- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 June 2026
-
Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 13 July 2026
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to reduce the standard mileage available via the Motability Scheme in Scotland to match the new standard mileage available from 1 July 2026 through the Motability Scheme in the rest of the UK
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-01334 on 13 July 2026. 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.
- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 June 2026
-
Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 13 July 2026
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to increase the excess mileage fee, including standard rate VAT, which is applied via the Motability Scheme in Scotland, to match the fee applied to excess mileage from 1 July 2026 through the scheme in the rest of the UK.
Answer
The Scottish Government is aware that, as a result of the changes announced by the UK Government in its Budget in November 2025, Motability Operations announced in March 2026 that it would adapt its offer for new and renewing lease customers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland from 1 July 2026. The 1 July commencement is not set to apply in Scotland.
The Scottish Government has been working at pace with Motability to understand how any changes Motability makes to its customer offer as a result of the UK Government Budget announcements might affect the AVE Scheme and Motability customers in Scotland. Customers will be notified as soon as possible about changes that will apply in Scotland and the timeline for these.
- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 15 June 2026
-
Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 10 July 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to providing financial support to congregations, in light of the closure of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, which allowed churches to reclaim VAT on repairs and renovations.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-01172 on 10 July 2026. 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.
- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 06 July 2026
-
Current Status:
Answer expected on 3 August 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what the average waiting time is for the Office of the Public Guardian (Scotland) to process an application for Power of Attorney.
Answer
Answer expected on 3 August 2026
- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 15 June 2026
-
Current Status:
Answered by Siobhian Brown on 26 June 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to extend the Play Park Renewal Programme, and how much has been allocated to Dumfries and Galloway Council through this programme since 2021.
Answer
The Scottish Government’s Play Park Renewal programme provided £60 million to Local Authority partners between September 2021 and March 2026. The funding was to accelerate the Local Authorities’ plans and improve play opportunities for children across Scotland. By March 2026 the programme had supported the renewal of 1,960 play parks, including 54 across Dumfries and Galloway. There are no plans to extend this programme in the current parliament.
The funding allocation for Dumfries and Galloway was:
Local Authority | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | Total |
Dumfries and Galloway Council | £140,000 | £146,000 | £291,000 | £437,000 | £728,000 | £1,742,000 |
- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 June 2026
-
Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 16 June 2026
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S7W-00422 by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 3 June 2026, for what reason Social Security Scotland's Annual Report and Accounts 2025 states that ‘‘debt recovery is limited to voluntary repayment arrangements".
Answer
As set out in the answer to question S7W-00422 on 3 June 2026, Social Security Scotland has the legal powers to undertake enforced deductions and pursue civil recovery where appropriate.
At the time the referenced report was published, recovery activity had been focused on voluntary overpayments because it is always preferable to agree arrangements for repaying with individuals if possible. However, as of January 2026 Social Security Scotland has now expanded its use of available recovery powers in relation to existing and newly accrued debts, including by developing options for enforced recovery and commencing civil recovery through the courts.
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.
- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 May 2026
-
Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 11 June 2026
To ask the Scottish Government how many Child Winter Heating Payments were paid out in April 2026.
Answer
The Scottish Government is delivering the strongest package of winter support in the UK. Child Winter Heating Payment is an automatic payment unique to Scotland that helps families and carers of disabled children under 19 with winter heating costs. It is paid to those who receive the highest rate of the care component of Child Disability Payment or the enhanced rate of the daily living component of Adult Disability Payment.
Official statistics published on 19 May 2026 shows that as of 31 March 2026, over 44,000 Child Winter Heating Payments were made to eligible clients, with the vast majority paid automatically in December 2025. The information requested for April 2026 is not yet published.
Further details are available on Social Security Scotland’s website at: Winter Heating Benefits: Statistics for Winter 2025/2026 - Social Security Scotland.
- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 May 2026
-
Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 9 June 2026
To ask the Scottish Government how many Pension Age Winter Heating Payments were paid out in April 2026.
Answer
The Scottish Government is delivering the strongest package of winter support in the UK.
Pension Age Winter Heating Payment is an automatic annual payment that helps people of State Pension age with winter heating costs.
Official statistics published on 19 May 2026 shows that as of 31 March 2026 over 1.055 million Pension Age Winter Heating Payments were made to eligible clients, with the vast majority paid automatically in December 2025.The information requested for April 2026 is not yet published.
People could apply for Pension Age Winter Heating Payment if they believed they were eligible but had not received a payment by 31 March 2026. Social Security Scotland may therefore make payments after that date where applications are received, awarded or accepted late in certain circumstances.
Further details are available on Social Security Scotland’s website at: Winter Heating Benefit Statistics.
- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 May 2026
-
Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 9 June 2026
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will undertake a review of its planned award review system for Adult Disability Payment.
Answer
The Scottish Government has assessed whether the current disability benefit award review process is working as intended and if any changes may be required as part of our Fiscal Sustainability Delivery Plan.
Alongside our ongoing commitment to continuous improvement as set out in the social security principles, further enhancements are being made to the review process. These enhancements will include improvements to the scheduled review form, which will strengthen the gathering of relevant information at award review.
We will design these enhancements with disabled people and stakeholders to facilitate fair and robust decision-making and ensure that the values of dignity, fairness and respect are embedded throughout.
- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 May 2026
-
Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 8 June 2026
To ask the Scottish Government how many Winter Heating Payments were paid out in April 2026.
Answer
The Scottish Government is delivering the strongest package of winter support in the UK.
Winter Heating Payment replaced the UK Government's Cold Weather Payment in February 2023. The payment is made automatically and provides stable and reliable support to help low-income households with winter heating costs, regardless of the temperature.
Official statistics published on 19 May 2026 shows that as of 31 March 2026, over 472,000 Winter Heating Payments were made to eligible clients, with the vast majority paid automatically in December 2025. The information requested for April 2026 is not yet published.
Further details are available on Social Security Scotland’s website at: Winter Heating Benefit Statistics.
