- Asked by: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, MSP for Edinburgh Northern, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 July 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Stephen Gethins 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.
Answer
The Scottish Government is providing long term funding to support local authorities to develop and deliver their Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies (LHEES) with funding committed for each local authority of £75,000 per year until 2027-28.
The Heat Network Support Unit (HNSU) provides funding and advisory support to help heat network projects progress through early development and unlock new investment. This includes strategic support, to build on the LHEES and develop a strategic approach to large-scale deployment. The HNSU offers up to 90% of eligible costs, capped at £150,000, with local authorities contributing the remaining 10%.
Scotland’s Heat Network Fund(SHNF) makes capital funding available for up to 50% of the costs of construction of new, low carbon heat networks. This includes the establishment of energy centres and key pipework, which may have additional capacity for further phases of expansion and new building connections.
For more details on the HNSU and SHNF and wider policies, including non-domestic rates relief for district heating and funding for individual buildings (including enabling works) to connect to a district heat network, please see the Heat Networks Delivery Plan Review Report 2026.
- Asked by: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, MSP for Edinburgh Northern, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 July 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Stephen Gethins 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.
Answer
Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies(LHEES) support local authorities to take a strategic approach to the delivery of heat networks. The Scottish Government has reviewed all 32 LHEES and found that all local authorities have assessed the potential for heat networks and identified any potential heat network zones in their LHEES. Where appropriate, local authorities have also identified actions to support heat network delivery in their LHEES delivery plans.
The 32 LHEES set out the significant opportunities for the development of heat networks across Scotland. They identified large-scale opportunities for heat networks in many towns and cities – with Glasgow and Edinburgh highlighting potential for heat networks to serve up to 4.4 and 3.7 TWh of heat demand per year. Opportunities for shared ground loops in less heat dense areas were also identified, for example in Highland Council’s LHEES.
We have created a clear pathway from LHEES to delivery with respect to heat networks: LHEES identify potential heat network zones, and our HNSU is working with local authorities to help commercialise them, in preparation for any capital funding bid to SHNF.
- Asked by: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, MSP for Edinburgh Northern, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 July 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Stephen Gethins on 7 August 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what funding has been allocated to Scotland's Heat Network Fund for the current financial year, and whether it will commit to maintaining this fund across the full current parliamentary session, with flexible timelines to account for rising delivery costs.
Answer
Heat in Buildings is allocated £302.5m capital in the 2026-27 Scottish Budget, which includes funding for Scotland’s Heat Network Fund. This budget provides flexibility across schemes, and spending via Scotland’s Heat Network Fund is dependent on there being demand from projects that meet essential criteria and represent good value for money.
Scotland’s Heat Network Fund is currently open until March 2030 as announced by the previous administration. It operates flexible timelines to accommodate the complex development cycle of a heat network.
- Asked by: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, MSP for Edinburgh Northern, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 July 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 3 August 2026
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to make teplizumab available through NHS Scotland and, if so, what is the anticipated timescale for its introduction.
Answer
The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) has received a full submission from the marketing authorisation holder, Sanofi, for teplizumab (Tzield®), to delay the onset of Stage 3 type 1 diabetes in adult and paediatric patients 8 years of age and older with Stage 2 type 1 diabetes.
The SMC’s advice in relation to the routine use of teplizumab in the NHS in Scotland is expected to be published in 2027. The medicine product page on the SMC’s website will be updated with the advice, when published.
- Asked by: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, MSP for Edinburgh Northern, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 July 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Stephen Gethins on 31 July 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.
Answer
We have created a clear pathway from LHEES to delivery with respect to heat networks: LHEES identify potential heat network zones, and our HNSU is working with local authorities to delve into these opportunities further to commercialise them, in preparation for any capital funding bid to SHNF.
As noted in the National Planning Framework 4, local development plans should take into account the area’s LHEES. The spatial strategy should take into account areas of heat network potential and any designated heat network zones.
- Asked by: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, MSP for Edinburgh Northern, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 July 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Stephen Gethins on 31 July 2026
To ask the Scottish Government whether the forthcoming Buildings (Heating and Energy Performance) and Heat Networks (Scotland) Bill will include a requirement for public buildings to connect to heat networks where these are available, and what assessment it has made of the potential impact of such a requirement.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-01635 on 31 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: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, MSP for Edinburgh Northern, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 July 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Stephen Gethins on 31 July 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the contribution that heat networks can make to tackling fuel poverty in Scotland, and how this is reflected in its current and planned policy and funding commitments.
Answer
Heat networks can help to reduce fuel poverty, particularly where they have access to low-cost sources of heat. The Heat Networks(Scotland) Act 2021 includes powers for heat network consents which would scrutinise how proposed new networks are designed and the outcomes that they expect to provide in areas including fuel poverty. Detailed proposals for a heat network consents regime will be bought forward in due course.
Applicants to Scotland’s Heat Network Fund must demonstrate that their project will supply affordable heat, and the impact on fuel poverty is a key consideration within the assessment of a project’s value for money.
- Asked by: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, MSP for Edinburgh Northern, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 July 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Stephen Gethins on 31 July 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.
Answer
Our consultation on proposals for a new installation and maintenance licence to grant heat network organisations statutory rights and powers ran from 13 March to 5 June 2026. We are now analysing responses, and a full report will be published in due course. The consultation paper sets out our intention to include the necessary provisions in the Heat in Buildings Bill later this parliamentary session. The consultation paper can be found at:https://www.gov.scot/publications/installation-maintenance-licence-heat-networks/
- Asked by: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, MSP for Edinburgh Northern, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 July 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Stephen Gethins on 31 July 2026
To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to introduce the revised Buildings (Heating and Energy Performance) and Heat Networks (Scotland) Bill, and what its key provisions will be compared to the version of the Bill that was previously considered.
Answer
We will take forward our Heat in Buildings Bill in this Parliamentary session to support homeowners, landlords and tenants to transition to clean heating in a fair and affordable way.
The Scottish Government's legislative programme, including the timing and detail of this Bill, will be agreed by Ministers and announced to Parliament in due course, and in the usual way. When the Bill is introduced, Impact Assessments for the Bill’s provisions will be published.
- Asked by: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, MSP for Edinburgh Northern, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 June 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 13 July 2026
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the decentralisation of funding for diabetes technologies in April 2026, whether it will legislate to ensure that the SIGN guideline 170, Optimising glycaemic control in people with type 1 diabetes, is adhered to.
Answer
Clinical guidelines are intended to support and inform professional clinical judgement, not to replace it. Decisions regarding any specific clinical procedure or treatment must always be made on the basis of the individual patient’s clinical condition, personal circumstances, and expressed preferences, alongside the professional judgement of the responsible healthcare team.
In recognition of this principle, the Scottish Government has no plans to legislate for the mandatory use of SIGN guideline 170. Rather, the clear expectation is that GPs and other clinicians consider all relevant and applicable clinical guidelines when assessing an individual’s suitability for diabetes technologies. Access to such technologies should therefore be determined on a case-by-case basis, informed by the patient’s individual clinical needs, rather than through rigid or automatic application of any single guideline.
