Parliamentary questions

Tim Eagle

1,482 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

3 Jun 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many houses have been built as a result of funding from the Vacant and Derelict Land Investment Programme in (a) 2024-25, (b) 2025-26 and (c) since April 2026, broken down by (i) local authority area and (ii) the total funding awarded to each local authority.

Answer · Tom Arthur: The following table outlines how many homes are proposed to be built as part of successful applications for the Vacant and Derelict Land Investment Programme (VDLIP). The VDLIP provides funding to cover capital costs associated with remediating and unblocking…

3 Jun 2026 · Written Question

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.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Budgets are set annually by the Scottish Parliament: The Scottish Budget Process | Scottish Parliament WebsiteThe Scottish Budget incorporates all money expected to be received from the Barnett determined block grant, borrowing, taxes raised in Scotland and o…

3 Jun 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how many properties use (a) heating oil and (b) liquid petroleum gas, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Scottish House Condition Survey provides a snapshot of the Scottish housing stock in each survey year including the construction age, built form and primary heating fuel of Scottish domestic buildings.Local Authority level analysis uses a three year poole…

3 Jun 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government at what percentage level it will set its equity stake under the proposed First Homes Fund.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: On 27 May, the Scottish Government announced that the first round of applications for the First Homes Fund will open by the end of June, providing first-time buyers with a £10,000 contribution towards a deposit on their first home at a property value of…

3 Jun 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many applications Advice Direct Scotland has received for the Emergency Heating Oil Scheme since its launch on 1 April 2026, broken down by local authority area, and how many (a) have been approved or rejected and (b) remain unprocessed.

Answer · Stephen Gethins: The following table provides the outcome of applications that Advice Direct Scotland have received to the Scottish Emergency Heating Oil Scheme.These management figures are taken from a live administrative database and so could be subject to future revision. …

3 Jun 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many empty homes were sold to (a) homebuyers and (b) developers through matchmaking schemes in 2025-26, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Scottish Government does not hold data about the number of homes sold through matchmaker schemes. This includes the Matchmaker Scheme for Empty Homes in Scotland - Scottish Empty Homes Partnership, launched by the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership last yea…

3 Jun 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government in what ways it advertised its Emergency Heating Oil Scheme to eligible households.

Answer · Stephen Gethins: On 25 March 2026, the then Housing Secretary, Mairi McAllan, announced the Scottish Emergency Heating Oil Scheme. It launched on 1 April 2026.Due to the pre-election period, which began on 26 March 2026, the Scottish Government was unable to advertise this sc…

3 Jun 2026 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will bring forward proposals to reform the non-domestic rates system.

2 Jun 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S7W-00158 by Ivan McKee on 2 June 2026, how many renewable energy applications in the rest of Scotland that were rejected by local authorities were subsequently given consent by the Planning and Environmental Appeals Division, in each year since 2021.

Answer · Hannah Mary Goodlad: Since 1 January 2021, a total of 15 planning appeals for renewable energy developments in the rest of Scotland have been allowed and 11 have been dismissed.The breakdown of that total by year and by planning authority are set out in the following table. The i…

2 Jun 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S7W-00154 by Tom Arthur on 1 June 2026, whether it will confirm how many premises (a) have been connected and (b) are waiting to be connected to broadband through Project Gigabit in the rest of Scotland, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Tom Arthur: There are currently three Project Gigabit in Scotland contracts in delivery – the local contract awarded to GoFibre which covers the Scottish Borders and East Lothian, the regional contract awarded to GoFibre which covers the North East of Scotland, and…

2 Jun 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S7W-00160 by Jim Fairlie on 1 June 2026, what action it plans to take in the event that there is a high application rate for the second round of the Future Farming Investment Scheme, similar to that of the first round.

Answer · Jim Fairlie: FFIS is a competitive scheme and, as with the 2025 round, no application is guaranteed funding. Where demand exceeds the available budget, eligible applications will be prioritised in accordance with the published scoring and ranking methodology. This will en…

1 Jun 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out regarding whether the introduction of 20mph zones has reduced instances of road traffic incidents for (a) pedestrians and (b) drivers.

Answer · Stephen Flynn: The Scottish Government continues to engage with road authorities across Scotland to monitor the impact of 20 mph speed limits, including analysing evidence from areas where these limits have been implemented.Evidence specific to Scotland indicates that 20 mp…

1 Jun 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out of any increases in fuel use as a result of the introduction of 20mph zones.

Answer · Stephen Flynn: The Scottish Government has no evidence that 20 mph speed limits increase fuel consumption. Evidence from Scotland and internationally shows that 20 mph speed limits reduce vehicle speeds. Lower, more consistent speeds can reduce harsh acceleration and brakin…

1 Jun 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the extent to which local authorities hold complete and up-to-date inspection and assessment data for bridges that they own.

Answer · Stephen Flynn: Local authorities have a duty under the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 to manage and maintain local roads and associated infrastructure in their area. The Scottish Government does not make assessments on local authority inspection procedures or hold details of any…

1 Jun 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is regarding the adequacy of the current national reporting frameworks to identify and highlight gaps in bridge inspection and asset knowledge.

Answer · Stephen Flynn: There are no national reporting frameworks for identifying and highlighting gaps in bridge inspections or asset knowledge.Each bridge is inspected every two years as set out in the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges. For bridges within the trunk road network…

1 Jun 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is regarding the need to ensure that A roads have a speed limit of 30mph instead of 20mph, particularly in larger towns.

Answer · Stephen Flynn: The Scottish Government published The Implementation Guide for 20 mph Speed Limits in Scotland in October 2024.This national guidance is in place to support a consistent, evidence-led roll out of 20 mph speed limits on appropriate roads across Scotland. This …

1 Jun 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the siting of new-build electrical substations close to residential areas.

Answer · Stephen Gethins: National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) places climate and nature at the centre of our planning system and makes clear our support for all forms of renewable, low-carbon and zero emission technologies, including new and replacement transmission and distribution …

1 Jun 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on the number of local authority-maintained bridges that are currently subject to (a) lapsed inspections, (b) missing load capacity assessments and (c) unassessed scour risk.

Answer · Stephen Flynn: I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-00712 on 16 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…

1 Jun 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the siting of new-build electrical substations on agricultural land.

Answer · Stephen Gethins: Scotland’s National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) makes clear that potential impacts on prime agricultural land, communities, nature and cultural heritage, including the cumulative effects of developments, are important considerations in the decision-maki…

1 Jun 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the shortlisted sites of SSEN’s proposed Elgin new-build substation.

Answer · Stephen Gethins: It would not be appropriate for the Scottish Government to comment on the merits of any proposals.