The Scottish Parliament

Question reference: S6O-05577

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 February 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how the recent Court of Session ruling on the Wull Muir scheme in the Borders will impact on its energy policy and strategy.

Question reference: S6W-43630

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 17 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-21946 by Michael Matheson on 25 October 2023, whether it will provide an update on NHS Grampian's (a) (i) NHS Scotland Resource Allocation Committee (NRAC) formula target and (ii) actual funding allocation, and (b) distance from NRAC parity in each year since 2021-22.

Question reference: S6W-43473

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 10 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the prevalence of faulty installations linked to the ECO4 scheme for energy-efficiency upgrades.

The Energy Company Obligation is a UK Government scheme. They have advised us that external wall insulation (EWI) was installed in 421 properties in Scotland as part of the Energy Company Obligation (ECO4) and Great British Insulation (GBIS) schemes. In Scotland a Building Warrant is required before external wall insulation can be installed, this provides additional safeguards compared with England and Wales.

Where these EWI installs have subsequently been audited by the UK Government, they have not reported any serious faults (e.g. health and safety risks due to poor ventilation). They reported non-compliance with scheme requirements as being 34% of the audited EWI cases in Scotland.

We anticipate that a small number of Scottish homes may have been affected by poor quality installation of external wall insulation with ECO4 and GBIS finance. We have requested that the UK Government provides further information about these cases to relevant local authorities and the Scottish Government.

The UK Government report that internal wall insulation (IWI) was installed in around 6,100 properties in Scotland as part of these schemes. This work does not normally require a Building Warrant but local authority consents may be required in some cases. The UK Government has advised us about 410 properties with IWI that were referred for auditing (i.e. this includes cases where a concern had already been raised). Non-compliance was reported in 31% of audited IWI cases. The UK Government reports that serious problems were identified in 12 properties and that all of these were successfully remediated.

The number of Scottish properties affected by poor quality or faulty installation of internal wall insulation is likely to be higher. However it seems likely that these issues have affected a minority of homes and can be successfully remediated in most cases. We have requested that further information about these properties continues to be provided to relevant local authorities and the Scottish Government.

Question reference: S6W-43471

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 10 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it operates a compensation scheme for people whose properties have been subject to damage, defects or faulty installations as a result of works carried out under the ECO4 scheme for energy-efficiency upgrades and, if not, what routes of compensation are available.

The Energy Company Obligation (ECO4) is not a Scottish Government scheme. The Scottish Government does not operate a general scheme providing remediation or compensation for damage caused to people’s homes by third parties.

Property owners should first raise any concerns with the installer and ask them to make good any defects, faults or damage. If they are not satisfied with the installer’s response, they can raise this with TrustMark. TrustMark is the UK Government’s trusted trader scheme and members must agree to participate in their complaints process.

All Energy Company Obligation (ECO4) and Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS) installers were required to be registered with TrustMark and part of industry based certification schemes. This was a requirement of eligibility for ECO4 or GBIS finance.

Consumer protection, product and business regulation are reserved matters. The UK Government has published advice for property owners about their key rights and protections under consumer law. Buying green heating and insulation products: consumer guide - GOV.UK

Home owners can contact their local Trading Standards Office or Citizens Advice Bureau for more advice about their rights, compensation and next steps if needed.

Question reference: S6W-43472

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 10 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what oversight is in place to ensure that installers operating under the ECO4 scheme for energy-efficiency upgrades remedy defective or damaging works.

The Energy Company Obligation (ECO4) is a UK Government scheme based upon Westminster regulations and administered by Ofgem, the independent regulator. The obligation requires energy suppliers to achieve energy bill savings by funding the installation of energy efficiency improvements in domestic properties. The design of the scheme and any requirements to undertake remediation are reserved to the UK Government.

Question reference: S6W-43470

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 10 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the ECO4 scheme for energy-efficiency upgrades, what advice it provides to homeowners seeking compensation where installers or scheme providers are no longer trading.

The Scottish Government funds both the Home Energy Scotland and Advice Direct Scotland service to provide free and impartial advice. Property owners who may be affected by the failure of this UK Government scheme can contact these services for advice.

The Energy Company Obligation (ECO4) scheme requires installers to reduce energy bills by installing energy efficiency improvements such as insulation. The UK Government are responsible for the design and regulation of the ECO4 scheme, this is administered by Ofgem on their behalf.

Installers delivering improvements as part of the ECO4 scheme were required to be registered with TrustMark, the UK Government’s trusted trader scheme. They were also required to be certified installers with a relevant industry body and ECO4 installations had to be covered by a guarantee. Where an installer has ceased trading, the UK Government advises property owners to contact the guarantee provider to arrange for remediation of any outstanding defects or damage.

Consumer protection, product and business regulation are reserved matters. The UK Government has published advice for property owners about their key rights and protections under consumer law. Buying green heating and insulation products: consumer guide - GOV.UK

Question reference: S6W-43461

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 30 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 6 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what recent analysis it has undertaken of recruitment and retention challenges in NHS Grampian.

The NHS Grampian Assurance Board was established in July 2025. It commissioned an independent diagnostic review to help inform NHS Grampian’s approach to system redesign and service transformation.

A sub-group of the Assurance Board has been established to advise on the Board’s approach to a strategic review of their workforce planning. This work is in the early stages of development, and the Assurance Board is expecting to consider the approach and associated work plan in the coming weeks.

Question reference: S6W-43462

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 30 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 6 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that newly qualified nurses are able to access employment opportunities within NHS Grampian, in light of reported concerns about the limited availability of posts suitable for new graduates.

The Scottish Government’s role is to set the strategic policy direction for the NHS in Scotland. Operational matters, including local recruitment decisions, are the responsibility of each NHS Health Board as employers.

Whilst it is hoped that all graduates can join the NHS in their local area upon graduation, this is not always immediately possible. When a student is ready to graduate and cannot find employment with a local health board, universities will provide support and career guidance to assist the student in the consideration of all employment opportunities across health and social care.

As part of ongoing efforts to strengthen workforce planning across NHS Scotland, we have developed an internal panel (the Advisory Panel on Workforce Projections & Controlled Subject Intakes) to improve our healthcare student planning, ensuring we continue to fund the right number of healthcare training places across a range of disciplines.

In addition, we have tasked the NHS Scotland Centre for Workforce Supply to explore what further national support is required to promote employment opportunities in Scotland and we are working alongside the Scottish Executive Nurse Directors Group to identify what action can be taken to support newly qualified nurses to access employment in health and social care across the country.

Question reference: S6W-43460

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 30 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 6 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether it is consistent with Scottish planning policy for a local authority to refuse a planning application on the basis of a separate project that has not reached a formal determination stage, particularly in cases where the local authority is not the final decision-maker for that separate project.

Section 37 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 sets out that, when determining planning applications, planning authorities are to have regard to the provisions of the development plan, so far as material to the application, and to any other material considerations. The development plan consists of National Planning Framework 4 and the relevant local development plan.

It is for the relevant planning authority to identify, in each individual planning application, what material considerations apply and what weight to give to each material consideration in reaching their decision. This is a matter of planning judgement for the authority.

Question reference: S6O-05483

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 February 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to restore salmon numbers in Scotland’s rivers.

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