Seòmar agus comataidhean

Thanks very much. I want to come back on a few things. Some of you have prompted my next question, which is about electrical grid capacity. Peter Drummond, you said that you have concerns, particularly about the remoter parts of the Highlands and Islands. Will you talk a little more about that?

So, you are concerned about the retrofitting but you want somebody else to do that.

We have heard that the situation is nuanced across the country, so we need to take account of that, too.

In our previous evidence session, we heard from Duncan Sharp, who is the director of the Scottish and Northern Ireland Plumbing Employers Federation, that there is no route map for apprenticeships in renewables. Does the Government need to take a lead on that?

Agenda item 2 is evidence from two panels of witnesses on the Building (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2023.

The first of the evidence sessions will be in round-table format, and for our first panel we are joined in the room by Fionna Kell, who is director of policy at Homes for Scotland; David Bookbinder, who is director of the Glasgow and West of Scotland Forum of Housing Associations; Peter Drummond, who is the chair of the, practice committee of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland; and Alan Stark, who is the chair of the sustainability and building design committee at the Scottish Property Federation. We are also joined online by Charlotte Lee, who is the chief executive of the Heat Pump Association; and Duncan Sharp, who is the director of the Scottish and Northern Ireland Plumbing Employers Federation, otherwise known as—I just want to say this—SNIPEF. I welcome our witnesses to the meeting.

I want to begin our conversation by inviting everyone to introduce themselves very briefly. I will begin: I am the convener of the committee and I represent the Highlands and Islands region.

Good morning, and welcome to the 20th meeting in 2023 of the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee. I remind all members and witnesses to ensure that their devices are in silent mode and that all other notifications are turned off during the meeting.

Agenda item 1 is a decision on taking business in private. Do members agree to take items 5, 6 and 7 in private?

Members indicated agreement.

Thank you for that detail and background. It is good to know that we are manufacturing air-source heat pumps in Scotland.

Thank you for flagging that up—it caught my attention, too. We have the national planning framework, and I sense that it is bringing in a refresh, so that is hopeful. What you describe is another reason why we need to take that approach, so that we actually start to move through and get those wrinkles out of the system. We could also look into that issue and help with it.

I will bring in Miles Briggs. Miles, we have touched on some of what you wanted to ask about, but you can come on in.

Do you believe that these regulations send the signals that you just mentioned?

Would tax breaks sit with the Scottish Government or the United Kingdom Government?