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Safety is paramount in the delivery of all energy infrastructure, including Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS).

Where the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) receives information about a proposed BESS site, they refer those duty holders (site operators) responsible for the plant to the National Fire Chief Council's (NFCC) Grid Scale Planning Guidance for FRS. These guidelines detail, amongst other elements, minimum standards for fire safety systems and design features, water requirements for firefighting and access requirements.

Under reserved legislation, BESS sites also fall under process fire regulations under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 due to the equipment being used to collect, store and release electricity as required.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting a just transition to net zero in the region. That is why we are launching a new 2025-26 open bidding round of £8.5 million for projects for the North East and Moray Just Transition Fund. Applications will open on 6 May 2025.

This is a capital Fund and forms part of our ongoing delivery of a 10-year programme of support. Since 2022, the Just Transition Fund has allocated over £75 million to create jobs, support innovation, empower communities, and secure the highly skilled workforce of the future. We have recently undertaken an independent evaluation of the Fund that is nearing completion and will be published shortly. Its findings point to the real impact of the Fund in providing momentum to just transition in the region during its first two years of operation, especially in leveraging additional investment.

For the Fund’s second open bidding round, we will focus on projects that particularly support jobs, skills, and economic opportunities. This reflects our mission to ensure the Fund is responsive to the identified needs of the region and continues to maximise the impact of our investment for business and communities.

We will also be continuing delivery of projects currently supported through the Fund. This includes our annual commitment to £1 million for community projects through Just Transition Participatory Budgeting, giving communities a direct say on where money is spent in their area. It will also include the continuation of the Supply Chain Pathway and Energy Transition Challenge Fund delivered through ETZ Ltd, which is primarily aimed at SMEs and awards grant funding to accelerate innovation and market entry, support business growth, create new jobs, and increase turnover.

In total £15.9 million will be delivered through the Fund over the next year, sending a clear signal of our ongoing commitment to a just transition for both the North East and Moray.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting a just transition to net zero in the region. That is why we are launching a new 2025-26 open bidding round of
£8.5 million for projects for the North East and Moray Just Transition Fund. Applications will open on 6 May 2025.

This is a capital Fund and forms part of our ongoing delivery of a 10-year programme of support. Since 2022, the Just Transition Fund has allocated over £75 million to create jobs, support innovation, empower communities, and secure the highly skilled workforce of the future. We have recently undertaken an independent evaluation of the Fund that is nearing completion and will be published shortly. Its findings point to the real impact of the Fund in providing momentum to just transition in the region during its first two years of operation, especially in leveraging additional investment.

For the Fund’s second open bidding round, we will focus on projects that particularly support jobs, skills, and economic opportunities. This reflects our mission to ensure the Fund is responsive to the identified needs of the region and continues to maximise the impact of our investment for business and communities.

We will also be continuing delivery of projects currently supported through the Fund. This includes our annual commitment to £1 million for community projects through Just Transition Participatory Budgeting, giving communities a direct say on where money is spent in their area. It will also include the continuation of the Supply Chain Pathway and Energy Transition Challenge Fund delivered through ETZ Ltd, which is primarily aimed at SMEs and awards grant funding to accelerate innovation and market entry, support business growth, create new jobs, and increase turnover.

In total £15.9 million will be delivered through the Fund over the next year, sending a clear signal of our ongoing commitment to a just transition for both the North East and Moray.

Our consultation last year on a new Social Housing Net Zero Standard (SHNZS) asked for views on proposals to require social landlords to improve fabric efficiency and install clean heating where it is technically feasible and cost-effective to do so. Feedback from this consultation estimated the total upfront costs for the sector to 2045 of installing clean heating systems and improving energy efficiency would be around £6 billion, with an average cost per home of around £14,000.

We continue to discuss next steps for the proposed Standard and longer term financing options with key stakeholders from the social housing sector. I refer the member to the answer to questions S6W-36595 on 24 April 2025 and S6W-36596 on 1 May 2025 for further context.

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

Our consultation on proposals for a Social Housing Net Zero Standard estimated total upfront clean heat and energy efficiency costs of around £6 billion for social housing. The Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund supports public and private investment by covering 50% of eligible costs for energy efficiency upgrades and 60% for clean heat installations. The Fund has invested approximately £70 million in social housing projects across Scotland.

The recent Green Heat Finance Taskforce Part 2 Report explores how to attract increased private investment, including through mechanisms which spread repayment costs over a longer timeframe for social housing and other collective property retrofit projects. The Scottish Government will respond to the Taskforce recommendations in the coming months.

Our consultation on proposals for a Social Housing Net Zero Standard estimated the total upfront costs of installing clean heating systems and improving energy efficiency in social housing would be around £6 billion by 2045, with an average cost per home of around £14,000.

Financing the clean heat transition for social housing will require both public and private contributions, with the recent Green Heat Finance Taskforce Part 2 report exploring how to attract greater private investment including through mechanisms which spread repayment costs over a longer timeframe. The Scottish Government will respond to the Taskforce report in the coming months.

The Scottish Government believes that independence would deliver the best deal for Scotland – providing control over all public spending decisions, as well as the suite of fiscal powers necessary to unlock Scotland’s full economic potential.

However, until such a time as the people of Scotland can choose a different constitutional arrangement, moving to full fiscal autonomy for the Scottish Government would create a fairer system that would protect public services and allow investment in our economy.

The Scottish Government outlined its views on full fiscal autonomy in its evidence to the 2014 Smith Commission, when Scotland’s devolved fiscal arrangements were last subject to substantial review.

Full fiscal autonomy would mean that all onshore and offshore taxes would be designed and set in Scotland, including tax rates, allowances, thresholds and the tax bases. For any reserved taxes, revenues would be assigned to the Scottish budget.

At the same time, the Scottish Parliament would also take responsibility for key elements of domestic expenditure, including currently reserved areas of welfare. The Scottish Government’s position reflects significant issues with current devolved fiscal arrangements, and particularly with the approach taken by the previous UK Government.

Even where the new UK Government is not willing to pursue full fiscal autonomy for Scotland, it has the opportunity to agree a set of substantial improvements to devolved fiscal arrangements - including through agreement to fiscal flexibilities that are commensurate to the level of risk the Scottish Government currently manages within its responsibilities. Such powers are essential to manage and smooth the funding volatility and uncertainty which affects our current finance arrangements.

The Scottish Government does not collect this data.

The Scottish Government is committed to implementing the National Neurodevelopmental Specification: Principles and Standards of Care for Children and Young People, published in September 2021, which specifies service standards that all children’s services should follow, to ensure access to support is effective and consistent across Scotland.

Our programme of Public Service Reform is addressing all opportunities to remove duplication from the public sector landscape, including consolidation of public bodies where appropriate and where a value for money case can be made. This work is part of our wider focus on driving a culture of continuous improvement to support efficiency and effectiveness across the delivery of public services.

The Public Service Reform Strategy document is due to be published at the end of May.

Within Health and Social Care, delivery of efficiency savings has been a key focus for the Portfolio, reflecting the commitment to optimising use of core resources, ensuring that best practice is identified and implemented across NHS Scotland and delivering best value. Our Service Renewal Framework due to publish in the summer will explore opportunities to redesign the delivery of corporate functions as an integral element of the investment in new business systems including exploring using digital enablement to manage demand and improve access to services.

The Scottish Government is aware of concerns that have been raised on this important matter. We ran a consultation between December 2024 and February 2025, to seek views on how best to further regulate non-surgical cosmetics procedures. Over 2200 responses were received which the Scottish Government is carefully analysing.

We have also already engaged with, and will continue to engage with, a range of stakeholders including healthcare professionals as we consider the evidence gathered to date.

Our proposals aim to be both robust and proportionate, protecting the public and our precious NHS whilst supporting reputable business to operate safely.

We will publish the analysis and announce next steps which I have committed to doing before the Scottish Parliament’s summer recess in late June.

Recruitment and retention of Wholetime and On Call firefighters is a matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) Chief Fire Officer and Board.

In common with other fire and rescue services both across the UK and internationally there are recognised challenges to the recruitment and retention of firefighters in rural areas. Scottish Government is supportive of the work that SFRS is doing to enable recruitment in these areas.

SFRS continues to recruit all year round and actively recruit for on call firefighters across local areas by holding community open days and events. Within many areas across Scotland, SFRS has targeted recruitment campaigns on a variety of platforms and many of these highlight the local people who are already helping their community.