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We thank the independent Expert Group for their dedication and expertise in drawing together a proposal for a Minimum Income Guarantee in Scotland. We will take time to consider their recommendations and the research that was published alongside, in light of current fiscal context, and respond in due course.

The Scottish Government, both Ministers and officials, are in regular contact with Alexander Dennis. The First Minister and Deputy First Minister spoke with Alexander Dennis Ltd (ADL) and NFI Group on 25 May and met with them on 5 June. The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government spoke with ADL on 3 July.

Scottish Government Officials have held 2 stakeholder meetings including representatives from the NHS Boards to discuss access for patients in Scotland to Proton Beam Therapy clinical trials delivered at the Christie NHS Foundation Trust Proton Beam Therapy Centre in Manchester.

These meetings took place on 23 January 2025 and 23 April 2025. In addition officials have held numerous calls with individual stakeholders.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of children and young people in temporary accommodation that have been required to move school. Individual Local Authorities may hold some information on such cases.

The Chief Scientist Office Excess Treatment Cost (ETC) budget for each of the last 5 Financial Years is as follows:

Financial YearETC Budget

2020-2021 £450,000

2021-2022 £450,000

2022-2023 £450,000

2023-2024 £450,000

2024-2025 £900,000

A reporter from the Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA) was appointed to examine the proposed development in January 2025 and following our recent recall for ministerial decision on the appeal, will now produce a report to Ministers, with recommendations, instead of the reporter making the final decision.

This remains a live appeal, and it would not be appropriate to comment on any specific issues that may be involved in the consideration and decision-making process.

I can assure you that all submitted information and relevant issues will be thoroughly reviewed before a final decision is made. In reaching a decision, Ministers are required by law to have regard to the development plan and to all relevant material factors, including all submissions made by parties involved in the case and all representations made.

Guidance on the assessment of noise from onshore wind turbines across the UK is set out in the UK Government’s ETSU-R-97 guidance. The UK Government is currently consulting on an update which aims to bring the guidance in line with available evidence on turbine noise emissions, developments in turbine technology, and wind turbine noise assessment methodologies. The UK Government intends to issue a formal response to the consultation in Autumn 2025, and has advised that the current guidance remains suitable for assessing wind turbine noise in the meantime.

The Scottish Government’s National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) policy 11 (energy) requires that wind energy project design and mitigation will demonstrate how impacts on communities and individual dwellings, including from noise, are addressed. Having an established and consistent policy framework enables confidence in the planning system and we have no current plans to amend NPF4.

Our proposed Heat in Buildings Bill will create a target for decarbonising heating systems by 2045. We recognise that reaching this target is likely to require a range of technologies, and so our intention is that the Bill will enable and support flexibility. The Bill when introduced will set out details on the heating methods that will be considered eligible in terms of our target.

A total of £10.066 million was set aside for the Housing Infrastructure Fund within the 2025-26 Affordable Housing Supply Programme budget reflecting spend profiles provided by grant recipients.