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My response to S5W-11311 made clear Scottish Government support for encouraging a higher take-up of innovation in product and process across the construction sector.

We are providing £7.5 million funding, via the Scottish Funding Council, for the Construction Scotland Innovation Centre which provides businesses with a ‘one-stop shop’ for accessing a team of experts and public support along with access to state of the art production, prototyping and technology equipment that allows companies to develop new products and modern methods of construction, including offsite production.

In addition, the Draft Budget 2018-19 announces our intention to deliver a new
£150 million Building Scotland Fund to support the development of new public and private sector housing, of modern industrial and commercial space and industry-led research and development. The cross portfolio fund will be supported by £70 million in 2018-19 and £80 million in 2019-21. We will work closely with the construction sector and Construction Scotland Innovation Centre to ensure this investment acts as a catalyst for skills development and innovation across the sector including encouraging the use of offsite construction where appropriate.

Through the More Homes Scotland approach we are taking a number of steps to increase housing supply across the country. We have set out a five year commitment to deliver at least 50,000 affordable homes, including 35,000 homes for social rent, backed by more than £3 billion investment.

With our support, these homes will be delivered mainly by local authorities and housing associations, who make their own assessments of need and contract for delivery.

More widely, the Scottish Government is working with industry and others through Homes for Scotland to review the skills position and consider what further measures may be required to support the workforce and new skillsets for the future.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-13033 on 12 December 2017. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

There are no plans to introduce mandatory accreditation

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-13033 on 12 December 2017. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

It is the responsibility of building owners to ensure that any works to their properties comply with appropriate standards and to employ suitably qualified tradespeople. Impartial and Independent Advice funded by the Scottish Government on energy efficiency retrofit work is available to all property owners through Home Energy Scotland on 0808 808 2282.

In cases where proposed works to a listed building have been scrutinised by the regulatory authorities and a Listed Building Consent is deemed unnecessary the issue of ‘damage’ should not arise because all proposed works are assessed on the basis of their potential impact on the special architectural or historic character of the building in question. Local planning authorities decide what requires consent and determine any associated applications.

In cases where unauthorised works have been carried out on a listed building the local authority can take enforcement action or seek to prosecute those responsible under the terms of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation) (Scotland) Act 1997 to rectify the damage caused to the historic fabric. Most local authorities have published enforcement guidance and they will seek to investigate any breach if brought to their attention.

In addition Section 137 of Scottish Planning Policy 2014 states how the planning system should promote the care and protection of the designated and non-designated historic environment assets and enable positive change which is informed by a clear understanding of the importance of the heritage assets affected and ensure their future use. Change should be sensitively managed to avoid or minimise adverse impacts on the fabric and setting of the asset, and ensure that its special characteristics are protected, conserved or enhanced.

The range of different accredited professionals to be employed on energy efficiency retrofit for traditional buildings will depend on the specific circumstances of the building. The Scottish Government does not hold information centrally on this issue.

We will publish a routemap for Scotland’s Energy Efficiency Programme in 2018. As part of the development of the Programme we are working with relevant professional accreditation bodies, industry representatives, consumer protection agencies and the skills and enterprise agencies to assess overall current and future capacity requirements over the 15-20 year timescale for the programme.

EPCs are produced using the UK Government National Calculation Methodology (NCM) that conforms to the requirements of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (2010/31/EU).

Within the NCM, default U-values for the performance of building elements are provided for use in the calculation methodology where it is impractical to obtain building-specific U-values. These U-values are developed by the UK Government to be representative of typical constructions.

A recent UK Government review of the NCM resulted in changes to default values cited for solid and cavity brick construction. We are currently investigating whether a similar review of U-values for stone external wall construction is merited.

Closing the gap between planning and delivering new homes is one of the key themes of the ongoing planning review in Scotland. We will consider all available and relevant evidence related to housing delivery as we continue to progress changes to the planning system and develop future policy.

The number of young people (aged 16-24) starting a Modern Apprenticeship in construction related industries for 2016-17 was 3,273 up from 3,155 in 2015-16.