The Scottish Parliament

Question reference: S6W-42477

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 31 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many meetings of the Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council took place in (a) 2024 and (b) 2025, and how many of these were attended by the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy.

In 2024, there were seven meetings of the Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council (SOWEC). In 2025, there were a further seven meetings of SOWEC. I attended two SOWEC meetings in 2024 in my role at the time as Minister for Energy, Just Transition and Fair Work and subsequently as Minister for Climate Action and one meeting in 2025. From June 2024 – June 2025, Dr Alasdair Allan MSP was Acting Minister for Climate Action and acting SOWEC Co-Chair, and attended one meeting of SOWEC in 2024 and one in 2025.

Question reference: S6W-42480

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 24 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to enforce the construction of affordable housing as a mandatory requirement for planning application considerations of onshore renewable energy developments in island communities.

All planning applications should be determined in accordance with the terms of the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise, with each proposal being considered on its own merits. Where a proposed development would create a direct need for certain infrastructure or facilities, which could include housing, this need could be met by use of a planning condition or obligation. However, any condition or obligation to be imposed on a planning permission must fairly and reasonably relate to the development to be permitted and therefore cannot be a mandatory requirement.

Question reference: S6W-42535

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 23 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has modelled any possible consequences for local (a) hospitality and (b) retail sectors in the event of visitor numbers declining due to reduced accommodation capacity as a result of the draft 2026 revaluation of non-domestic rates for self-catering properties.

Draft rateable values for the 2026 revaluation were published on 30 November 2025 but may be subject to change. The final valuation roll will come into effect on 1 April 2026 and the Scottish Government will publish its report on changes in rateable values once final valuations are available.

In the meantime, ministers have received representations from the hospitality and retail sectors in the run-up to the Scottish Budget calling for non-domestic rates measures to support these sectors. Decisions on non-domestic rates policy for 2026-27 including reliefs are considered in the context of the Budget in line with other government priorities and will be set out in the budget on 13 January 2026.

Question reference: S6W-42536

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 23 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any potential effect of the draft 2026 revaluation of non-domestic rates on self-catering properties' accommodation availability during peak and shoulder seasons in (a) rural and (b) island areas.

Draft rateable values for the 2026 revaluation were published on 30 November 2025 but may be subject to change. The final valuation roll will come into effect on 1 April 2026 and the Scottish Government will publish its report on changes in rateable values once final valuations are available.

In the meantime, ministers have received representations from the self-catering accommodation sector regarding in implications of changes in draft rateable values and I met with the Chief Executive of the Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers on 17 December 2025.

Decisions on non-domestic rates policy for 2026-27 including reliefs are considered in the context of the Budget in line with other government priorities and will be set out in the budget on 13 January 2026.

Question reference: S6W-42478

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 23 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to devolve consenting powers to local authorities for applications for the (a) construction, (b) extension and (c) operation of electricity generating stations with capacity in excess of 50 megawatts.

Question reference: S6W-42537

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 22 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with (a) VisitScotland and (b) enterprise agencies regarding any potential impact of the draft 2026 revaluation of non-domestic rates for self-catering properties on farm diversification and crofting enterprises reliant on tourism income.

Question reference: S6W-42538

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 22 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will assess any potential knock-on effects on local supply chains, including (a) housekeeping, (b) tradespeople and (c) food producers, should a proportion of self-catering businesses become unviable as a result of the draft 2026 revaluation of non-domestic rates on self-catering properties.

Question reference: S6O-05328

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 December 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its work to support the historic environment, whether it will provide an update on its involvement in the regeneration of Grant Lodge in Elgin.

Question reference: S6W-42481

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 16 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will require transmission operators to underground new distribution overhead lines in island communities.

Legislation and regulations relating to electricity networks are reserved to the UK Government, with the National Energy System Operator (NESO) responsible for the strategic approach to the development of the electricity system across Great Britain.

The Scottish Government has no powers to direct network companies to prioritise one technology or route over another when developing their build plans.

Network companies are regulated by Ofgem and when developing project proposals they must give due consideration to their license obligations, which require them to be economic and efficient in respect of costs to the consumer.

Question reference: S6W-42267

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 16 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on any discussions it has held with (a) Transport Scotland and (b) CalMac, regarding a summer ferry service for Kintyre in 2026.

Discussions around summer 2026 ferry services for Campbeltown are ongoing. I met with the Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity, Constituency MSP Jenny Minto and Transport Scotland Officials on 9 December to consider the latest information available on the matter. CalMac have rightly not consulted on timetables for this route due to the limitations and impacts resulting from wider fleet issues and uncertainties across 2026 as new vessels are delivered and deployed.

Potential options remain under consideration but are dependent on new vessel delivery, deployment and cascade plans. Deploying the MV Isle of Arran to provide resilience across the network is likely to be vital as part of these plans. The Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity is due to meet with the local stakeholders on 14 January when we hope to have further information from Transport Scotland.

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Question reference: S6W-42477

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