Seòmar agus comataidhean

I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-36341 on 22 April 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

The amount of brokerage owed by each NHS Board is outlined in the following table:

Alan Gray, Director of Health and Social Care Finance, wrote to Chief Executives of NHS Scotland on 04 December 2024 to provide the details of the indicative funding settlement for NHS Boards in the Scottish Government Budget 2025-26.

The letter confirmed that brokerage would not be available for 2025-26 and that NHS Boards would be expected to work towards a break-even trajectory in their three-year financial plans.

Following submission of three-year plans, Boards who are not anticipating to breakeven have been required to submit recovery plans for 2025-26 to achieve set levels of overspend. Should these not be agreed, these boards will be required to seek authority from the Scottish Government to spend above agreed levels.

NHS Board overspends in 2025-26, up to and inclusive of the agreed levels, are not repayable and will not be included in historic cumulative brokerage levels. For NHS Boards who are forecasting breakeven positions in their financial plan, no deficit is permitted and any overspend will be included as an overspend in their financial statements.

Alan Gray, Director of Health and Social Care Finance, wrote to Chief Executives of NHS Scotland on 04 December 2024 to provide the details of the indicative funding settlement for NHS Boards in the Scottish Government Budget 2025-26. This letter set out the Scottish Government position that brokerage would not be available in 2025-26.

NHS Borders are at Level 3 of the NHS Support and Intervention Escalation Framework. and the Board continue to receive enhanced monitoring and support commissioned by Scottish Government’s NHS Scotland Finance Delivery Unit; to support the Board to return to financial sustainability.

Under the terms of this support, the Scottish Government’s NHS Scotland Financial Delivery Unit maintain frequent contact with NHS Borders Executives regarding its financial position. At present, these conversations are focussed on securing a credible path to balance and, once this has been established and on course to be achieved, conversations will commence on brokerage repayment.

Under the Ministerial code, it would not be appropriate for the Scottish Government to comment on the merits or otherwise of any development that is before them, or could come before them, for a decision through the application or appeal process.

On network infrastructure in general, the draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan sets out that investment to upgrade Scotland’s transmission network is needed to manage constraints and enable more renewable power to reach where it is needed. The Scottish Government also recognises the need for communities to be meaningfully engaged and consulted, to ensure they can have their say on proposed projects and influence design proposals to minimise potential impacts. Our fourth National Planning Framework ensures that potential impacts on communities and nature are important considerations in the decision-making process.

Legislation and regulations relating to electricity networks are reserved to the UK Government. The National Energy System Operator (NESO) is responsible for the strategic approach to transmission investment. Regulation of electricity networks, including approval of investment in infrastructure, is the responsibility of the regulator Ofgem. As such, the Scottish Government has no role in the regulation of electricity networks apart from its statutory planning and consenting processes.

The Scottish Government values our land for its multiple uses, which include food production, nature restoration, energy security and to our economy.

Many large-scale renewable energy projects lease the land where they are sited. Land managers will have site specific insights on how land is best used given its location, local demands and economic returns.

To deliver our Vision for Agriculture, we want to ensure that farming across Scotland continues sustainably into the future, by shifting to low carbon sustainable farming by producing high-quality food for the nation. While also using our land in alternative ways to help contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and delivering increased biodiversity and wider environmental benefits.

It is not accurate to state that no renewable energy projects have been rejected.

To clarify, the Environment Information Request response of 28 February 2025 to which the question referred, noted that, of the 7 renewable energy applications received by the Energy Consents Unit in the Scottish Borders local authority area, all were approved.

Other applications for developments located elsewhere in Scotland have been rejected during this time.

When an application is received, a full public consultation is carried out. Scottish Ministers invite representations from members of the public, appropriate community councils and other public bodies, seeking their expertise to assist in examining applications.

The decision whether to grant consent is taken only after careful consideration of environmental information, consultee responses and public representations.

The Scottish Government has no powers to influence grid management in Scotland as legislation and regulations relating to gas and electricity networks are reserved to the UK Government. The independent system operator, National Energy System Operator (NESO), is responsible for strategic planning and the day-to-day operation to balance the supply and demand of the electricity network, working with all network companies across Great Britain.

The Scottish Government has no role in the design or regulation of electricity infrastructure, aside from its statutory planning and consenting processes.

The electricity network in Scotland is physically and economically integrated with the rest of Great Britain. Supply and demand across the network needs to be carefully balanced.

Independent analysis commissioned by the National Energy System Operator (NESO) indicates that by 2035 their recommendations for a decarbonised electricity system could add up to £15 billion each year to the UK economy and support an average of 20,000 jobs each year. It is estimated that a third of these benefits are likely to be in Scotland, contributing £5.2 billion to our economy and supporting over 6,000 jobs per year.

The report can be viewed here – https://www.neso.energy/publications/beyond-2030

Where new energy developments come forward, applications are subject to site-specific assessments by the decision maker. Our Fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4) policy 11 (energy) requires that project design and mitigation demonstrate how impacts on communities, landscape, biodiversity and other receptors, including cumulative impacts, are addressed. It also encourages development to maximise net economic impact, including local and community socio-economic benefits.

When an application is ready to be determined, the Scottish Ministers will consider all relevant material available to them before making any decision on an application. The merits of each proposal are considered on a case-by-case basis, and a careful balance must be struck between the potential impacts of the proposed development and the associated environmental, economic, renewable energy and climate change benefits.