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The Scottish Government encourages take-up of funding for carbon reduction measures through a combination of regulation (in the social housing sector), guidance and funding programmes. Funding from energy suppliers primarily takes the form of the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) programme, and the Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP), although some companies do make available other resources, for example grants from charitable trusts.

Social housing landlords must ensure that their housing stock meets the energy efficiency requirements of the Scottish Housing Quality Standard, and support in the form of information and advice to help them to do this is available from a range of sources, including the Energy Saving Trust, and the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (which organises and supports a Housing Energy Efficiency Learning Network). The Scottish Government grant aids the Energy Saving Trust Scotland to employ a full-time employee who works with social landlords (registered social landlord and council) to ensure maximum take-up of CERT and CESP. In October 2009, officials helped to organise a session in Glasgow on CESP for social housing providers.

In March 2011 guidance for local authorities, Addressing Climate Change in Local Housing Strategies, was published. This set out, sector by sector, the duties, powers, sources of funding and of information and advice available to them to improve the energy efficiency of housing in their area. It urged them to take a strategic approach, integrating improvements in energy efficiency with related action on housing quality and to plan so as to maximise investment from all available sources, including CERT and CESP.

Scottish Government funding programmes such as the Home Insulation Scheme, the Universal Home Insulation Scheme, and the Energy Assistance Package Social Sector Programme, have as a specific criterion for funding a requirement to secure complementary CERT investment.

The Scottish Government aims to support the creation of Green Skills Academies and will be working and consulting with relevant stakeholders, including those from the business community, colleges, universities and local authorities, in due course to take forward the development of the skills hubs and academies for the energy and low-carbon industry.

The Scottish Government aims to support the creation of Green Skills Academies and will be working and consulting with relevant stakeholders, including those from the business community, colleges, universities and local authorities, in due course to take forward the development of the skills hubs and academies for the energy and low-carbon industry.

The Scottish Government aims to support the creation of Green Skills Academies and will be working and consulting with relevant stakeholders, including those from the business community, colleges, universities and local authorities, in due course to take forward the development of the skills hubs and academies for the energy and low-carbon industry.

The Scottish Government aims to support the creation of Green Skills Academies and will be working and consulting with relevant stakeholders, including those from the business community, colleges, universities and local authorities, in due course to take forward the development of the skills hubs and academies for the energy and low-carbon industry.

The Scottish Government aims to support the creation of Green Skills Academies and will be working and consulting with relevant stakeholders, including those from the business community, colleges, universities and local authorities, in due course to take forward the development of the skills hubs and academies for the energy and low-carbon industry.

The Scottish Government aims to support the creation of Green Skills Academies and will be working and consulting with relevant stakeholders, including those from the business community, colleges, universities and local authorities, in due course to take forward the development of the skills hubs and academies for the energy and low-carbon industry.

The Scottish Government aims to support the creation of Green Skills Academies and will be working and consulting with relevant stakeholders, including those from the business community, colleges, universities and local authorities, in due course to take forward the development of the skills hubs and academies for the energy and low-carbon industry.

The Scottish Government does not provide any direct financial support to the International Technology and Renewable Energy Zone. The zone does however receive financial support from Scottish Enterprise.

The question of when the zone will be fully operational is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise, which is leading the project.

I will ask Scottish Enterprise’s Chief Executive to write to you with that information.

The Scottish Government aims to support the creation of Green Skills Academies and will be working and consulting with relevant stakeholders, including those from the business community, colleges, universities and local authorities, in due course to take forward the development of the skills hubs and academies for the energy and low-carbon industry.