The Scottish Parliament

Question reference: S7O-00118

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 June 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the provision of post-school skills pathways.

Question reference: S7O-00110

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 June 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what national assessment it has made of the climate impact associated with hyperscale AI green data centres.

Question reference: S7W-01073

Asked by: Jack Middleton, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 June 2026
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Angela Constance on 17 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the delivery of the new app for health and social care, MyCare.scot.

Question reference: S7W-00781

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 17 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to allocate any financial returns or capital gains realised from property sales under the proposed First Homes Fund.

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, which will include from First Homes Fund. 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.

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.

Question reference: S7W-00809

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 17 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when all patients will be able to use the MyCare.scot app to order repeat prescriptions and book GP appointments.

MyCare.scot was rolled out nationally across Scotland from April 2026 and will continue to develop incrementally through the Scottish Government’s Digital Front Door (DFD) programme. Future functionality will depend on wider national digital programmes, including the Digital Prescribing and Dispensing Pathways (DPDP) Programme and GP IT reprovisioning.

The DPDP Programme will replace paper prescriptions with a secure ,end-to-end digital prescribing and dispensing system. The current DPDP trajectory is for delivery by mid-2028 of the end-to-end process for prescribing and dispensing, with patient-facing benefits via MyCare.scot, including prescription ordering, following in 2029.

GP appointment booking functionality will be introduced progressively as development and integration work with GP systems is completed across NHS Scotland. Current planning assumptions are that core integration work could be completed during 2027, enabling phased rollout of digital booking functionality through MyCare.scot across NHS Boards thereafter.

Question reference: S7W-00792

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Hannah Mary Goodlad on 17 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to extending permitted development rights for small-scale geothermal and heat networks.

The Scottish Government last year consulted on potential new permitted development rights for the installation (and subsequent repair and maintenance) of underground pipework and associated apparatus for the purposes of connecting individual buildings to a heat network. The Scottish Government decided not to make changes to permitted development rights at that time. We have recently committed to further explore improving permitted development rights, including for small-scale renewable energy production.

Question reference: S7W-00774

Asked by: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, MSP for Edinburgh Northern, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Hannah Mary Goodlad on 17 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to amend schedule 1 of the The Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017 to include large battery energy storage systems (BESS).

The Scottish Government has no plans to amend schedule 1 of The Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017 (the EIA Regulations). Decision-makers have a responsibility to consider the environmental implications of all planning applications. In cases where a proposal is likely to have a significant environmental effect, these powers are further supplemented by the requirements and procedures set out in the EIA Regulations.

Question reference: S7W-00804

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Hannah Mary Goodlad on 17 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to extending permitted development rights for small-scale geothermal and heat networks.

The Scottish Government last year consulted on potential new permitted development rights for the installation (and subsequent repair and maintenance) of underground pipework and associated apparatus for the purposes of connecting individual buildings to a heat network. The Scottish Government decided not to make changes to permitted development rights at that time. We have recently committed to further explore improving permitted development rights, including for small-scale renewable energy production.

Question reference: S7W-00832

Asked by: David Linden, MSP for Glasgow Baillieston and Shettleston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Hannah Mary Goodlad on 17 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the Trading Standards Workforce Survey of 2025, which was prepared by the Society of Chief Officers of Trading Standards in Scotland.

The Scottish Government has reviewed the 2025 biennial workforce survey carried out by the Society of Chief Officers of Trading Standards in Scotland (SCOTSS).

Responsibility for workforce planning rests with individual local authorities and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) in their role as employers. While decisions on the day-to-day delivery of statutory services are matters for local authorities, the Scottish Government has a strategic interest in the effective delivery of trading standards services across Scotland.

Scottish Ministers have asked Consumer Scotland to develop recommendations that will inform how the Scottish Government can support the delivery of effective trading standards services that deliver positive outcomes for people and communities.

Chamber and committees

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Question reference: S7O-00118

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Question reference: S7O-00110

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Question reference: S7O-00116

Question reference: S7W-01073

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Question reference: S7W-00781

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Question reference: S7W-00809

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Question reference: S7W-00792

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Question reference: S7W-00774

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Question reference: S7W-00804

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Question reference: S7W-00832

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