Chamber and committees

There have been a number of significant developments since we consulted on our draft Solar Vision in 2023, including the UK Government’s Clean Power 2030 Action Plan and Warm Homes Plan.

We have also co-commissioned the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan, which will provide an updated assessment of Scotland’s future energy system needs.

Given these developments will inform the Scottish Government’s position on solar it would not be appropriate to publish a final policy position until they are complete.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-02062 on 19 August 2026. 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 notes the contents of, and welcomes the effort that Nourish Scotland has put into better understanding public diners through their Public Diners: By The Public report.

We understand that a pilot scheme and further research is being undertaken in Dundee to better understand the real-world impacts of public diners. The Scottish Government is looking forward to seeing the findings of this project, in particular evidence on the feasibility and sustainability within a Scottish setting.

The following table shows a breakdown of e-bikes and e-scooters seized by Police Scotland in 2023, 2024, and 2025. Information is available by local policing division, not by local authority.

While there is no legislation specific to (i) rivers, (ii) lochs, (iii) coastal waters and (iv) other bodies of water, rivers, lochs and coastal waters are within the definition of surface water, in the Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003, which implements the EU Water Framework Directive. We keep all applicable legislation under review.

Following the reported damage to the Parallel Roads of Lochaber Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), a number of actions have been taken. This includes the arrest of alleged perpetrators of the damage and the preparation of a report for the procurator fiscal, and separate enforcement notice action by The Highland Council in relation to unconsented development.

The damaging activities at Achanbobane have caused irreparable damage to some of the protected interest of the SSSI because the processes which created them, glacial ice and meltwater deposition, cannot be replicated. Nevertheless, NatureScot is working with The Highland Council to ensure that the limited re-instatement which is possible is carried out without further damage to the site.

As a stronger deterrence to further damage to the SSSI occurring at Achnabobane, in September 2025 Scottish Ministers put in place a Nature Conservation Order. Only through the vigilance of the community, NatureScot and partners will any further damaging activity be detected and reported, allowing rapid action to be taken to stop it.

The Scottish Government does not hold Nature Restoration Fund (NRF) expenditure information organised in this way. Funding is awarded to projects which deliver benefits across multiple habitats and ecosystems.

Across both the Competitive Fund and Edinburgh Process funding strands, the NRF supports projects under five strategic themes: habitat and species restoration; freshwater restoration, including restoration of natural flows in rural catchments; coastal and marine initiatives; control of invasive non-native species; and urban nature restoration.

The NRF Interim Evaluation Report (2021-24) found that around 50% of the Competitive Fund's budget in its first three years was allocated to projects primarily categorised as freshwater and wetland, or coastal and marine projects.

In a letter to the Criminal Justice Committee dated 16 December 2025, the then Minister for Victims and Community Safety set out the Scottish Government’s response to the report published by the Independent Working Group on Antisocial Behaviour. The response set out details about work that has been taken forward. A copy of the response can be found at: https://www.parliament.scot/-/media/files/committees/criminal-justice-committee/correspondence/2025/asb-iwg-response-letter-from-minister-vcs-16-december-2025.pdf. Since this letter was issued, work has continued in implementing the actions to which the Scottish Government committed.

The Scottish Government recognises the important contribution that nature-based solutions can make to improving flood and drought resilience. Our policy and investment supports nature-based solutions in both rural and urban areas.

Our Sustainable Flood Risk Management guidance supports a catchment-based approach to flood management and our national Flood Resilience Strategy sets out the importance of restoring and maintaining our natural environment to create flood resilient places. In addition, the Water Resilient Places Policy Framework supports the delivery of blue-green infrastructure and has informed the work of urban drainage partnerships in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee.

We support both the Eddleston Water and Allan Water projects to develop and implement nature-based solutions. Evidence from these projects indicates that nature-based solutions can help to delay flood peaks and hold water in the catchment to mitigate water scarcity.

We fund research through the Centre of Expertise on Water and the James Hutton Institute to assess the effectiveness of nature-based solutions and our five year Strategic Research Programme (2022-2027) is funding the “Achieving Multi-Purpose Nature-Based Solutions” research project to explore how to work at scale and across sectors to deliver urban and rural nature-based solutions.

Since 2016, the Scottish Government has provided £612 million to local authorities to support the delivery of flood resilience activities. We also fund environmental improvements with co-benefits for flood and drought resilience through the Water Environment Fund, Peatland Restoration Fund, Nature Restoration Fund and Forestry Grants Scheme.

The Scottish Government will continue to ensure that the promotion of Gaelic is a priority commitment and that this is supported in education and learning, in arts and culture, in media and broadcasting and in other relevant sectors in Scottish public life. For example, in education, the Scottish Government will continue to support the growth of GME and welcomes the excellent support and resources which Storlann and Sabhal Mor Ostaig provide for GME teachers and pupils. In arts and culture, the work of Feisean nan Gaidheal, Ceolas and the Royal National Mod continue to provide opportunities for young and old and enrich the cultural life of Scotland. In broadcasting, MG ALBA provides a wide and diverse range of high quality programmes and adds value to other important areas of Gaelic activity with our support. In connection with Gaelic speaker communities in the Highlands and Islands, the Scottish Government will build on the wide range of projects and initiatives that are in place in these areas with the provisions that are set out in the Scottish Languages Act, 2025. A number of Gaelic bodies and projects are based in island communities and the work of centres such as Cnoc Soillier, Carinish and Grinneabhat are important for the promotion of Gaelic in these communities. In particular the 2025 Act, enables local authorities to designate areas of linguistic significance for the Gaelic language. This intervention will be supported by Statutory Guidance, by the preparation of Standards and Requirements and with additional funding. In these matters the Scottish Government will continue to provide support and to work closely with relevant local authorities.