³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ

There are currently no obligations on Scottish homeowners to install heat pumps or other clean heat systems. The Scottish Government recently published a draft Buildings (Heating and Energy Performance) and Heat Networks (Scotland) Bill which, subject to the outcome of the Scottish Parliament election, we intend to introduce early in the next session. The draft Bill sets out a roadmap to decarbonising heating in Scotland’s homes. While the draft Bill would set Scottish Ministers a target of ensuring Scotland’s buildings no longer use polluting heating systems by 2045, it would not place any obligations on homeowners to replace their existing heating systems. A full financial memorandum will be published alongside the bill when it is introduced in the next parliamentary which will set out relevant costs.

We remain committed to decarbonising heat in buildings and achieving net zero by 2045. For the majority of homes, heat pumps or heat networks are likely to be the best clean heat solution. However, we do not have, and have never had, heat pump installation requirements.

We had intended to introduce the Buildings (Heating and Energy Performance) and Heat Networks (Scotland) Bill (previously known as Heat in Buildings Bill) in this parliamentary session. We wanted Parliament to scrutinise the draft Bill using the latest information, including the UK Government's Warm Homes Plan. However, that plan has been delayed and, with little time left in this parliamentary session, we have therefore concluded that the Bill should be paused until the UK Government clarify their position.

The Scottish Government does not produce estimates of actual average annual costs of heating homes.

The Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) publishes Annual domestic energy bills tables at which provide annual estimates of gas and electricity bills. These are available at a Scotland and regional level, including for North Scotland.

As part of the Scottish House Condition Survey, the Scottish Government produces estimates of average fuel bills, which includes heating homes to specific heating regimes, as set out in , as part of the Scottish definition of fuel poverty, as set out in . However, these estimates do not represent actual costs paid by households. However, beyond exact averages we are very conscious of differentials and heightened costs in rural and island Scotland and factor this in to all our relevant decision making.

Our Housing Emergency Action Plan, published in September, is the Scottish Government’s ambitious route-map to ensuring that everyone in Scotland gets the support they need when facing homelessness. This financial year, the Scottish Government will invest £808 million in the Affordable Housing Supply Programme, including an £80 million targeted acquisitions fund to support local authorities with the most sustained temporary accommodation pressures. Our Housing Emergency Action Plan also committed £4.9 billion in a major affordable housing delivery programme to provide future funding certainty, positioning Scotland’s housing market as strong and open for investment. We will ensure action is taken to make the best use of existing housing, bring empty homes back into use, and support those who wish to – and are able to – buy their own home.

Local Authorities have a statutory duty to provide accommodation to anyone assessed as unintentionally homeless, with assessments based on housing need. I understand the pressures on housing and homelessness services local authorities are experiencing, and that in some areas, particularly Glasgow, this has been exacerbated by the Home Office’s streamlined asylum decision making process. I have written to the Secretary of State for the Home Office to ask for appropriate coordination to be put in place in response to the impact asylum policy decisions made at UK level are having on local authorities in Scotland, and for adequate funding to be provided to local authorities to ensure they are able to meet the housing needs of all.

We remain focused on a heat transition that is feasible, affordable and delivers tangible benefits for people. Levels of fuel poverty in Scotland remain unacceptably high with the reserved issue of energy bills being the great factor. The Scottish Government is committed to tackling this, but the main levers for addressing this, such as energy prices and market reform, sit with UK Government.

We are supporting those in or at risk of being in fuel poverty by continuing to fund energy efficiency measures and clean heating systems. However, the UK Government must provide urgent clarity on reforms to the electricity market, including rebalancing, and a social tariff in the form of an automatic and targeted unit rate discount to support the most vulnerable consumers.

We continue to consider relevant evidence and analysis as part of the development of a Buildings (Heating and Energy Performance) and Heat Networks (Scotland) Bill but will not ask the Scottish Parliament to legislate for vitally important laws which affect our population without a full understanding of awaited UK Government action.

I am pleased to announce that the Scottish Government will support the initial implementation of much-needed testing for cholangiocarcinoma, with funding to be released in December and reassurance from NHS National Services Division (NSD), the national commissioner of genomic testing in NHS Scotland, that this will be available to patients across Scotland from February 2026.

This is a single test for a relatively rare form of cancer. However, I want to assure you that the Scottish Government is fully committed to improving access to the full range of genomic testing needed and to building the foundations required to allow Scotland to take full advantage of developments in genomic medicine, including data and digital infrastructure and skilled workforce requirements. This is part of our long-term approach to deliver bold and ambitious action to reform and renew our health and care systems in Scotland within a fiscal position that remains extremely challenging.

The Scottish Law Commission published its report on mandatory owners’ associations on 11 December 2025. The Scottish Government will now fully consider the contents of this report before setting out the next steps.

The provision of Asylum Accommodation and Support Contracts is reserved to the UK Government and managed by the Home Office.

The Scottish Government has no control over asylum accommodation and support and we would not expect the Home Office to discuss contractual matters with us.

Scottish Ministers remain committed to working collaboratively with stakeholders as part of the Squid Pilot Co-Management Group to develop and undertake a limited squid pilot project.

The squid pilot project will involve a number of inshore vessels and will gather information on the potential impacts of squid fishing on cod stocks and bycatch of non-target stocks. The outcomes of the pilot project will be analysed to support longer-term policy decisions on fishing for squid under the North Sea Cod Avoidance Plan (NCAP).

Work is currently underway on the design and scope of the project based on best available evidence, this includes detailed advice that has been produced by Nature Scot, with the intention of introducing the squid pilot project in 2026.

Scottish Government officials have continued to undertake the work necessary to develop a squid pilot project to support longer-term policy decisions on fishing for squid under the North Sea Cod Avoidance Plan (NCAP). This has involved detailed analysis of the best available evidence and continued collaboration with stakeholders as part of the Squid Pilot Co-Management Group.

Officials in Marine Directorate are aiming to establish the parameters of the pilot project over the coming months with the aim of squid pilot taking place in certain trial areas in 2026. Further updates will be provided once the pilot project has commenced and data has been gathered.