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The Scottish Government is providing a £150 cost of living award to all those receiving a reduction under the Council Tax Reduction scheme, regardless of their council tax band, as well as to all households living in properties in Bands A - D, which means this help will reach 1.85 million households.

Local authorities have also been provided with funds from which to make the £150 award payment to the estimated 38,000 low income households which are exempt from council tax, including those accessing housing support services or living in temporary accommodation.

In addition to the £150 cost of living award, £10 million is being allocated to continue the Fuel Insecurity Fund, which supports people struggling with their energy bills to the point that they are at risk of self-rationing their energy use, or self-disconnecting entirely. The Fuel Insecurity Fund is delivered through third sector partner organisations, particularly the Fuel Bank Foundation and Advice Direct Scotland. It includes provision for households on any tariff type and using any type of fuel.

Responsibility for financial support to foster carers registered with Glasgow City Council is a matter for Glasgow City Council. Consideration of any uplift in their foster carer’s allowances to bring them in line with inflation is a matter for the local authority to consider.

Responsibility for providing financial support to foster carers registered with Glasgow City Council is a matter for Glasgow City Council. Any concerns about levels of foster carer fees or foster care allowances should be addressed directly to them.

The Scottish Government is working with COSLA to find a way forward on the introduction of the Scottish Recommended Allowance for both foster and kinship carers across Scotland.

Foster carers are classed as self-employed and, therefore, receive payments in the form of foster carer fees and allowances. Responsibility for paying and setting levels of both foster carer fees and foster care allowances - along with consideration of any adjustment in line with inflation - lies with the relevant local authority.

The Scottish Government is working with COSLA to find a way forward on the introduction of the Scottish Recommended Allowance for both foster and kinship carers across Scotland.

Responsibility for financial support to foster carers registered with Glasgow City Council is a matter for Glasgow City Council. Consideration of the introduction of an annual and consistent increase is a matter for them to consider.

Heat networks have an important role to play in meeting the targets set out in our Heat in Buildings Strategy, including contributing to ensuring that at least 1 million homes and the equivalent of 50,000 non-domestic buildings are connected to zero emission heating systems by 2030. Our climate change targets are supported by the Heat Networks (Scotland) Act 2021, which sets out a target of supplying 6 terawatt hours of thermal energy through heat networks by 2030.

Funded by the Scottish Government and West Dunbartonshire Council, the Queens Quay District Heat Network is already being held up as an excellent example, having won multiple industry awards. It’s important that the lessons learned and successes are carried forward to future heat network projects by the partners and contractors involved, including the Scottish Government. However, we should also remain open to other types of heating systems utilising other sources of heat, such as recovering waste heat, to ensure our heat networks are as efficient and affordable as possible.

We are providing a platform for this by increasing our investment in heat networks with the launch of the £300 million Scotland’s Heat Network Fund. The Fund offers long-term support to enable the rollout of new zero emission heat networks and aims to stimulate investment. We have recently launched Scotland’s Heat in Building Development Funding Invitation, making £1 million of pre-capital support available. This will close to new applications on 31 st May 2022. We recognise the importance of providing this development support and will establish a fuller heat network support unit later this year.

We recognise that our targets for heat network deployment will require a substantial growth in supply chains. Our significant investment through the Heat Network Fund will help kick start the supply chain in Scotland, creating high quality and green jobs.

The Heat Networks Delivery Plan, published March 2022, outlines further steps that the Scottish Government will take to accelerate the development of heat networks across Scotland. We will work with local government to put in place Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies which identify areas particularly suitable for heat networks, and to designate heat network zones for development. We will also implement the Heat Networks (Scotland) Act 2021, putting in place a functioning regulatory regime by early 2024.

The Scottish Government Heat in Buildings Strategy was published in October 2021 and aligns with wider Scottish Government policy on housing, energy and climate change; the actions it sets out are reflected in our Housing to 2040 Strategy. In February this year the Scottish Government launched a new £300 million fund to support the development and rollout of low or zero emission heat networks across Scotland.

We understand that the intention was for the Dalmarnock development to connect to the district heating network serving the former Commonwealth Games Athletes' Village. However, after consideration, the Council concluded that a cost effective business case could not be made to achieve this. Connecting to the Clyde Gateway system was not possible due to timing; the design work for the Dalmarnock project was undertaken in 2017, which was before the Clyde Gateway District Heating system was developed.

Alternative methods were considered and the project by the Link Group therefore includes a separate communal heating system, which the 178 flats already completed are connected to, and which is managed and run on Link's behalf by Switch 2. The communal system supplies heat to all of the dwellings in the flatted blocks from a common source, providing scope to offer easy adoption of low and zero carbon technology in the future. Connecting the 57 houses in the development to the communal heating system would have required significant infrastructure work spread across the site which the Council and Link concluded was not financially viable. A further 72 flats being delivered in the current Phase 3 development and 148 flats planned in Phase 4 will also use a communal heating system.

The Scottish Government is providing the £150 Cost of Living award to every household in receipt of a reduction under the Council Tax Reduction (CTR) scheme, across council tax bands A to H; and to all households in council tax bands A to D who are not receiving a reduction under the CTR scheme. These criteria mean that 73% of all households in Scotland will receive financial support through a reduction in their council tax bill, or as a direct payment. Local authorities are also being provided with funds from which to make Cost of Living award payments to the estimated 38,000 low income households which are exempt from council tax, including those accessing housing support services of living in temporary accommodation. In addition the CTR scheme is there to ensure nobody has to pay a council tax bill they cannot be expected to afford, and reduces a household's council tax liability based on an assessment of their income, capital, and circumstances. Currently over 450,000 households receive some level of CTR, and on average recipients save over £750 a year.

In order to support older and disabled people in meeting this new legislation, we have provided a total of £1.1 million in 2021-22 to Care and Repair Scotland.

We also provided £1 million to SFRS for their Home Fire Safety visits to help those most vulnerable to the risk of fire to meet the new standard. The general principle is that owners are responsible for the cost of looking after private property. Our targeted funding is reaching those most at risk and least able to do the work themselves. There are no currently plans to provide further funding.

The Scottish Government published a statement in partnership with COSLA on 21 January 2022 confirming that local authorities will take a proportionate and measured approach to compliance and individual circumstances will be taken into account.

Whilst we encourage homeowners to install these alarms at their earliest opportunity to protect lives and possessions, we have emphasised consistently that there will be no penalties for non-compliance.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-07951 on 20 April 2022. 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/written-questions-and-answers.