Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government has an important role in managing Scotland’s marine space, ensuring the interests of all marine users are appropriately considered. We want to see a prosperous future for the offshore wind and fisheries sectors.

The Scottish Government engages regularly with the UK Government and the National Energy System Operator on development of the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP) through formal governance groups and bilateral meetings. Through that engagement the Scottish Government is continuing to press for Scotland’s offshore wind potential being fully reflected in the future SSEP.

The Scottish Government, together with the UK Government and Welsh Government, has commissioned the National Energy System Operator (NESO) to produce a Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP). The SSEP is a whole system spatial plan for Great Britain’s future energy infrastructure and is due to be published for consultation next year.

The UK Government’s Nuclear Regulatory Review specifically excluded devolved issues in Scotland and Wales in its consideration. Therefore, recommendations covering such matters are set out for England only.

The Scottish Government remains firmly opposed to new nuclear power stations in Scotland under current technologies and so recommendations regarding new nuclear energy will not be considered. Where there are recommendations about the wider management of existing nuclear sites concerning devolved areas of competence, we will consider the merits of any measures once we receive more detailed proposals from UK Government. Our focus remains on managing Scotland’s nuclear legacy in a way that protects people and the environment.

As I set out in my previous response, the UK Government did not provide a detailed policy design or a full assessment of the potential impacts of zonal pricing on consumers, communities and businesses in Scotland.

We engaged with a broad range of stakeholders and noted that the available evidence on the impact of introducing zonal pricing was mixed. Some organisations highlighted the potential for zonal pricing to reduce electricity costs in parts of Scotland – but this would not materialise for another 10 years. Renewable energy developers and wider industry stakeholders raised significant concerns about the potential impact on investor confidence and associated risk premium which could erode any benefit.

Given these competing considerations, and the absence of a clear, evidence-based policy framework from the UK Government, the Scottish Government has not adopted a formal position either in support of or against the introduction of zonal pricing. Rather the Scottish Government calls on the UK Government to take immediate action to reduce the high cost of energy bills today – for example through introducing a social tariff.

The responses provided to previous questions reflect this position and are in line with the commitment in the Scottish Ministerial Code to be as open as possible with Parliament, setting out both the limits of the available evidence and the basis on which the Scottish Government has engaged on this issue.

Approximately £9.7 million from the first round of the Just Transition Fund was allocated to skills interventions aimed at supporting workforce transferability and the transition, including the Energy Skills Passport and Energy Transition Skills Hub.

The Passport is an industry led project and for the most recent data on uptake we recommend contacting Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) and Renewable UK (RUK) directly. The latest information available to Scottish Government regarding uptake, which covers the period from launch in January 2025 to March 2026, is that over 650 user profiles have been set up on the Passport’s digital system. The Hub represents a major investment in Scotland’s green energy workforce, aiming to support 1,000 people into energy transition roles over its first five years.

The Just Transition Fund is complemented by the Oil and Gas Transition Training Fund (TTF). The Scottish and UK Governments have each committed £3 million to the TTF for 2026/27, which aims to support over 1,000 oil and gas workers with careers advice and funding for training to access opportunities in sustainable energy and other growth sectors.

The Scottish Government’s Just Transition Fund has invested more than £83.5 million since 2022, supporting 28 projects across the North East and Moray.

Information on all recipients of Just Transition Fund awards, including project descriptions and funding allocations, is publicly available through a Scottish Government Freedom of Information release published in July 2025: [gov.scot]. This provides a comprehensive list of projects supported through the Fund.

The most recent funding round reopened on 2 March 2026, with up to £17 million available to support green jobs, innovation, supply chain diversification and community-led projects. Details of future funding opportunities will continue to be published on the Scottish Government website in the usual way.

The Scottish Government has set out clear objectives for the Just Transition Fund – to support the North East and Moray in transitioning to a net zero economy and mitigate the economic and social challenges associated with reducing dependence on carbon-intensive industries. These objectives are reflected in the criteria for the Fund this year which are; jobs, skills and economic opportunities; communities and place; people and equity; environment, biodiversity and adaptation.

The Marine Directorate’s Licensing Operations Team (MD-LOT) and NatureScot have worked hard to plan for an increase in offshore wind applications for some time. Scottish Government resource requirements continue to be monitored, with staff deployed flexibly to help process applications as expeditiously as possible. Best efforts are made to meet a determination timeline of 12 months from initial application, noting that more complex applications may take longer. However, where additional information is required this will impact determination timelines.

In April 2026 Nature Scot implemented a new charging model to enable full cost recovery associated with providing advice to MD-LOT and developers. These approaches have helped ensure timescales do not present unnecessary barriers to projects seeking to participate in Contract for Difference Allocation Rounds.

The Just Transition Fund does not have a single set of programme-wide KPIs. Instead, each funded project has its own agreed targets and milestones, which are monitored through quarterly, annual and final reporting.

The Fund's overarching outcomes are:

• Jobs, skills and economic opportunities;
• Communities and places;
• People and equity; and
• Environment, biodiversity and adaptation.

The Scottish Government expects the Fund to continue contributing to all four outcomes during the remainder of the current parliamentary session. £83.5 million has been allocated to 28 projects since 2022, with a further £17 million due to be allocated this year. A fresh evaluation of the impact of the Fund will be undertaken this year to get a more comprehensive picture of impact.

Just one project supported by the Just Transition Fund, the ETZ Supply Chain Challenge Fund, has generated 267 jobs and leveraged £17 million in private investment in four years, with further benefits expected as projects continue to be delivered.