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The majority of Scottish domestic consumers have contracts with energy suppliers for their electricity consumption and are therefore automatically eligible to receive support through the Energy Bills Support Scheme. Thousands of households across the country that are off the gas grid and rely on electric heating, heating oil, LPG and other alternative fuels would miss out on this support if it were delivered through gas accounts instead of electricity accounts. This would also be true for the equivalent support for alternative fuel users introduced through the Energy Price Guarantee.

We will continue to engage with the UK Government on ways to ensure that all consumers receive at least the equivalent to the £400 support delivered through the Energy Bills Support Scheme.

As I have made clear in recent parliamentary statements, this government is absolutely committed to improving the lifeline ferry fleet and better meeting the needs of island communities.

I indicated in my statement to Parliament on 8 September that I would consider what more could be done to provide additional capacity in the CalMac fleet.

I undertook to involve all parties in next steps relating to Project Neptune and I am pleased that members had the opportunity this week to hear directly from Ernst and Young about their review and the report as part of that work.

I can announce today that additional funding has been prioritised to enable Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL) to accelerate the procurement of replacement vessels for the Calmac fleet.

Today, CMAL has launched a procurement for two additional vessels to be constructed to the same specification as the existing vessels currently under construction for Islay. This will significantly accelerate the replacement of the major vessel fleet and also help deliver on our aim of providing a more standardised vessel type that can be used interchangeably on a variety of different routes, providing potential economies of scale and enhanced public value.

It is expected the contract will be awarded before the end of the year. The overall project costs are estimated at around £115 million, including allowance for minor port improvements.

Our intention is that these vessels would be deployed on the Skye triangle routes to Lochmaddy and Tarbert delivering dedicated services to these communities in the peak season rather than the shared vessel operation currently in place. This will also create the opportunity for significantly increased capacity and resilience for the communities of the Western Isles. It will also deliver an additional vessel overall in the Calmac fleet.

This will also allow consideration of all options to deploy Vessel 802 on an alternative route, including potentially alongside her sister ship the MV Glen Sannox on the Arran route which would provide additional capacity on this busy route in the peak season. All the options will be discussed with island communities at the appropriate time.

Transport Scotland, Calmac and CMAL will of course engage with residents, businesses and communities on the detail of how services and timetables for these additional vessels should be deployed to ensure that their needs and interests will be met.

Since this government was elected in May 2021, we have bought and deployed an additional vessel in MV Frisa in June, made significant progress in the construction of vessels 801 and 802, commissioned two new vessels for Islay, progressed investment in essential harbour infrastructure, and now we are delivering a further two new vessels. At the same time we are continuing to work on pursuing all reasonable and appropriate opportunities to enhance capacity and resilience in the short term through second hand vessels. I will update Parliament on progress in that regard as soon as possible.

A virtual agency has been established within Scottish Government and will be housed within the Directorate of Energy and Climate Change bringing together our existing heat and energy efficiency delivery programmes. The agency will work with our existing delivery partners and operate as Heat & Energy Efficiency Scotland.

This is the first step in transitioning to a dedicated body by 2025. Heat & Energy Efficiency Scotland will be responsible for accelerating transformational change in how we heat and use energy in homes and buildings, aid public understanding and awareness, and co-ordinate delivery of investment. The agency will also act as a Centre of Expertise, which in time will support project delivery across a range of sectors, notably heat networks.

The virtual agency and transition to a dedicated body will be supported by an independent Strategic Board, chaired by Professor Lorne Crerar, who will work with us and key delivery partners to consider how to build on, improve and co-ordinate existing and future advice and support, as well as wider capital delivery programmes.

The profile of a virtual Heat & Energy Efficiency Scotland will be built progressively over the coming months.

Our recent consultation proposed restrictions on vaping products that strike a balance between protecting all non-smokers from the potential harms of vaping, while still providing existing adult smokers with the information they need to make an informed choice on cessation. The responses from this consultation together with the analysis report and responses from the consultation as part of the 2016 Act are informing and shaping the final vaping restriction regulations. In addition findings from the consultation will be used to inform the refreshed Tobacco Action Plan, which is due to be published in 2023. In the meantime we will be working to ensure people better understand the risks around vaping. We will also continue to work with the UKG over joint approaches such as further regulation of flavourings.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-10615 on 22 September 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

The Scottish Government has no current plans to review and update its Good Practice Principles for Community Benefits from Onshore Renewable Energy Developments (2019).

We are currently reviewing our Good Practice Principles for Community Benefits from Offshore Renewable Energy Developments (2015) and we intend to consult on the updated draft guidance next year. As part of the consultation process, we will also gather evidence to help inform the need for any further updates to the Scottish Government’s Good Practice Principles for Community Benefits from, and Shared Ownership of, Onshore Renewable Energy Developments.

Our Fuel Poverty Act is the most ambitious fuel poverty legislation in the UK, setting us challenging but achievable targets, that in 2040 no more than 5% of households are fuel poor, and no more than 1% are in extreme fuel poverty. As required by the 2019 Fuel Poverty Act, a new statutory Scottish Fuel Poverty Advisory Panel was established from January 2022. The panel is an advisory non-departmental public body (NDPB) which will oversee the implementation of the Fuel Poverty Strategy, providing an important means of external scrutiny of our progress towards meeting the statutory targets.

As the 2019 Act requires the Scottish Government to formally consult with the panel on the strategy, we are presently working with them to seek their views in relation to appropriate next steps. The panel are also working collaboratively with the Poverty and Inequality Commission to inform advice for Scottish Ministers.

We are committed to tackling fuel poverty – not least by delivering on our Fuel Poverty and Heat in Buildings Strategies, which will help make homes warmer, greener and cheaper to run. We will invest at least £1.8 billion over the course of this parliament to insulate and install modern climate-friendly heating in homes and other buildings. This year alone (2022-23) we have allocated £336 million to heat, energy efficiency and fuel poverty measures including £119m targeted at fuel poor households. Our Warmer Homes Scotland fuel poverty scheme has its highest ever annual budget of £55 million, with recently revised eligibility criteria making a further 110,000 households eligible for support across Scotland. In addition, the Programme for Government commits us to using our Emergency Budget Review to double the value of our Fuel Insecurity Fund to £20 million, to ensure support continues to be available to people affected by rising energy costs who may be unable to afford their fuel bills this winter. Also subject to the emergency budget review, we will be investing an additional £5 million in Discretionary Housing Payments and allowing local authorities flexibility to use them to help with energy costs as well as rent payments.

The Scottish Government is committed to finding ways to make sustainable travel modes more attractive, and supporting people to take fewer journeys by car. We recognise that accessible and reliable public transport services, as well as active travel options, can alleviate stresses on household incomes, as well as support our climate ambitions.

We are providing over £2.1 billion investment in bus services and infrastructure over the rest of this parliament. This financial year, we are forecasting spend of up to £300m to enable over 2 million people to travel by bus for free with the Young Persons Free Bus scheme which, in addition to other concessionary schemes, means that we are providing up to 50% of the population with access to free bus travel across Scotland. Rail fares will also be frozen until at least March 2023 and there are a number of schemes on offer for discounted rail travel such as Kids for a Quid and railcards giving around 1/3 off many fares.

The route map to achieving a 20% reduction in car km by 2030, published in January, sets out how we will support people to reduce their car use. For those who have access to a car, but are struggling with the costs of fuel, the route map interventions aim to support them to reduce the number of trips or the distances they need to drive by car, thereby saving them money, as well as supporting their health and wellbeing.

In the 2022 Programme for Government the Scottish Government set out immediate steps this government will take to help families and businesses to get through the cost of living crisis, outlining our ambition to create a better future beyond the immediate crisis. This includes a transport initiative to test a new mobility and scrappage scheme to help low income households to replace a polluting vehicle with the means to travel sustainably. It will be targeted to car-owning low income households and provide up to £1,000 per household of mobility credits for more sustainable options including the purchase of assets such as bikes or e-bikes and sustainable travel vouchers for bus, car clubs, and taxis.