General Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament at on 2 October 2025.
Bob Doris
Scottish National Party
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the climate action secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding how to encourage home owners to decarbonise their properties as part of Scotland’s ambition to achieve net zero by 2045. (S6O-05015)
Gillian Martin
Scottish National Party
As part of the development of the next climate change plan, I have had discussions with a range of colleagues, including the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, on heat in buildings in particular.
Decarbonising Scotland’s buildings is essential to achieving net zero by 2045, because heat is one of the most significant sources of emissions. Our programme of support schemes and advice services helps home owners to play their part by funding a significant share of the decarbonisation cost. We are investing £300 million in 2025-26 in supporting more than 20,000 households to save up to £500 a year on their energy Bills.
Bob Doris
Scottish National Party
At every opportunity, we must support home owners to decarbonise their properties, including by moving from heat systems that are reliant on fossil fuels to alternatives such as ground-source heat pumps. Often, however, when a heating system breaks down and is beyond repair, home owners need to move swiftly to secure heating and hot water for their families as soon as possible, particularly if they have small children or elderly relatives at home. That can necessitate the installation of a like-for-like system for speed—something that I have direct experience of. What action can the Scottish Government take to address barriers in switching to alternative heat sources in such circumstances, where time is of the essence and delays in installing good-enough heat systems might deter many?
Gillian Martin
Scottish National Party
I recognise the scenario that Mr Doris outlines, and I recognise that most home owners will replace like for like when an existing boiler breaks down, because it is an emergency purchase. Our support schemes are there to help home owners either to replace their boiler with a clean heating system before that stage or to put plans in place for when their boiler reaches the end of its life.
The Home Energy Scotland grant and loan scheme helps people across Scotland plan for and install heat pumps, and more than 2,500 pumps have been funded by the scheme in the past financial year. We will shortly be launching a national campaign to promote Home Energy Scotland, which provides households with free, impartial advice on energy efficiency and clean heating and can help households access the support that is available. I would also note that Glasgow City Council is working at pace to plan for significant heat networks in the city, as part of its stated goal to be a net zero city.
Sarah Boyack
Labour
Given the huge potential of heat pumps, will the Scottish Government consider reintroducing financial support for householders to install solar panels as a first step to installing heat pumps? Our constituents are now cancelling their plans to install heat pumps, which is bad news for our climate, for their homes and for the companies that make heat pumps in Scotland.
Gillian Martin
Scottish National Party
With the fiscal constraints at the moment, we have had to make some choices about where we put support. I would love to be in a position to extend the support available into other technologies such as the ones that Sarah Boyack mentions, but we have to look at where, with the funding that we have got, we can make the biggest difference to decarbonisation and have some effect on Fuel Poverty. If things improve in relation to our settlement from the United Kingdom Government, I will be able to take measures such as the ones that Sarah Boyack has outlined.
Question Time is an opportunity for MPs and Members of the House of Lords to ask Government Ministers questions. These questions are asked in the Chamber itself and are known as Oral Questions. Members may also put down Written Questions. In the House of Commons, Question Time takes place for an hour on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays after Prayers. The different Government Departments answer questions according to a rota and the questions asked must relate to the responsibilities of the Government Department concerned. In the House of Lords up to four questions may be asked of the Government at the beginning of each day's business. They are known as 'starred questions' because they are marked with a star on the Order Paper. Questions may also be asked at the end of each day's business and these may include a short debate. They are known as 'unstarred questions' and are less frequent. Questions in both Houses must be written down in advance and put on the agenda and both Houses have methods for selecting the questions that will be asked. Further information can be obtained from factsheet P1 at the UK Parliament site.
The cabinet is the group of twenty or so (and no more than 22) senior government ministers who are responsible for running the departments of state and deciding government policy.
It is chaired by the prime minister.
The cabinet is bound by collective responsibility, which means that all its members must abide by and defend the decisions it takes, despite any private doubts that they might have.
Cabinet ministers are appointed by the prime minister and chosen from MPs or peers of the governing party.
However, during periods of national emergency, or when no single party gains a large enough majority to govern alone, coalition governments have been formed with cabinets containing members from more than one political party.
War cabinets have sometimes been formed with a much smaller membership than the full cabinet.
From time to time the prime minister will reorganise the cabinet in order to bring in new members, or to move existing members around. This reorganisation is known as a cabinet re-shuffle.
The cabinet normally meets once a week in the cabinet room at Downing Street.
A proposal for new legislation that is debated by Parliament.
A household is said to be in fuel poverty when its members cannot afford to keep adequately warm at reasonable cost, given their income.
