Chamber and committees

Since 2021, we have provided almost £90 million of funding to social housing providers, including local authorities, through the Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund (SHNZHF). This has supported the installation of clean heating and energy efficiency measures to over 13,000 homes, helping tenants reduce their energy bills and emissions, while addressing poor energy efficiency as a driver of fuel poverty.

In our 2026-27 budget, we committed over £300 million to Heat in Buildings capital programmes for retrofit and energy efficiency improvements, including in social housing. I can confirm that the SHNZHF opened to new applications on 23 March and closed on 11 May, with the appraisal of the applications received now underway.

In regards to a) Highland Main Line, I refer the Member to the answer to question S6W-27087 on 7 May 2026.

In regards to (b) Far North Line, the Scottish Government granted authority and funding for enhancements to the Radio Electronic Token Block signalling system on the Far North Line and for line speed improvements at various points on the Line and the majority of these enhancements are now completed. In relation passing loops, I refer the Member to answer to question S6W-29458 on 17 September 2024.

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

Transport Scotland continually revises its programme of works against priorities in the context of available funding. This ensures it can deliver the right projects at the right time as it seeks to progress its rolling programme of decarbonisation, whilst also delivering rail passenger and freight services that meet user expectations.

A full review of the biodiversity duty reporting procedures is currently in progress.

Any proposed changes to the reporting process will be subject to consultation before being implemented through secondary legislation. We will engage with public bodies throughout the review process and write to them to advise of planned changes.

The current three-year biodiversity duty reporting cycle covers 2024-2026 inclusive, and reports for this period are due at the end of December 2026. We do not intend to make any changes to the reporting process before the end of this cycle, as this would not allow sufficient time for public bodies to consider and implement the changes. We will be writing to public bodies shortly to provide an update on the review process and reporting requirements for 2024-26.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-00272 on 3 June 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 estimates that initial start-up costs of More Homes Scotland will be around £2 million from 2026-27 to 2027-28.

Projected annual budgets and agency running costs remain dependent on key decisions yet to be taken through the ongoing design and wider policy development process. Further detail and updates will be provided to Parliament after the conclusion of this stage.

The Scottish Government has made significant progress in addressing Audit Scotland’s 2023 recommendations to strengthen the evidence base on the size, cost and composition of the devolved public sector workforce.

In June 2025, we published the first consolidated estimate of the devolved public sector pay bill, including a breakdown by workforce - addressing a priority recommendation identified in Audit Scotland’s report.

Further information on public sector employment is available here: Public Sector Employment: Employment by organisation: 2019 Quarter 1 to 2025 Quarter 3 - gov.scot.

My officials met with Scotland Office before the pre-election period to discuss next steps. At this meeting, Scotland Office officials confirmed that they have been actively engaging with the various UK Government departments with an interest in the Order.

Now that the Scottish election has concluded, Scottish Government officials will resume discussions with the UK Government to progress agreement on the proposed section 104 Order.

Ministers recognise the importance of Scotland’s war memorials and the significant personal, cultural and community value they hold, as well as the deeply felt impact that damage to them can cause. Following the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee’s scrutiny of the Desecration of War Memorials (Scotland) Bill in the last parliamentary session, Ministers are taking full account of the Committee’s findings and recommendations, including its invitation to engage on the merits of a statutory aggravation.

Following the First Minister’s announcement on 22 January 2026, the then Cabinet Secretary for Housing, undertook extensive engagement with a broad range of stakeholders to inform the early design of More Homes Scotland. This included local government partners, industry experts, investors, developers, academics, and Scotland’s largest housebuilders.

The Scottish Government will continue this approach.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-00062 on 2 June 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.