Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government recognises the importance that some couples place on being able to convert their marriage to a civil partnership. We remain committed to introducing regulations to allow couples to convert marriages to civil partnerships and will continue to work constructively with the UK Government on this matter.

While marriage and civil partnership law is devolved in Scotland, any change in this area requires careful consideration of interactions with wider UK legislation and we need to ensure that couples who convert a marriage to a civil partnership in Scotland retain the same rights and protections across reserved matters or matters which are otherwise within the legislative competence of the UK Parliament, for example, pensions, taxation, wills, titles.

Scottish Government officials have recently been in discussions with UK Government departments, that hold an interest in the matters that would form part of a Section 104 Order. At this stage no timetable has been agreed for the Order to be made, work in this area is ongoing and is making progress. Ministers will be requesting the relevant S104 Order from the UK Government to ensure changes are compatible with the wider legal framework and do not disadvantage Scottish citizens and will recognise that conversion is treated as a continuation of an existing relationship rather than the creation of a new one.

The notification direction we issued during the summer enables strategic oversight and monitoring of data centre applications over 50MW power capacity, including the overall impacts and implications for wider infrastructure.

Scotland’s medical schools have exceeded widening access targets in recent years. Between 2023 and 2025, a total of 406 widening access students began a medical degree, compared with a cumulative target of 330 across these years.

In addition, the Scottish Government supports pre-medical widening access programmes, including the Gateway to Medicine and Gateway to Medical Studies programmes delivered by the Universities of Aberdeen and Glasgow. These programmes help students from under-represented and disadvantaged backgrounds overcome barriers to entering medicine by providing tailored academic preparation and support to bridge qualification gaps and enable further progression into medical education.

The Scottish Government remains committed to widening access to medicine and will continue to consider opportunities, with partners across the sector, to support learners from under-represented backgrounds to pursue and succeed in medical education and medical careers.

The prison IT healthcare system uses the same core Vision clinical system that is being rolled out across GP practices in Scotland and is expected to be fully deployed by mid-2027. This will support greater sharing of information between prison healthcare services and community GP practices.

The timing of any further integration will depend on the completion of supporting work, including enhanced data-sharing functionality, appropriate information governance arrangements, and improvements to the transfer of clinical information when people enter or leave custody.

The Scottish Government and NHS partners will continue to consider opportunities for further integration as these programmes progress.

The Scottish Government’s ‘Compulsory Purchase Reform in Scotland’ consultation demonstrated support for reforming and modernising Scotland's compulsory purchase system and we have committed to legislate for the proposed reforms during this Parliament, as set out in the Programme for Government.

The consultation also included questions about Compulsory Sale Orders, and while respondents expressed support for Compulsory Sale Orders in principle, some questioned whether this could offer additional advantages beyond a reformed compulsory purchase process, with uncertainty about efficacy, justification and practical operation. As part of continuous improvement, we will continue to monitor whether compulsory sale powers could provide any additional benefits beyond a reformed compulsory purchase system.

We estimate the number of operational district heat networks in Scotland to be at least 428, and the total number of heat networks (including both communal and district heating) to be at least 1,398. This is likely to be an underestimate (of both figures). These figures are, for the most part, based on the Heat Networks Metering and Billing notification data (2014-2025), which is collected once every four years. However, we believe that some heat network operators have not completed this self-reporting process. This, and aspects of the data collection process and the type of data requested, means the data does not allow for a robust assessment of the impact on energy costs, carbon emissions and local economic development.

Scottish Government officials engage regularly with the community led organisations in receipt of the Investing in Communities Fund (ICF).

The First Minister has announced a new 3 year £30 million Scotland Together Fund which will be a successor to the Investing in Communities Fund. This will be directed to support projects that enhance the life experiences of those in disadvantaged communities, help address poverty, and help tackle racism by promoting community cohesion and strengthen community connections.

Further details will be set out as part of the Scottish Government’s 2027-28 draft budget in December.

(a) Evidence published by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) shows that the levelised costs of onshore renewable technologies are around half those of unabated gas, with the 2025 Generation Costs Report estimating that it costs around £150 to produce 1 MWh of fossil fuels (as proxied by Gas CCGT), compared to around £60 per 1 MWh for selected renewable technologies (as proxied by onshore wind, and large scale solar).

Wider external analysis, such as reports from the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) and LCP Delta, also suggest that the wholesale cost element of bills could be reduced by increasing the share of renewables on the system.

(b) The ultimate impact of increasing the share of renewables on consumer bills will depend on a range of factors that are uncertain, including system costs, and market dynamics.

Our proposals for a social tariff in the form of targeted bill discounts have cross-sector support, and published modelling has shown that 660,000 households in Scotland would see their estimated fuel bills go down by an average of £700.

An independent scoping review commissioned by the UK Government, published in 2023, stated that ‘the findings from the existing evidence base indicate that infrasound from wind turbines at typical exposure levels has no direct adverse effects on physical or mental health’.

The review informed the UK Government’s Assessment and Rating of Wind Turbine Noise guidance, published in June 2026. The guidance notes that infrasound does not require assessment at the planning stage.

The Scottish Government has not undertaken its own assessment over and above this work.

An Impact Assessment has not been undertaken in relation to the closure of the Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme. This is because the closure of the Scheme is not expected to have a significantly different impact on rural and island communities compared to other communities across Scotland. Affordable, commercially available broadband services are available nationwide, including across Scotland’s island communities, through a range of terrestrial and non-terrestrial connectivity solutions. As such, the closure of the Scheme is not considered to give rise to impacts that would necessitate an Impact Assessment.

While the Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme has played a valuable role in expanding access to superfast broadband, the strategic priority has now shifted towards extending gigabit-capable connectivity, reflecting the widespread availability of superfast services across Scotland.

Demand for the scheme has reduced significantly in recent years and this, coupled with declining supplier participation numbers and the availability of affordable commercial alternatives suggested that the scheme had achieved its objectives and was no longer required.