Seòmar agus comataidhean

I thank the convener for that introduction. I also thank the witnesses for the evidence that they have given to the committee in writing and for the engagement that some of them had with the previous consultations that I carried out on my member’s bill.

I wish to follow up on the question that has just been asked by the convener about the different ways to create wellbeing and sustainable development, about how to get them further up the agenda and about what mechanisms would help to deliver them. The issue is around the combination of advice, guidance and investigatory powers, on top of a public sector duty. I would like to hear comments from the witnesses about the benefits that could be delivered by implementing the bill alongside the national performance framework.

Given the helpful piece of research that was done by Carnegie UK, perhaps Adam Milne would like to kick off on that question.

Thank you. My second question is, what do the witnesses think are the lessons to be learned from the Welsh Future Generations Commissioner, which has been mentioned once or twice? I am thinking particularly about accelerating impact and implementation. We are in a changing world, so what impact would clear guidance and advice have, given the raft of public sector organisations that would have a duty to implement the bill and the backdrop of the possibility of investigations? To what extent have lessons been learned, and what impact would a commissioner have on accelerating action on those issues? Francis Guy, you have a global perspective in relation to other countries, which are doing a variety of things, so do you want to come in?

Are you happy with what Ofgem will introduce?

You have talked about Citizens Advice Scotland and Advice Direct Scotland. I give advice to constituents, but it is a bit of an irony that I was not aware of this work until I read the committee papers today. There is something to consider about how you communicate this to people who are involved, whether they are MSPs or councillors, so that they can support constituents.

We will come on to that. On heat networks, every local authority in Scotland now has a local heat and energy efficiency strategy plan. We will see more new builds, whether they are privately owned by home owners or built to rent. This is a now issue.

I made a declaration of interests earlier about working for SFHA, and the issue also affects the social rented sector. In the past year, a lot of us have had astronomical heating bills from existing heat networks—networks that look fantastic on paper. We are talking about low-income renters who cannot afford such bills. What is the protection now? The issue is not just about what happens going forward, because this is a now issue—a lot of us have experienced it. Yes, people can go to citizens advice bureaus, but how do you support renters whose bills have gone up? It is not a theoretical issue; it is a now issue.

That is particularly important for renters who get benefits for their rent, but perhaps not for other services.

You have talked about the different types of power, but, going forward, it could be offshore wind or solar. That is not gas—it is not old carbon. There is something about confidence, including for those running the schemes, as the situation is not what they expect it to be. It feels like the issue is absolutely centre stage. What results are coming from the work that Consumer Scotland has done?

How do you communicate with us? This is such a now issue. We will have the heat in buildings bill and we have the carbon budgets legislation that was passed a couple of weeks ago. We need to get this right, as the issue is massive for businesses, consumers, owners and renters. It could not be more centre stage.

The issue is partly to do with the comms, but it is also to do with the recommendations. Does the issue come out in your next report? How do you feed back to MSPs, not just in this committee but across Parliament? All MSPs will have a big interest in heat networks soon.

I want to dig into two of your key objectives in terms of consumer protection, around the environment and climate emergency and homes. That has come up a couple of times. In your “Converting Scotland’s Home Heating” report, you talk about the need for around 2 million homes in Scotland to be upgraded from old heating systems to energy-efficient ones, so there are lots of new opportunities.

I will focus on a couple of things. The first is the massive rip-offs that people have experienced with retrofits. What solutions are now in place and, for the home owners who have experienced those rip-offs, what support or compensation will they get as a result of the work that Consumer Scotland has done?

We will come on to that. I am talking about retrofitting at the moment, which is a different issue.

I declare an interest in relation to my former employment at the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations. That is not directly relevant to most of the committee’s work, but the issue of housing will crop up occasionally, so I want to put that on the record.