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The Scottish Government recognises that we must do more to attract the investment required if we are to fulfil the potential that the heat network sector has in Scotland and create a sustainable market. Reducing demand risk is one of the ways of achieving this.

We are working to develop potential new legislation on public sector organisations regarding connection to heat networks. We aim to consult on this during 2024-25, having first engaged with public sector partners.

Additionally, on 28 November we published a consultation on a Heat in Buildings Bill in which we seek views on the proposal to: Provide local authorities and the Scottish Ministers with powers to require other buildings within a Heat Network Zone to end their use of polluting heating systems (by a certain date and with a minimum notice period).

During our regular engagement with the heat networks sector, the costs of planning applications has not been cited as a major barrier to new developments. The Scottish Government has therefore not undertaken any analysis into the effect that these costs have on the profit margin for district heating projects.

The fee for submitting a planning application is to be calculated in accordance with the provisions of The Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications) (Scotland) Regulations 2022 and it is for the relevant planning authority to calculate the appropriate fee based on the nature and scale of any individual development.

Meanwhile, all local authorities are developing Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies (LHEES) that will identify potential district heating opportunities. Local authorities can receive support in developing potential projects from Heat Network Support Unit which can help to commercialise such opportunities.

Our non domestic rates reliefs can also support the viability of district heating projects, and we continue to work to implement the Heat Networks (Scotland) Act which will provide new powers to some operators and developers that are designed to make it quicker and less costly to construct and maintain these systems.

The Hydrogen Action Plan, published in December 2022, set out a clear commitment to support renewable hydrogen production.

In May 2023, a funding award totalling over £7 million to thirty-one projects via the Hydrogen Innovation Scheme was announced, which supports innovation in the production, storage, and integration of renewable hydrogen. Thirty of these projects are now underway.

The Energy Transition Fund and the Scottish Industrial Energy Transformation Fund were launched in June and September 2020 respectively.

This is a matter for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The information requested is not held centrally.

Impact assessments for the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) in Scotland have been updated to reflect the most recent set of regulations passed by the Scottish Parliament. The impact assessments will be updated again once Defra have confirmed the final design of their scheme.

The Scottish National Investment Bank (the Bank) is extensively engaged in work to understand the market gaps and areas of opportunity in the offshore wind supply chain.

Details of each of the Bank’s investments are published online in the Bank’s portfolio webpage. This webpage provides a breakdown of the Bank’s investments by primary mission and also provides further details on each investment such as listing any co-investors and a summary of what the investment will achieve.

The Bank has, to date, made investment commitments of £463.2 million across 29 investments. As the Bank’s Impact Report 2023 sets out, from launch to 31 December 2022 these investments have generated approximately 1.8 GWh of renewable energy, powering the equivalent of 472 homes in a year.

The Bank has concluded a number of offshore wind supply chain investments.

The £35m investment into the Port of Aberdeen (concluded in January 2022) to support the development of the new South Harbour facility. This expansion will provide greater land and water access for offshore wind developers, playing a vital role in the ScotWind supply chain.

The £50m investment into North Star Renewables (concluded in December 2022), as part of a wider £140m finance facility, to build service operation vessels. These vessels are critical in supporting the installation, operation and maintenance of wind farms as they increase in size and distance from shore.

Furthermore the Bank’s £6.6m investment in Verlume (concluded in April 2023) demonstrates the importance of innovative technology in supporting offshore wind developments. Verlume uses intelligent energy management to deliver a constant output of power from renewable sources and minimises energy loss from electricity generated from offshore wind.

The Scottish Government has discussions regarding the draft Climate Change Plan regularly and when required. Cabinet meets weekly and discusses climate change and net zero matters on a regular basis; for example it discussed the draft Climate Change Plan on 7 November 2023. The Cabinet Sub-Committee on Climate Emergency discussed the draft Climate Change Plan on 6 December 2022, 31 January 2023, 14 March 2023 and on 20 June 2023. The cross-party and stakeholder Climate Change Plan Advisory Group which centres on the development of the Climate Change Plan met on 23 February 2023, 23 March 2023, 18 May 2023, 29 June 2023, 31 August 2023 and 5 October 2023. The draft Climate Change Plan has also been discussed between the Deputy First Minister and with members of the Scottish Green Party Parliamentary Group at their liaison meetings on 2 February 2023, 19 July 2023, 28 September 2023 and 23 November 2023.

The Scottish Government is aware that the European Council has announced that it has reached provisional agreement with the European Parliament on a regulation establishing a framework to ensure a secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials.

The provisional agreement sets a benchmark for recycling to at least 25% of EU’s annual consumption of raw materials and proposes an increase on the recovery of raw materials present in waste. The Scottish Government will assess this new regulation in detail, once the final text is agreed by the EU institutions and adopted, against our policy to align with EU where it is possible for Scotland to do so and such alignment is meaningful in protecting and advancing high standards.

The impact assessments to inform proposals to introduce a charge on single-use disposable beverage cups are currently being developed, in partnership with Zero Waste Scotland, and will be published alongside the public consultation in due course.

Scotland’s water environment is one of our most important national assets. The Scottish Government sets out it’s objectives and action programmes for protecting and improving Scotland's water environment in the River Basin Management Plan (RBMP), which the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) produces on our behalf every six years (currently covering 2021-2027). Each year the Scottish Government provides SEPA with a grant from the Water Environment Fund (WEF) to support their work to deliver the RBMP. WEF is targeted on projects which will derive the greatest benefit to Scotland’s rivers and neighbouring communities and is currently focussed on projects which restore rivers and improve fish migration.

Some projects to remove Invasive Non-Native Species (INNS) were previously funded under WEF. However, in recent years funding for INNS projects has been provided through other funding streams such as The Scottish Invasive Species Initiative (SISI) (total £3.24 million); The Tweed Invasives Project (£100,000); NatureScot’s Biodiversity Challenge Fund; The Scottish Rural Development Programme’s (SRDP) Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS) (2020-2022 £20,392) and the Forestry Grant Scheme (£730,000 to date). Prioritising funding in this way enables more effective use of resources and greater benefits for biodiversity.