0	0
Argyll and Bute	0	0	0	0	0	3,730,000	0
City of Edinburgh	0	0	0	0	0	[low]	0
Clackmannanshire	0	0	0	0	0	10,000	0
Dumfries and Galloway	5,800,000	0	0	0	0	2,850,000	260,000
Dundee City	40,000	0	0	0	0	0	60,000
East Ayrshire	540,000	0	0	0	0	260,000	0
East Dunbartonshire	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
East Lothian	0	0	0	0	0	30,270,000	0
East Renfrewshire	0	0	0	0	0	300,000	0
Falkirk	520,000	0	0	0	0	90,000	0
Fife	0	0	0	0	0	1,300,000	400,000
Glasgow City	0	0	0	0	0	1,440,000	0
Highland	10,740,000	0	4,310,000	0	0	7,840,000	10,000
Inverclyde	0	0	0	0	0	300,000	0
Midlothian	0	0	0	0	0	1,180,000	0
Moray	6,010,000	0	0	0	0	0	2,750,000
Na h-Eileanan Siar	650,000	0	0	0	0	40,000	0
North Ayrshire	0	0	0	0	0	1,660,000	0
North Lanarkshire	370,000	0	0	0	0	480,000	0
Orkney Islands	390,000	0	0	0	0	0	0
Perth and Kinross	2,210,000	50,000	790,000	80,000	90,000	0	0
Renfrewshire	0	0	0	0	0	30,000	0
Scottish Borders	5,650,000	0	0	0	0	90,000	0
Shetland Islands	120,000	0	0	0	0	700,000	0
South Ayrshire	250,000	0	0	0	0	610,000	0
South Lanarkshire	37,050,000	0	0	0	0	58,560,000	0
Stirling	1,960,000	0	0	0	0	820,000	0
West Dunbartonshire	0	0	0	0	0	180,000	0
West Lothian	0	0	0	0	0	2,030,000	0
Scotland	79,670,000	110,000	5,180,000	110,000	110,000	114,790,000	8,350,000

Table 2: Estimated non-domestic rates income from electricity generators in 2024-2025, by council area (£)

Council area	Wind	Solar	Hydro	Biomass	Landfill gas	Other generators	Other electricity
Aberdeen City	30,000	0	0	0	0	0	1,410,000
Aberdeenshire	7,430,000	0	0	0	0	0	4,960,000
Angus	310,000	80,000	80,000	30,000	20,000	0	0
Argyll and Bute	0	0	0	0	0	4,280,000	0
City of Edinburgh	0	0	0	0	0	[low]	0
Clackmannanshire	0	0	0	0	0	20,000	0
Dumfries and Galloway	8,170,000	0	0	0	0	3,050,000	280,000
Dundee City	40,000	0	0	0	0	0	80,000
East Ayrshire	570,000	0	0	0	0	270,000	0
East Dunbartonshire	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
East Lothian	0	0	0	0	0	32,430,000	0
East Renfrewshire	0	0	0	0	0	240,000	0
Falkirk	550,000	0	0	0	0	90,000	0
Fife	0	0	0	0	0	1,390,000	3,610,000
Glasgow City	0	0	0	0	0	1,540,000	0
Highland	13,520,000	0	4,250,000	0	0	6,880,000	0
Inverclyde	0	0	0	0	0	320,000	0
Midlothian	0	0	0	0	0	1,260,000	0
Moray	6,330,000	0	0	0	0	0	3,190,000
Na h-Eileanan Siar	480,000	0	0	0	0	10,000	0
North Ayrshire	370,000	0	0	0	0	1,810,000	0
North Lanarkshire	1,250,000	0	0	0	0	530,000	0
Orkney Islands	410,000	0	0	0	0	0	0
Perth and Kinross	2,360,000	80,000	960,000	80,000	100,000	0	0
Renfrewshire	0	0	0	0	0	40,000	0
Scottish Borders	6,030,000	0	0	0	0	120,000	0
Shetland Islands	120,000	0	0	0	0	750,000	0
South Ayrshire	270,000	0	0	0	0	650,000	0
South Lanarkshire	40,900,000	0	0	0	0	59,320,000	0
Stirling	2,080,000	0	0	0	0	820,000	0
West Dunbartonshire	0	0	0	0	0	250,000	0
West Lothian	0	0	0	0	0	2,110,000	0
Scotland	91,240,000	150,000	5,300,000	110,000	120,000	118,170,000	13,530,000

Question reference: S6W-43624

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 17 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what the maximum planning fee applicable is for onshore renewable energy project applications, broken down by capacity of (a) under 50MW and (b) 50MW and over.

Onshore renewable energy projects under 50MW are determined under the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 and are handled by the relevant planning authority. Fees are set by the Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications) (Scotland) Regulations and vary depending on the size of the application. The maximum fee for a generating station application is £178,560.

For projects 50MW and over, consent is required from Scottish Ministers under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989. Fees are prescribed by the TheElectricity (Applications for Consent and Variation of Consent) (Fees) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2022 and vary depending on the MW capacity of the application. There is no maximum fee.

Question reference: S6W-43613

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 06 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 17 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many Section 36 onshore energy generation project applications are currently live and awaiting determination by the Energy Consents Unit, broken down by (a) technology type, including onshore wind, solar and battery energy storage systems, and (b) local authority area.

Details of Section 36 applications in each local authority area currently live and awaiting determination by the Scottish Ministers are as follows:

Local Planning Authority	Technology Type	Total Number
Aberdeenshire	Battery Energy Storage System (BESS)	1
	Gas	1
Argyll and Bute	Wind Farm	2
Dumfires and Galloway	Wind Farm	4
Edinburgh	Battery Energy Storage System (BESS)	1
Fife	Battery Energy Storage System (BESS)	1
	Hybrid (Solar and Battery)	1
Glasgow City	Battery Energy Storage System (BESS)	1
Highland	Battery Energy Storage System (BESS)	2
	Wind Farm	6
Midlothian	Wind Farm	1
Moray	Wind Farm	1
North Lanarkshire	Battery Energy Storage System (BESS)	1
Perth and Kinross	Battery Energy Storage System (BESS)	1
	Hybrid (Solar and Battery)	1
	Wind Farm	1
Scottish Borders	Wind Farm	1
South Ayrshire	Wind Farm	1
South Lanarkshire	Battery Energy Storage System (BESS)	2
	Hybrid (Solar and Battery)	1
	Hybrid (Wind, Solar and Battery)	1

Question reference: S6W-43626

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 17 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of the business rate income received from onshore renewable energy installations in 2023-24 and 2024-25 was returned to each of the local authorities where the rates were collected.

Non-domestic rates income is notionally pooled at a national level in the Rating Account or ‘non-domestic rates pool,’ and redistributed to local councils. The Scottish Government guarantees the overall sum of non-domestic rates income and General Revenue Grant funding available to each council.

In addition, the Non-Domestic Rates Incentivisation Scheme (NDRIS) allows councils which meet targets for growth in the tax base to retain the additional income associated with that growth (excluding designated utilities), over and above the total guaranteed amount. We are unable to separately identify amounts related specifically to renewable energy installations.

Question reference: S6W-43612

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 06 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 17 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many onshore energy generation project applications are currently live and awaiting determination by the Energy Consents Unit, broken down by capacity of (a) under 50MW and (b) 50MW and over.

Consent from Scottish Ministers is required under the Electricity Act 1989 for electricity generating stations over 50MW. Developments below this threshold are determined under the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 and are handled by the relevant planning authority.

There are currently 32 onshore energy generation project applications that are at the decision stage and are being processed by the Energy Consents Unit for determination by the Scottish Ministers.

Question reference: S6W-43534

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 13 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many full-time equivalent (FTE) staff have been allocated to the development of management measures for inshore Priority Marine Features, in each week since 2 September 2025.

Recorded fire incidents where bin lorries/refuse trucks have been mentioned in the description
Year	Fires
2025	6

Fires involving waste management sites/recycling sites
Year	Fires
2025	74