Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S6W-43708

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 26 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to publish any information it holds regarding the dual use of land for solar farms and food production.

Question reference: S6W-43707

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 26 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to publish any information it holds regarding the benefits to the rural economy and farming enterprises of diversification into solar farms.

Question reference: S6W-43704

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 26 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on solar PV installations between 2021 and 2025 and its rate of deployment, and whether it plans to publish this information.

Question reference: S6W-43706

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 26 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to publish any information it holds regarding the biodiversity benefits of solar farms.

Question reference: S6W-43513

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 6 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-42757 by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 15 January 2026, for what reason the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment is not made in advance of, or at the outset of, winter.

Management Information published on 4 February shows that 99% of payments issued (to 24 January) were made in December, consistent with Winter Fuel Payment timings. Work continues to complete final payments.

The Pension Age Winter Heating Payment cannot be issued until client eligibility is confirmed after the qualifying week, which is the third full week of September. This aligns with the qualifying week for the UK Government’s Winter Fuel Payment, ensuring administrative consistency and allowing Social Security Scotland sufficient time to process client data before automatic payments begin in November.

Once eligibility is verified, payments are issued from November and continue throughout winter until the end of February. This timetable ensures accurate assessments and aligns with the Department for Work and Pensions’ established Winter Fuel Payment timetable.

Question reference: S6W-42672

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 5 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-37444 by Ivan McKee on 10 September 2025, how many meetings its ministers and officials have held with organisations listed on the UN database of businesses involved in activities related to the Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, in the period since motion S6M-18686 was passed by the Parliament on 3 September 2025.

A cross-government exercise to seek information on any meetings with the 158 businesses listed identified a small number of meetings at official level with representatives of Airbnb and Booking.com. These meetings were focussed on matters of domestic policy, including the development of guidance, licence requirements and the Visitor Levy.

No ministerial meetings were identified as part of this exercise.

Question reference: S6W-40837

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 5 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what changes it plans to make to the (a) Scottish Procurement Policy Manual and (b) Scottish Procurement Policy Handbook, in light of motion S6M-18686 as amended on 3 September 2025 calling for it to "immediately impose a package of boycotts, divestment and sanctions targeted at the State of Israel and at companies complicit in its military operations and its occupation of Palestine".

The Scottish Procurement Policy Handbook is aimed at public bodies across Scotland, while the Scottish Procurement Policy Manual relates specifically to Scottish Government procurement activity. Both are intended to be live documents which flag key policy considerations, and signpost readers to sources of more detailed guidance, such as that contained in Scottish Procurement Policy Notes.

It is the long-standing view of the Scottish Government that the exploitation of assets in illegally occupied territory is likely to constitute grave professional misconduct for the purposes of procurement law. Scottish Procurement Policy Note 3/2026 was published on 5 February 2026 and sets out the options available to public sector buyers in relation to bidders which are engaged in grave professional misconduct, including human rights violations. It can be found on the Scottish Government website, at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/public-procurement-human-rights-and-grave-professional-misconduct-sppn-3-2026/

Question reference: S6W-40838

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 5 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to conduct a review of existing public sector procurement contracts, in light of motion S6M-18686 as amended on 3 September 2025 calling for it to "immediately impose a package of boycotts, divestment and sanctions targeted at the State of Israel and at companies complicit in its military operations and its occupation of Palestine".

On 3 September the First Minister announced measures which the Scottish Government is taking within its powers in response to the situation in Gaza.

Scottish Procurement Policy Note 3/2026 was published on 5 February 2026 and sets out the options available to public sector buyers in relation to bidders which are engaged in grave professional misconduct, including human rights violations. It can be found on the Scottish Government website, at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/public-procurement-human-rights-and-grave-professional-misconduct-sppn-3-2026/.v

Question reference: S6W-43201

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 4 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £1.8 billion that it committed in 2021 for energy efficiency and decarbonisation measures has been (a) allocated and (b) spent to date in each year, and how much funding remains uncommitted or unspent.

Of the £1.8bn commitment made in our Heat in Buildings Strategy, over £1.67bn has been allocated to date, of which, over £886m has been spent to the end of December 2025.

In the early years 2021-22 and 2022-23 demand for schemes was blunted by both covid and cost of living pressures.

The demand for our schemes has continued to grow, with a much reduced underspend in 2023-24 and 2024-25. Underspends are largely driven by the demand led nature of our schemes.

Year	Allocated £000’s	Spent £000’s
2021-22	338,900	68,100
2022-23	337,700	175,400
2023-24	356,100	249,200
2024-25	342,300	277,300
2025-26	333,300	116,300

Question reference: S6W-43202

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 3 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been (a) allocated and (b) spent in each year since 2021 on each of its energy efficiency and decarbonisation programmes.

Data for 2025-26 is to Quarter 3 (December 2025)

Programme	Allocation 2021-22 £m’s	Spend 2021-22 £m’s	Allocation 2022-23 £m’s	Spend 2022-23 £m’s	Allocation 2023-24 £m’s	Spend 2023-24 £m’s	Allocation 2024-25 £m’s	Spend 2024-25 £m’s	Allocation 2025-26 £m’s	Spend (Dec 25) 2025-26 £m’s *
Home Energy Scotland Advice Service	12.0	12.0	17.6	17.6	21.0	20.6	20.1	19.4	18.2	12.0
Area Based Schemes	64.0	39.6	64.0	41.5	64.0	58.3	55.0	59.7	59.0	16.1
HES Grants and Loans	21.0	11.7	42.0	35.7	39.9	62.3	45.8	40.0	44.0	15.6
Warmer Homes Scotland	50.0	20.7	55.0	38.8	55.0	59.8	65.0	90.4	90.0	57.5
SME	9.5	5.9	5.5	4.2	8.0	5.4	3.0	6.3	5.0	1.2
Social Housing	20.0	0	30.0	4.0	39.5	29.5	35.0	19.0	36.0	0.2
Public Sector	8.0	20.2	25.0	8.8	50.0	27.7	40.0	29.1	32.0	1.9
LCITP/Heat Networks	57.0	4.0	30.0	18.5	27.0	16.0	15.0	2.6	35.0	0.9
Other	92.3	(45.7)	58.5	6.4	37.1	(29.8)	23.4	13.2	16.4	0
Affordable Housing **	5.0	0	10.0	0	15.0	0	40.0	0	0	0

*Whilst spend for 2025-26 appears low, many claims are received in the final quarter of the year.

**Allocation transferred to Affordable Housing