Chamber and committees

Neither the Scottish Government nor its Warmer Homes Scotland managing agent, Warmworks, collects or holds information on whether properties that withdraw from the scheme have looped electricity service connections.

Yes. Ministerial travel arrangements are made as appropriate to the occasion and circumstances, taking account of operational requirements, security considerations, value for money and the need to deliver an intensive programme of ministerial engagements.

The visit involved a demanding schedule across multiple locations connected to Scotland's participation in the FIFA World Cup and a programme of trade, investment, diplomatic and stakeholder engagements.

The trip enabled the First Minister to promote Scotland's economic interests, including investment opportunities in clean energy and advanced technology, support Scotch whisky industry priorities, launch Scotland's first state-by-state US Export Plan and strengthen key political, educational and cultural relationships.

The current contract for the administration of the Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) runs from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2029. Any new contract would commence on 1 April 2029, following a competitive procurement process.

The Scottish Government remains deeply concerned about the devastating humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and the impact it continues to have on civilians, including students whose education and future prospects have been profoundly affected by conflict and displacement.

Power over immigration is reserved to the UK Government and this includes decisions regarding safe and humanitarian routes to the UK for students in conflict settings. We welcomed the introduction in 2025 of the scheme enabling students from Gaza to travel to Scotland for study. The initiative supported 27 students on fully funded scholarships to take up places at Scottish universities during academic year 2025-26.

Scottish Ministers pushed the UK Government to continue these arrangements and it is welcome that they have resumed for academic year 2026-27.

We are urgently working with the UK Government and Scottish universities to make sure as many students as possible who meet eligibility criteria can begin their scholarships in Scotland.

Scottish universities, including Universities of Sanctuary, remain committed to supporting students affected by conflict and displacement. Together, we are providing humanitarian support to the people of Palestine and have already committed to explore how we can further support students from Gaza, including through the development of a new postgraduate Scottish Gaza Scholarship Programme.

As of 17 September 2026, 1,305 FFIS cases remain to be concluded.

Of these, 472 businesses have yet to submit an evidence return for grant payments totalling over £5.7 million. The extended deadline for submitting evidence is 30 September 2026, and verification cannot begin until the evidence is received.

Review has started in 566 cases. Review has yet start for 267 cases, of these, 219, 81% were received in August and September.

The total number of concluded cases is currently 446, which has resulted in the need to recover over £373,000 from 45 businesses.

The Scottish Government does not collate payment data at a region level. The breakdown by Area Office is:

Information on the economic status of those aged 16 to 24 is available from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Annual Population Survey. The latest data on the economic inactivity rates for 16 to 24 year olds was published in the latest Scotland’s Labour Market Insights publication. This shows that an estimated 37.7% of 16 to 24 year olds in Scotland were economically inactive in April 2025 to March 2026. This equates to around 210,800 young people aged 16 to 24.

The ONS Annual Population Survey also indicates that an estimated 74.0% of economically inactive 16 to 24 year olds were classed as students in April 2025 to March 2026.

The latest Scotland’s Labour Market Insights report can be accessed on the Scottish Government website:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/scotlands-labour-market-insights-july-2026/

The Scottish Government has allocated £36 million in 2026-27 to support the GP walk-in services programme. Detailed operational planning, including service capacity, is undertaken by NHS Boards. Services are being implemented through a phased pilot approach and delivery models vary between locations to suit local needs.

Block grant consequentials accrue to the Scottish Government as a whole and it is for the Scottish Ministers to decide how best to allocate these based on their priorities. The £140 million in consequentials was taken into account as part of the 2026-27 Parliamentary budget setting process.

To help households install clean heat and energy efficiency measures, over £330 million funding has been allocated in 2026-27, part of £1.3 billion support over the spending review period. Our schemes have already supported thousands of households to save between £300 and £500 per year on their energy bills and we estimate 20,000 households will benefit from our schemes this year, with around 60% targeted at those most at risk of fuel poverty. We also continue to invest in heat networks and decarbonising public sector buildings.

At this time, the Scottish Government has no plans to bring in legislation to prevent the release of sky lanterns and helium balloons, as there is not currently enough evidence to support an outright ban. However, the Scottish Government is aware of the risk that their release can pose in terms of animal safety and fire risk and will therefore continue to monitor and consider all options available to us. We welcome engagement with stakeholders in order to ensure the best outcome, in particular, the release of sky lanterns as a consequence of the fires we have witnessed during the past two summer periods.

The Scottish Government’s approach to harm reduction is informed by current intelligence on emerging drug trends through Public Health Scotland’s Rapid Action Drug Alerts and Response (RADAR) system. Current intelligence indicates that nitazenes are the most commonly detected new synthetic opioids in Scotland. Fentanyl (as an illicit substance) is not often detected in Scotland but is a widely used street term to refer to all synthetic opioids.

We are aware that nitazene test strips are available from some services in Scotland. We are working with partners including Public Health Scotland and Healthcare Improvement Scotland to consider the evidence and inform appropriate Scottish guidance.