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We have had extensive engagement with stakeholders to ensure we understand all perspectives in this debate and represent this in our engagement with the UK Government. The Scottish Government has not had specific discussions with Ofgem on the interaction between zonal pricing and transmission network use-of-system charges. Officials have been, and will continue to, work with UK Government, Ofgem and other industry stakeholders to ensure we fully consider the impacts of potential market reforms.

Enforcement of the Avian Influenza (Preventive Measures) (Scotland) Order 2007, which is the legislation under which the requirement for bird keepers in Scotland to notify the Scottish Ministers (in writing) in relation to the premises where birds are kept, was extended from those with 50 or more birds to all bird keepers from 1 September 2024. Enforcement is the responsibility of Scotland’s Local Authorities. The measures were enforceable from 1 December 2024. The principal aims of the introduction of the Scottish Kept Bird Register was to communicate risk and best practice to Scotland’s bird keepers, whilst allowing for more efficient and effective surveillance during disease outbreak periods, thereby promoting animal welfare and public health.

This information was previously not available to government and so compliance figures cannot be ascertained by way of a comparison with an established baseline of kept bird numbers, established before the register was extended.

However, prior to the extension of the register to include all keepers, an extrapolation was made from surveillance figures for kept birds, gleaned in previous outbreak periods, and current bird registration numbers are broadly in comparison to these initial estimated number of keepers.

Compliance will continue to be assessed over time as local authority activities disclose non-compliance within their council areas and government communication campaigns encourage those still unaware of their legal requirements in this respect to register their birds.

The Scottish Government has no current plans for any future growth deals. We encourage all local authorities responsible for the design and delivery of growth deals to consult the communities they serve in shaping the Growth Deal programmes. This includes the business community.

The consultation on the Heat in Buildings Bill included a range of proposals regarding the use of waste heat by heat networks. The final decision on the provisions of the Bill, to be introduced later this year, will be made collectively by Cabinet ahead of its introduction.

The purpose of the meeting on 26 February 2025 was to update myself and the Minister for Climate Action on the Review of Electricity Market Arrangements, the reform options being considered by UK Government, and the potential impact of those options for Scotland.

The briefing paper for this meeting, and list of attendees, including ministers, have already been released under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA). It is standard procedure for names of officials to be redacted in all FOIs under Section 38(1)(b), due to protections around the sharing of Third Party Data, whereby personal data is exempt from disclosure if disclosure would contravene any of the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the UK GDPR and in section 34(1) of the DPA 2018.

Upon review of the FOI, section 29(1)(a) was not cited as a redaction used. Information has been redacted under 30(b)(i), however, was redacted due to it relating to the free and frank provision of advice. This exemption recognises the need for Ministers to have space within which to seek advice and views from officials before reaching a settled public position.

In line with usual practice, details of individual tasks carried out by civil servants, including the number of hours spent on them, are not routinely recorded.

Each Deal is required to produce a Benefits Realisation Plan setting both quantitative and qualitative objectives and measures for the programme. Each Deal produces an annual report detailing progress made on the delivery of agreed projects and programmes and on their intended outputs and outcomes. We monitor progress on outcomes on a regular basis via Annual Conversations which involve senior staff from both governments and local authority partners to review the past year’s activity and look ahead to future milestones. Annual reports for all deals are made publicly available on each deal’s website enabling visibility of what is being achieved.

Heat networks have an important role to play in meeting the objectives set out in our Heat in Buildings Strategy.

Our Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan Scheme continues to support homeowners with an interest-free loan of up to £7,500 towards connecting to a district heating scheme.

For those in or at risk of fuel poverty, support to connect to a district heating scheme is also available through our national fuel poverty scheme, Warmer Homes Scotland.

Households wanting to take action should contact HES who can help those interested to navigate the support available. HES can be contacted on 0808 808 2282 or via their online portal https://www.homeenergyscotland.org/

Members of the public can access detailed data, including total applications made, on the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan Scheme for the 2023-24 financial year at https://www.gov.scot/publications/home-energy-scotland-grant-and-loan-scheme-awards/. Work is ongoing to release further scheme data, with the next publication expected shortly.

For average processing times, I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-36322 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 Scottish Government has been clear that it does not support the development of new nuclear under current technologies. Small modular reactors, whilst innovative in size and location, present the same environmental issues as traditional nuclear power stations.

There have been no formal requests from the UK Government for collaboration on a second phase of Scottish City and Regional Growth Deals at this time.