Chamber and committees

Child Winter Heating Payment is an automatic payment, unique to Scotland, which supports families with disabled children and young people under 19 with the additional heating costs they face in winter.

Official statistics Winter Heating Benefits: Statistics for Winter 2025/2026 - Social Security Scotland published for winter 2025-26 show that Social Security Scotland made 44,525 payments, totalling £11.4 million to eligible families. Of these, 5 were made to families with a non-UK address, totalling around £1,000. Information on the countries in which those recipients were resident is not published.

Eligibility for Child Winter Heating Payment while living in a European Economic Area (EEA) country or Switzerland reflects the UK's obligations under international social security coordination arrangements. Entitlement applies only in limited circumstances, where a child or young person receives a qualifying disability benefit, has a genuine and sufficient link to Scotland, and resides in Switzerland or an eligible EEA country with a lower average winter temperature than the warmest region of the UK.

The Scottish Government keeps the operation of all devolved benefits under review. However, eligibility for people living overseas is governed by the UK's international obligations and applies only to a very small number of cases.

Scottish Government recognises the importance of accessible and adapted housing in supporting people to live independently in their communities. This is why we have protected the Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) Adaptations Programme budget, maintaining this at £20.9 million for 2026-27.

While we have no plans to establish a national framework for recording accessible and adapted social housing, we are, however, committed to making accessibility a mainstream feature of all new homes. To this end, we have delivered the first milestone in our 100-day commitment to improve the accessibility, adaptability and usability of Scotland’s homes. Specialists have been appointed to support the review and modernisation of the Housing for Varying Needs design guide, a key reference document for the affordable housing sector in Scotland, and to progress our commitment to deliver a new all-tenure Scottish Accessible Homes Standard through updates to building standards and guidance. A dedicated working group, bringing together industry stakeholders, healthcare professionals, academia and people with lived experience, will help shape the future direction of this work ahead of a public consultation on detailed proposals planned for early 2027.

Individuals who have received a private diagnosis of a neurodevelopmental condition – including ADHD – may seek ongoing care and medication through NHS services. However, any decisions regarding ongoing treatment, including prescribing, remain matters for individual NHS clinicians following consideration of each individual’s circumstances and relevant clinical information. GPs are not obliged to follow the recommendations of a private provider. Decisions about prescribing remain a matter of clinical judgement as part of clinicians’ overall responsibilities for ensuring patients receive appropriate care.

The Scottish Government works with stakeholders, including the National Autism Implementation Team (NAIT) and the Royal College of Psychiatrists, to consider how services can better meet the needs of people with neurodevelopmental conditions, including those who have sought private assessment. This complements our wider work to improve neurodevelopmental support through the National Neurodevelopmental Specification for Children and Young People and the new Adult Neurodevelopmental Pathway Route-Map, which will we are aiming to publish next month.

The legal responsibility for housing and homelessness services in Edinburgh, including the provision and management of temporary accommodation, sits with the City of Edinburgh Council. Under the Homeless Persons (Unsuitable Accommodation) (Scotland) Order 2014, temporary accommodation provided to households must meet certain standards, including access to appropriate cooking facilities. Access to suitable cooking facilities allows households to prepare meals and make choices about the food they eat while residing in temporary accommodation.

The Scottish Government provides funding to Edinburgh Community Food to work with relevant local authorities and NHS Lothian to help improve access to healthier food options and improve diets, including for people living in temporary accommodation.

The Scottish Government continues to seek opportunities that will ensure quality and value for money in the delivery of affordable homes in Scotland, including where wider adoption of standardised designs could deliver efficiencies. We draw on lessons learned from standardisation and collaborative procurement approaches in Scotland such as those undertaken by the Edinburgh Home Demonstrator project, and we will work with partners across government and industry, considering examples of best practice both in the UK and overseas.

A letter was sent to COSLA by former Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Ms McAllan, on 6 May 2026, which gave clear direction to local authorities, to use powers given them in Section 315 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 to create byelaws that maintain accommodation standards for seasonal workers.

Following this direction, my officials met with COSLA officers in relation to the introduction of byelaws by local authorities, and the support from the Scottish Government that may be required by local authorities to progress this important matter.

My officials also met with an Angus Council officer to discuss the process of creating byelaws on seasonal worker accommodation.

I wrote to COSLA on 22nd October, which reiterates my view that the most effective course of action is for local authorities to use their powers to create byelaws. My letter also requested an update on engagement between COSLA and local authorities and the anticipated timescales for progressing this matter.

A letter was sent to COSLA by former Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Ms McAllan, on 6 May 2026, which gave clear direction to local authorities, to use powers given them in Section 315 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 to create byelaws that maintain accommodation standards for seasonal workers.

Following this direction, my officials met with COSLA officers in relation to the introduction of byelaws by local authorities, and the support from the Scottish Government that may be required by local authorities to progress this important matter.

My officials also met with an Angus Council officer to discuss the process of creating byelaws on seasonal worker accommodation.

I wrote to COSLA on 22nd October 2026, which reiterates my view that the most effective course of action is for local authorities to use their powers to create byelaws. My letter also requested an update on engagement between COSLA and local authorities and the anticipated timescales for progressing this matter.

The Independent Commission on the Criminalisation of the Purchase of Sex operates independently of the Scottish Government and is responsible for determining how it undertakes its work, in line with its published Terms of Reference: Criminalisation of the Purchase of Sex in Scotland: Independent Commission - terms of reference - gov.scot

The Commission’s Terms of Reference make clear that its work will be informed by the views and experiences of people with experience of prostitution. Decisions on how those views are sought, including which individuals and organisations are engaged with during the course of its work, are matters for the independent Chair and Commission members.

Whether or not a self-catering accommodation business is viable is not relevant to the requirement for any business to comply with any regulation requirements. Licensing focuses on the safety and suitability of the accommodation and the host to operate a short-term let. Planning is concerned with the use of land and wider impacts on amenity and communities, considering issues such as the effect on neighbours, housing supply, and the character of an area.

The short-term let licensing regime requires compliance with other regulatory regimes such as fire, gas and electrical safety. Therefore while planning is also a separate regime with a different remit, it is not unique for planning to be linked to licensing in this way. It ensures short-term lets comply with all relevant conditions and requirements to operate and reduces the burden on local authorities that would otherwise be granting licences when they are aware of planning restrictions preventing the property being used as a short-term let.

Under existing planning law, planning permission is required for any material change of use to short-term letting. Operating without planning permission, where required, is a breach of planning control and planning authorities can take enforcement action. Under licensing legislation, authorities may refuse to consider new licensing applications if they believe there is a breach of planning control, which could prevent the lawful use of a property as a short-term let regardless of whether a licence was issued. In control areas, to obtain a licence, hosts must have obtained planning consent, or applied for it, if required under planning law.

As set out in section 61 of the Crofting and Scottish Land Court Act 2026, Scottish Ministers must update guidance in relation to section 27 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 before the transfer to the merged court of the competence and jurisdiction for the matters referred to in paragraph 16 of schedule 1 (access rights) takes effect.

The Scottish Government intends to commence provisions of the Act at one agreed date, rather than on a piecemeal basis. However, as several provisions in the Act relate to reserved matters, such as jurisdictional amendments and renumeration, there are currently ongoing discussions with UK Government colleagues in the Scotland Office to outline timetables for the required Scotland Act Orders needed to complete this work. As previously stated, once a timetable has been agreed for this work, I will be in a better position to outline the required timescales for implementing provisions within the 2026 Act.