Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government recognises that construction sector capacity, including the availability of labour, as well as the capability and capacity of firms, is key to the delivery of housing targets.

We engage regularly with local authorities who have responsibility for assessing local housing requirements and setting out delivery priorities in their Strategic Housing Investment Plans. We also engage broadly with registered social landlords who are responsible for procuring construction activity, and this engagement informs our understanding of strategic and operational delivery challenges including those related to construction sector capacity.

We have not produced a single estimate of the gap between planned and deliverable housing supply. This is due to the wide range of variables that affect delivery, including market conditions, supply chain pressures, planning factors and investment decisions.

Public bodies are required to ensure delivery models achieve best value and meet the needs of the communities they serve. Decisions on whether services are delivered in-house or outsourced are a strategic matter for Scottish public bodies, taken through established commissioning and business planning processes.

While there is no single mandated public interest test in Scotland presently, the underlying principle of early, evidence-based assessment of delivery options are reflected in existing frameworks, with the Scottish Public Finance Manual and business case development processes supporting evidence-based decisions. These include consideration of value for money, affordability, risk, skills, capacity and wider impacts.

The Scottish Government keeps its approach to service delivery under review as part of its wider programme of public service reform. As part of this, we are currently exploring the opportunity to introduce a public interest test to further support make or buy decisions.

The procurement and safe deployment of assets is an operational matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS). It is important to note that the eight Ford Ranger Ultra-Light Pumping Units are replacing legacy fire appliances. These are not dedicated wildfire appliances, but they can be called upon to provide support at a wildfire incident if required. These units are not the same appliances as the ten Ford Ranger Wildfire Units which SFRS has previously confirmed are operational for dedicated wildfire management.

As of 3 June 2026, these vehicles are not operational, however, SFRS has confirmed that operational capability at the fire stations which will be receiving these appliances has not been impacted. SFRS notes that installation of the latest pumping and communication systems in these units is complete and envisages training and delivery of all units by the end of this summer.

The Scottish Government draws on a range of evidence to inform its understanding of construction workforce requirements, including Skills Development Scotland’s Sectoral Skills Assessments, which provide an overview of workforce demand and supply across the construction sector.

We also engage regularly with a broad range of partners to ensure the skills system is responsive to the needs of the construction sector and supports delivery of Scotland’s housing priorities. This includes key stakeholder representative bodies, such as Homes for Scotland, to ensure we are aware of current and emerging issues affecting the construction workforce.

Given the number of variables influencing the pace, scale and delivery of housing projects, including market conditions, planning considerations and investment decisions, it is not however possible to produce a precise estimate of total workforce demand, current supply or any projected shortfall over a five-year period.

The Scottish Government works closely with its partners to promote awareness of the tools, sub-surface data and funding available to stakeholders to support exploration of Scotland’s geothermal energy potential. Examples of this work are set out in the answer to S6W-44106 on 17 March 2026

Heat networks will form an important part of Scotland's overall heat decarbonisation programme, supplying clean heat (such as geothermal) to homes and other buildings. Scotland’s Heat Network Fund (SHNF) offers capital grants to businesses and organisations in the public, private and third sectors to develop heat network projects in Scotland. The SHNF requires a minimum 50% contribution from the Grantee which helps to leverage private investment in the heat network sector and generate additional economic benefits. An expression of interest for funding can be submitted at any time.

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.

The Scottish Government supports Skills Development Scotland (SDS) and training providers to work with employers to raise awareness of the benefits of apprenticeships to their businesses.

SDS currently has operational responsibility for managing apprenticeship funding and delivery, and regularly monitors demand across all sectors.

SDS promote all types of apprenticeship opportunities, including in regulatory services, as an attractive career path through their all-age career service, in every local authority. An SDS Careers Adviser is embedded in every school in Scotland to highlight the career options available to people, including apprenticeships.

The My World of Work website, used in schools to support young people, includes in depth information about apprenticeships, whilst apprenticeships.scot is promoted to all ages as the main source of information about Scottish Apprenticeships. SDS also work with partners and employers to highlight the importance of apprenticeships particularly through Scottish Apprenticeship Week.

We will continue to work with key stakeholders to assess sectoral skill needs across the economy and ensure that all sectors, including the regulatory sector, can access appropriate support where required.

Budgets are set annually by the Scottish Parliament: The Scottish Budget Process | Scottish Parliament Website

The Scottish Budget incorporates all money expected to be received from the Barnett determined block grant, borrowing, taxes raised in Scotland and other sources of income including the expected income from the sale of shared equity, including from Help to Buy schemes. This anticipated income then provides the framework for the spending decisions made by Scottish Ministers and set out in the Scottish budget which is then scrutinised voted on by the Scottish parliament.

Income received from Help to Buy Scotland has been, and will continue to be used, to fund the spending decisions made by Scottish Ministers. The Scottish Budget 2026 to 2027 includes anticipated Financial Transaction (FT) Receipts of £80 million which support the Affordable Housing Supply Programme FT budget of £163.4 million. Please refer to the Housing Tab in the supporting Level 4 Workbooks 2026-27 Supporting documents - Scottish Budget 2026 to 2027 - gov.scot.

There are various national policies and guidance documents currently in place which require NHS Health Boards to appropriately record and report incidents of violence and aggression, including sexual assault. This includes the Work-related Violence and Aggression Policy, and accompanying guides, which details the responsibilities of staff and managers, the procedures for reporting incidents and the support available to those affected. We have also published the NHS Public Protection Accountability and Assurance Framework, which sets out exemplar evidence of high-quality, safe and effective services that promote the protection of adults and children. Where there is concern about potential harm to a child, the National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland makes clear that all concerns that a child has been abused or is at risk of abuse must be reported to the police or social work.

Sexual assaults occurring in our hospitals is unacceptable, and all Health Boards are expected to uphold their legal duties as employers to keep staff, patients and visitors safe. All crimes and instances of violent behaviour, including sexual assaults, should be reported to Police Scotland. The courts have extensive powers to deal robustly with sexual offending.

The Scottish Government has not undertaken any modelling of the total financial returns generated from Help to Buy schemes it has previously operated.

The Scottish Government has previously published information on the return made on the Scottish Government’s investment through Help to Buy (HTB) (Scotland) from the launch of the scheme in September 2013 to the end of March 2020.

Help+to+Buy+%28Scotland%29+Return+Report+to+2020.pdf

The receipts from shared equity are driven by the actions of the homeowner and not by Government, therefore it is difficult to make projections regarding the timing of future returns. Historic trends are used to inform forecasting and planning.

The annual Scottish Government Consolidated Accounts include estimates of the fair value of Housing Shared equity held by the Scottish Government as at 31 March. This includes equity held from Help to Buy schemes, Open Market Shared Equity, New Supply Shared Equity and First Home Fund, the value is modelled using the House price index to estimate the change in property value.

The Scottish Government recognises the role that advisers and third sector organisations, including Citizens Advice Scotland, can play in supporting clients to challenge Adult Disability Payment decisions.

Under current legislation, requests for redetermination must be made by the individual client, or by a formally appointed representative (such as a power of attorney, guardian or appointee), who has the legal authority to act on the client’s behalf in line with statutory requirements and Social Security Scotland security and consent processes.

This is distinct from third party representatives, such as advice, advocacy, or welfare organisations, who may be nominated to support a client but do not have the same legal authority to act on their behalf. Social Security Scotland has established Third Party Representative guidance which explains how individuals can nominate such organisations to share or receive some categories of information on their behalf. However, this does not extend to making a redetermination request. Stakeholder organisations continue to play an important role in supporting those clients seeking a review of a decision.

Social Security Scotland continues to engage with stakeholders, including Citizens Advice Scotland, to ensure that systems and processes meet the needs of clients and those supporting them.