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As set out to Parliament by the former Acting Minister for Climate Action, Dr Alasdair Allan MSP, on 3 April, our intention is to introduce the Heat in Buildings Bill during this Parliamentary session. Final decisions on timing will be taken as part of the overall legislative programme.

The Scottish Government does not hold the information requested and has not had any recent discussions with the UK Government regarding Scotland's participation in the nuclear energy programme.

The Scottish Government has been clear that it does not support the building of new nuclear power stations under current technologies due to the legacy of radioactive waste that is created and the cost of nuclear development. Regarding cost, the Seventh Carbon Budget, published in March 2025, shows that the unit cost of onshore wind capacity in 2025 is £1410/KW compared to £12920/KW for nuclear.

The Scottish Government is instead focussed on supporting the deployment of renewables, which are both cheaper and faster to deploy than nuclear. This focus is delivering benefits to Scotland’s people and economy, with the Fraser of Allander Institute Report, published in May 2025, finding that Scotland hosts a thriving renewable energy sector, which supported approximately £15.5 billion of output, £6.6 billion of Gross Value Added (GVA), and more than 47,000 jobs in 2022.

Although it is the statutory duty of all local authorities to manage and maintain their schools, the Scottish Government continue to provide them with significant funding towards improving the school estate. For example, the £2bn Learning Estate Investment Programme (LEIP) is being delivered in partnership with local authorities and will benefit tens of thousands of pupils across Scotland.

Schools that still have reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) are taking appropriate measures to manage it and have longer term plans to address it. Furthermore, through the LEIP, the Scottish Government will provide funding support to replace a number of schools which contain RAAC.

The proportion of schools in “good” or “satisfactory” condition has increased from 62.7% in April 2007 to 91.7 % in April 2024, and our investment through the LEIP will build on this remarkable progress.

We consulted on proposals for a Heat in Buildings Bill between November 2023 and March 2024, in response to which we received a wide a range of views. We recently outlined our intention to introduce a revised Heat in Buildings Bill during this Parliamentary session, which builds upon many of the issues raised in response to the consultation – including ensuring that it does not negatively affect those in or at risk of fuel poverty. There may be some elements on which we decide to seek further views; however, we will do this directly with key stakeholders to ensure that we meet legislative timeframes.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-38932 on 22 July 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.

There has been no discussion between the Scottish Government and Historic Environment Scotland regarding the future or sale of the South Sleat Estate.

Scotland is a highly attractive destination for investors, including in offshore wind where we offer extensive natural resources, a deep history of engineering excellence, strong supply chain capability, excellent port infrastructure, and a stable policy environment backed by long-term government support.

The Scottish Government’s strategic investment of up to £500 million over five years is intended to unlock £1.5 billion in private investment to support market certainty and create a highly productive, competitive offshore wind economy.

The Global Offshore Wind Investment Forum was a key milestone in realising these ambitions. Almost £150 million has been invested in 18 months, leveraging £670 million in private investment and supporting 5,000 jobs. Specifically, investments at Nigg, Montrose and Kishorn were announced at or soon after the event.

GOSWIF has driven targeted follow-up engagement by the First Minister, myself, officials, and Team Scotland partners both in Scotland and internationally. This includes active discussions with developers, ports, and supply chain companies to progress the opportunities highlighted at the Forum, supporting a strong pipeline of future investment announcements.

As highlighted in the recent EY Attractiveness Survey (Scotland) 2025, Scotland has cemented its reputation as the top UK foreign direct investment (FDI) location outside of London – for the tenth year in a row. These latest results are an endorsement of Scotland’s proposition as a destination for global investment despite geopolitical uncertainties.

Along with our Enterprise Agencies and the Scottish National Investment Bank, we continue to work with the sector to ensure that the right infrastructure, facilities, skills and supply chains are in place to deliver our offshore wind objectives and maximise the economic benefits for Scotland and our communities.

Scottish Government officials have now looked further into this matter, and in relation to the member's previous questions S6W-30076, S6W-30077 and S6W-30078, we can provide the following further information.

On question S6W-30076 (To ask the Scottish Government what due diligence was carried our prior to it providing funding to the group of companies referred to in the BBC's recent reporting on modern slavery within the Scottish fishing sector):

As part of the due diligence process for the historical schemes in question, grantees were required to ensure that they and anyone acting on their behalf comply with the relevant law. The scheme rules and eligibility criteria included, where appropriate, assessment of any previous relevant offences and convictions.

On questions S6W-30077 and S6W-30078 (To ask the Scottish Government whether it was aware that there were ongoing police investigations into the companies referred to in the BBC's recent reporting on slavery in the Scottish fishing sector when it awarded any funding to those companies: and to ask the Scottish Government whether it was aware that workers at the companies referred to in the BBC's recent reporting on slavery in the Scottish fishing sector had been recognised by the Home Office as victims of human trafficking when it awarded any funding to those companies):

Any form of human trafficking or exploitation is of course totally unacceptable. Whilst Scottish Government officials may from time-to-time be aware of the existence or generalities of specific Police Scotland investigations, or be informed of relevant outcomes following their conclusion, they are not privy to detailed investigatory or procedural information. A live police investigation or sub-judice proceedings are not automatically grounds for refusing funding unless and until those proceedings had concluded and resulted in a conviction for a relevant offence, with decisions taken on a case-by-case basis. Historic funding schemes were subject to the relevant scheme rules and eligibility criteria which included, where appropriate, assessment of any previous relevant offences and convictions. That continues to be the case for the current Marine Fund Scotland funding scheme.

The Scottish Parliament elections in May 2021 resulted in 72 of the 129 MSPs elected on manifestos which commit them to a referendum on Scottish independence during this Parliament.

A range of publicly available polling evidence is available showing support for Scotland’s right to choose its own future, and the right of the people of Scotland to choose their future was the belief of all three main Westminster party leaders at Scottish level, who signed a pledge in 2014 saying: “Power lies with the Scottish people and we believe it is for the Scottish people to decide how Scotland is governed.”

Following the independence referendum, the cross-party Smith Commission, containing representatives of all parties in the Scottish Parliament, agreed that:

“nothing in this report prevents Scotland becoming an independent country in the future should the people of Scotland so choose.”

The Scottish Government is aiming to publish the palliative care strategy - Palliative Care Matters for All – and its associated delivery plan, later this summer. This timing reflects the time taken to analyse the 169 responses to the consultation on the draft strategy which closed earlier this year, and to undertake further work based on this feedback to inform the strategy’s finalisation.