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Good morning. I have a few questions about heat pumps and associated technologies. We are way behind the target that we hoped for, and you have explained some of the reasons for that. Gareth Fenney commented earlier that we managed to install 6,000 new heat pumps last year. I am interested in whether those installations were people converting from gas or were in new builds. Gareth, can you tell us what that picture looks like?

Do you see a role for local authorities to step in and be that established, trusted partner? My constituents who ask me about this are not sure who to turn to in order to get that transformation done in their homes. As you know, companies come and go, so there is an element of risk. Local people are telling me that they are unsure about taking that step. Could local authorities have a role to play in being that long-established, trusted partner to get involved in, for example, the heat pump transformation programme that we hope for? Could they reach out to offer that service to their private sector residents?

Does the UK Government’s clean heat market mechanism apply to Scotland, too? I think that there is a requirement to balance the number of heat pump installations per the number of gas installations to improve the pace of transformational change. Will that apply to us, and do you welcome the mechanism?

The cabinet secretary mentioned that cities and bigger towns might have an advantage over smaller communities in establishing heat networks. When providing funding support, is there a balancing act to encourage activity more widely across rural parts of Scotland and smaller communities?

Thank you, cabinet secretary, for your detailed answers to those questions.

Thank you for that. I thought that I would try to get a good answer.

You must be worried about the potential impact of the NI issue. A moment ago, you said that a £100 million shortfall for local government would be equivalent to a 3 per cent rise in council tax. If that ends up being the figure, or if it is double that—as I think COSLA mentioned—that could mean a 3 to 6 per cent rise in council tax. Surely, you would be concerned if that happened.

We were originally hoping for a million conversions in 10 years. That is a huge transformation; it is roughly 100,000 a year and we are nowhere near that.

Good morning, everybody. Earlier, you might have heard the secretary of state’s answer to my question about how flexible the funding arrangements are if projects fall by the wayside. In Ayrshire, maybe two or three projects have fallen off the table. The secretary of state gave an assurance that the money is still there, and so did the Deputy First Minister last week, but that assurance will not last for ever. In your respective regions, have projects fallen by the wayside? How quickly have you been able to adapt to replace those project concepts with something else, so that you do not ultimately lose the funding that has been earmarked for previous projects?

I ask Matt Lockley or Derek Shaw to say something about the Ayrshire case. Are there projects waiting in the wings that did not get approval in the first phase and that could come forward?

Are you confident that you can get those projects worked up so that you do not run the risk of losing funding that might have been allocated previously?