The Scottish Parliament

Question reference: S7W-01640

Asked by: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, MSP for Edinburgh Northern, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 10 July 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 7 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to introduce a statutory obligation or financial incentives to ensure that heat network zone delivery is more effectively driven through Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies, and, if so, what timeline it is working to.

Question reference: S7W-01639

Asked by: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, MSP for Edinburgh Northern, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 10 July 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 7 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the extent to which local authorities are effectively incorporating heat network zones into their Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies, and what action it is taking where progress is insufficient.

Question reference: S7W-01641

Asked by: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, MSP for Edinburgh Northern, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 10 July 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 7 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made towards the introduction of utilities-based statutory undertaker rights for heat network developers, and when it plans to bring forward the necessary legislation.

Question reference: S7W-01638

Asked by: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, MSP for Edinburgh Northern, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 10 July 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 7 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what funding it has made available or plans to make available for key enabling infrastructure to support heat network delivery, and how it is working with industry to develop a strategic approach to the rollout of heat networks.

Question reference: S7W-01112

Asked by: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, MSP for Edinburgh Northern, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 3 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether any child who has had a deferred entry into P1, and whose birthday falls before March 2021, remains eligible to apply for a Best Start Grant School Age Payment.

Eligibility is based on when a child is first old enough to start primary school and is not affected by deferred P1 entry. The current application window is for children born between 1 March 2021 and 28 February 2022, with the application dates for children born before March 2021 having now passed. We automatically award the School Age Payment to eligible families in receipt of Scottish Child Payment, without the need to apply, reducing the risk of missing out even if a child’s school start is deferred. In the 2024-25 financial year 91% of School Age Payments were made automatically and the take-up rate was 97%.

Question reference: S7W-00828

Asked by: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, MSP for Edinburgh Northern, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 18 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S7F-00008 by John Swinney on 4 June 2026, when it anticipates that the full national roll-out of the £2 bus fare cap will be completed.

Question reference: S7W-00774

Asked by: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, MSP for Edinburgh Northern, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Hannah Mary Goodlad on 17 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to amend schedule 1 of the The Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017 to include large battery energy storage systems (BESS).

The Scottish Government has no plans to amend schedule 1 of The Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017 (the EIA Regulations). Decision-makers have a responsibility to consider the environmental implications of all planning applications. In cases where a proposal is likely to have a significant environmental effect, these powers are further supplemented by the requirements and procedures set out in the EIA Regulations.

Question reference: S7W-00773

Asked by: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, MSP for Edinburgh Northern, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Hannah Mary Goodlad on 17 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to amend schedule 1 of the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017 to include data centres.

The Scottish Government has no plans to amend schedule 1 of The Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017 (the EIA Regulations). Decision-makers have a responsibility to consider the environmental implications of all planning applications. In cases where a proposal is likely to have a significant environmental effect, these powers are further supplemented by the requirements and procedures set out in the EIA Regulations.

Question reference: S7W-00827

Asked by: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, MSP for Edinburgh Northern, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 16 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S7F-00008 by John Swinney on 4 June 2026, when it anticipates that the roll-out of the £2 bus fare cap to the west of Scotland will take place.

Question reference: S7W-00766

Asked by: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, MSP for Edinburgh Northern, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 16 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to develop guidance on cross-pavement solutions for charging electric vehicles.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting the transition to EVs by ensuring that charging infrastructure is comprehensive, convenient and accessible.

The Road (Scotland) Act 1984 identifies that responsibility for the road network, including control of private installations sits with roads authorities. Under Section 109 of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991, local authorities already have the power to issue permits for the installation of private apparatus, such as EV home charging points, therefore decisions pertaining to cross-pavement charging are the responsibility of Scotland’s local authorities, not Scottish Ministers.

Current legislation does not provide a basis for the Scottish Government to develop national guidance. However, with support from Transport Scotland, on 22 May, the Scottish Collaboration of Transport Specialists (SCOTS) – a strategic collaborative body representing Scotland’s 32 local authorities and seven regional transport partnerships – published guidance on cross-pavement charging addressing the legal, safety and accessibility issues associated with its provision. This is a standard practice for roads authorities, who regularly collaborate in this way through SCOTS to produce national guidance.

Through the Scottish Government’s Cross-Pavement Charging Grant Fund, households can access grants of up to £3,500 to help meet the cost of installing cross-pavement charging solutions at domestic properties without off-street parking, subject to agreement from the relevant local authority.

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Question reference: S7W-01640

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Question reference: S7W-01639

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Question reference: S7W-01641

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Question reference: S7W-01638

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Question reference: S7W-00828

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Question reference: S7W-00774

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Question reference: S7W-00766

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