- Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 December 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Patrick Harvie on 17 January 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider publishing the research, Scottish Supply Chain Opportunities in the Low Carbon Heat Sector, which was carried out by Delta-EE for Scottish Enterprise in 2020.
Answer
The report was commissioned by Scottish Enterprise as internal analysis to inform policy development. As such, this will not be published externally.
- Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 22 December 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Patrick Harvie on 17 January 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-22664 by Patrick Harvie on 16 November 2023, what its position is on how the proposal that "Owner occupied homes that have ended their use of polluting heating by 2033 will not be required to meet the minimum energy efficiency standard", as set out in its consultation on proposals for a Heat in Buildings Bill, promotes a "fabric first approach".
Answer
Owner occupied homes which no longer use polluting heating by 2033 will have already, as a result of this change, removed all direct emissions associated with the heating of those homes.
This means that there would be no need for a legal requirement to meet an energy efficiency standard; however, there will still be strong incentives for homeowners to invest in energy efficiency and improvements to the fabric of those homes in order to reduce their energy bills.
- Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 December 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Patrick Harvie on 17 January 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to make Scotland an attractive place to open businesses within the low-carbon heat and energy efficiency sector.
Answer
The recent ClimateXChange Report shows potential for businesses in the sector, the proposed Heat in Buildings Bill will underpin increasing demand in sector giving more confidence to businesses to invest which will be supported by other action such as that set out in Supply Chain Delivery Plan.
- Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 December 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Patrick Harvie on 17 January 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what economic assessment it has undertaken regarding its proposal for private landlords to meet a minimum energy efficiency standard by 2028 and any potential impact on the availability of private rental homes.
Answer
This proposal is contained within the current public consultation Delivering net zero for Scotland's buildings - Heat in Buildings Bill: consultation - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . A draft business and regulatory impact assessment has been published to support this consultation Heat in Buildings Bill consultation: business and regulatory impact assessment (partial) - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .
This draft impact assessment and a range of other relevant impact assessments will be developed and then finalised based on the outcome of the consultation. Further development of proposals will then occur and will be the subject of detailed final impact assessments.
- Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 December 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Patrick Harvie on 17 January 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to developing specific training within colleges and universities to develop skills in the delivery of heat networks.
Answer
Colleges and universities are responsible for setting their own provision based on regional and national demand, however Energy Skills Partnership, the college sector agency in Scotland for energy transition, zero carbon transport, engineering, construction and STEM, lead a low carbon heat training network across Scotland’s colleges to share best practice.
- Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 December 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Patrick Harvie on 17 January 2024
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the report that it commissioned from ClimateXChange, Clean Heat and Energy Efficiency Workforce Assessment, published in 2022, did not include an assessment of workforce capability to support all aspects of installation and maintenance of low-carbon heat and energy efficiency measures.
Answer
The scope of the research was commissioned to understand current and future workforce capabilities required to meet projected installation targets only. This was in line with the targets initially set out within the Heat in Buildings Strategy.
- Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 December 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Patrick Harvie on 17 January 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has undertaken regarding any impact of its proposal for buyers to install clean heating systems if their property does not already have one on the ability of buyers to secure a mortgage.
Answer
This proposal is contained within the current public consultation Delivering net zero for Scotland's buildings - Heat in Buildings Bill: consultation - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . A draft business and regulatory impact assessment has been published to support this consultation Heat in Buildings Bill consultation: business and regulatory impact assessment (partial) - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .
This draft impact assessment and a range of other relevant impact assessments will be developed and then finalised based on the outcome of the consultation. Further development of proposals will then occur and will be the subject of detailed final impact assessments.
- Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 December 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Patrick Harvie on 17 January 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the development of district heating networks across Scotland.
Answer
The Heat Networks (Scotland) Act, 2021 requires a review report to be laid before parliament 24 months after the publication of the Heat Networks Delivery Plan. The Delivery Plan was published on 31 March 2022 and the review report is due by 31 March 2024. The review report will provide an update on the development of district heating networks across Scotland.
Information on heat networks projects that have or are receiving support from the Scottish Government can be found in the Heat Network Quarterly Report, which provides summaries of the projects funded through Scotland’s Heat Network Fund, Scotland’s Heat in Buildings Development Funding Invitation and the Heat Network Support Unit. Support for heat networks has also been provided through the Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme, with its quarterly report providing an updated construction status for its funded projects. These reports can be found at: https://www.gov.scot/collections/heat-network-project-reports/ and https://www.gov.scot/collections/low-carbon-infrastructure-transition-programme-reports/ respectively.
- Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 December 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Patrick Harvie on 17 January 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish a list of public procurement projects within the low-carbon heating and energy efficiency sectors that it anticipates undertaking in the next (a) five, (b) 10 and (c) 15 years.
Answer
The information requested is not available. The Scottish Government does not currently plan to directly procure any specific low-carbon heating or energy efficiency projects on behalf of the sector over the time periods specified. Scottish public authorities can access funding and project development support for clean heating and energy efficiency proposals through our Non-Domestic Public Sector Energy Efficiency Framework and Project Support Unit. This framework is designed to provide value for money and a standardised approach for public bodies undertaking improvements to their estate.
- Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 December 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Patrick Harvie on 17 January 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of rural homes it anticipates have the potential to access district heating networks under the current proposals within its consultation on a Heat in Buildings Bill.
Answer
The First National Assessment of Potential Heat Network Zones (2022) found that up to 340,000 homes may be located in areas suitable for heat networks in future. This included over 11,000 homes in rural areas, and more information can be found in the First National Assessment here: First National Assessment of Potential Heat Network Zones (www.gov.scot)
Local authorities finalising their Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies (LHEES), which will identify heat network opportunities across Scotland.