Chamber and committees

As required by the legislation, we will embark on a review of local place plans and lay the report before the Scottish Parliament.

The Act states the review is to be carried out as soon as practicable after the end of the seven-year period, which is seven years on from the Act receiving Royal Assent (after 26 July 2026).

We are in the early stages of considering the scope and delivery of the review, and will engage with community groups and local authorities.

The Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD) records the progress of renewable electricity projects over 150kW as they move through the planning system. According to this data there are currently 4216 onshore wind turbines in active operation across Scotland.

Please note that there was a minimum installed capacity threshold for inclusion into the REPD of 1MW until 2021, at which point it was lowered to 150kW. This means that projects below 1MW that were going through the planning system before 2021 may not be represented in the REPD database.

The Scottish Government does not hold or collate data on inactive wind turbines.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41553 on 6 November 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 ‘Community Energy Generation Growth Fund’, administered through our Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES), was first launched in 2024 and supports community groups to develop their own renewable energy projects, including wind and solar PV projects.

Since inception, no funding awarded through the ‘Community Energy Generation Growth Fund’ has been paid back. This is because CARES does not issue grant funding as an upfront lump sum. Instead, funds are only released upon receipt of a valid claim, backed by appropriate evidence. As a result, the scenario of having to recover funds from recipients has not arisen.

There are no NHS boards in the Highlands and Islands region that have formally established a Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Service for patients with non-specific symptoms of cancer.

In line with recently revised Scottish Referral Guidelines for Urgent Suspicion of Cancer all NHS territorial Health Boards now have pathways in place for those presenting with non-specific symptoms of cancer.

All NHS territorial boards in the Highlands and Islands region have been allocated funding as part of the additional £200m Operational Improvement Plan investment to deliver and expand their Hospital at Home services.

All territorial boards are currently providing a Hospital at Home service. Some of these services are more established while others are still developing. What matters most is that these services are proportionate to the population's needs and effectively connected to community support, enabling people to receive safe and timely care, in the most appropriate location.

The Hydrogen Innovation Scheme, part of the Scottish Government’s Emerging Energy Technology Fund, was launched for project funding applications in June 2022 and closed in August 2022 for Stream 1 projects and in September 2022 for Stream 2 projects.

Our sixth Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Service for people with non-specific symptoms of cancer open in NHS Forth Valley in May.

The Centre for Sustainable Delivery is now working with Boards across Scotland to embed learning and work on non-specific symptoms pathways across Scotland.

In line with the publication of the recently revised Scottish Referral Guidelines for Urgent Suspicion of Cancer in July this year, the Centre for Sustainable Delivery have confirmed that all NHS territorial Health Boards now have pathways in place for those presenting with non-specific symptoms of cancer.

Published figures from Healthcare Improvement Scotland estimated that Hospital at Home services for Older and Acute Adults prevented 15,470 people being admitted to hospital in 2024-2025, reducing pressure on unscheduled care and delayed discharges.

Board level data for the Older Adults pathway is a matter for Healthcare Improvement Scotland who collate and manage this data collection.

Officials are working with PHS Scotland to develop a new national data set for Hospital at Home activity and related admission alternative services. Data collection is due to commence later this year and will be expanded to include other Hospital at Home pathways such as heart failure, respiratory, paediatrics and Outpatient Parenteral Antibiotic Therapy (OPAT). Public Health Scotland plan to publish figures as this develops during 2026.

The Scottish Government will publish all relevant impact assessments, including a Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA), prior to the implementation of Air Departure Tax.