Energy Performance of Buildings
The next item of business is a statement by Johann Lamont on the European directive on the energy performance of buildings.
I am pleased to be able to make a statement on the Executive's progress in preparing to implement the European Union directive on the energy performance of buildings. The directive will ensure that building standards throughout Europe place a high emphasis on minimising energy consumption and will encourage actions to reduce energy use in buildings throughout Europe without requiring huge additional expenditure, while perceptibly increasing the comfort of users. The measures, which in essence address all energy consumers, are a vital component of the EU's strategy to fulfil its commitments under the Kyoto protocol.
I emphasise that we see the directive not as an imposition, but as action that builds on the important reforms and modernisation of the building standards system that we have undertaken over the past five years. We now have a robust yet flexible structure that will ensure that all new buildings meet the standards for safety, energy efficiency and accessibility for all. The duty of verification against those standards has been given to local authorities, and competent professional groups have been given the opportunity to gain recognition by becoming approved certifiers.
To ensure a strong professional base to the system, we have established the Scottish Building Standards Agency which, in accordance with our relocation policy, operates successfully from Livingston. The agency works to raise standards and issues technical guidance, and has already begun the process of auditing certifiers and verifiers. I record our recognition and appreciation of the hard work that has gone into not only the agency's establishment—with all the challenges that that presents—but the new system's introduction.
The European directive complements the work that we are already doing, and we intend to implement it in the most cost-effective way for Scotland. Energy performance is an area in which we can make real improvements. Saving energy is of benefit to everyone. It means lower fuel costs for building owners and householders, as well as lower national carbon emissions. We intend to encourage flexibility of design in new buildings through the higher standards, and to give clear advantages to buildings that adopt low-carbon and zero-carbon solutions.
In existing buildings, the energy performance certificates will not only give a clear indication to everyone of how the building can perform, but include cost-effective improvement measures that the owner can consider adopting. The directive's implementation will contribute to the overall sustainability of the building stock while encouraging good design. Therefore, the directive will make an important contribution to the delivery of our sustainable development objectives.
In the new sustainable development strategy that the Minister for Environment and Rural Development is launching today, we make it clear that Scotland, like other developed countries, is using an unfair and unsustainable share of the world's resources. The actions and commitments in that strategy, which include actions that will reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and improve Scotland's energy efficiency, will help us to limit our use of resources. That will become an important part of the proposed Scottish climate change programme.
In Scotland, we have long had standards for energy conservation in new buildings. Those have steadily been improved over the years, with major improvements being made in 1997 and 2002. Implementation of the European directive, taken with the current review of energy standards, provides an opportunity for further improvements in new and existing buildings. Research shows that more than 40 per cent of energy use relates to buildings. The purpose of the directive is to increase public awareness and to encourage a reduction not only in energy use but in CO2 emissions.
However, public support for the directive could be lost if it proves to be expensive to implement. Therefore, we have been working to ensure that we can apply the directive without imposing unnecessary burdens on building owners.
The directive requires us to adopt a methodology that expresses the energy performance of buildings as a single figure or indicator. That method will take into account all the aspects that affect energy use in a single calculation procedure, which will usually involve computer software. Examples of energy-affecting aspects include boiler efficiency, heating controls, thermal insulation, renewable energy sources, climate and glazed areas. The effects of items such as household appliances and industrial plant are excluded.
The methodology is being developed in line with that which already underpins the standards that we set for new buildings. All buildings, extensions and alterations are already required to meet the energy standards of the building regulations, which set the highest thermal insulation requirements in the United Kingdom. A review of those energy standards has been under way for the past year, and we intend to consult on a further upgrading early next year. That fulfils one of our partnership agreements to strengthen building standards in order to improve energy conservation and to consult on ways to incorporate renewable energy sources increasingly into new homes and public buildings. In such upgrading, we are fully determined to ensure that Scotland continues to have the highest thermal insulation standards in the United Kingdom. We also intend to focus activity on reducing CO2 emissions, and on assessment of the building as a totality, considering all the influences on its energy efficiency.
The energy performance directive requires that, for new buildings, designers should consider installing building-integrated low-carbon or zero-carbon-producing energy-generating technologies. By that I mean photovoltaics, wind micro-turbines, combined heat and power, community heating and heat pumps. We intend to embody that within the revised energy standards.
The most obvious consequence of the directive will be the establishment of a system of energy performance certificates, which must be made available for buildings at construction, sale or rental. Our current intention is that those certificates will be made available to prospective purchasers and tenants by the current owners. The certificates should also be displayed at all times in large public buildings. We intend to phase in the certification requirements over the next three years, as permitted under the energy performance directive.
The energy performance directive also includes provisions on boilers and air-conditioning plant. We will comply with those provisions by ensuring that users of boilers are advised how to improve the efficiency of their systems. We are already discussing with the Energy Saving Trust how that can be done most efficiently and economically. For large air-conditioning systems, we will require inspection for possible energy efficiency improvements—again, we are in discussion with professional bodies about how that can best be achieved.
Although much has been done, we are still refining the detail of how certain parts of the energy performance directive will be implemented in Scotland. In particular, we are liaising with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to finalise a fully functioning methodology for non-domestic buildings. We are also finalising the details of how energy performance certificates will be made available when properties are sold, and how that can be linked seamlessly to the plans for the single survey.
The directive will apply to virtually all buildings that use fuel and power to heat and cool their internal environment, including dwellings, shops, offices, hotels and cinemas. We shall use the exemptions in the directive gradually to expand certification and we will align the exemptions with our building regulations.
The certificates that will be required under the directive will provide owners and tenants with clear and accurate assessments of the energy performance of their buildings. A list of cost-effective improvements that will improve energy efficiency will be provided with the certificate. In the cases of new buildings and buildings that are put up for sale or rent, such certificates will permit prospective buyers and tenants to make more informed choices. We believe that that will encourage consideration of energy efficiency as part of the property-transfer system.
It is our intention to publish a consultation on the detailed procedures relating to directive implementation when we publish our proposals for the revised energy standards.
The minister will now take questions on issues that were raised in her statement. I will allow about 20 minutes for that.
I thank the minister for the advance copy of her statement. Despite the dry title of the directive, the statement is about the need to tackle fuel poverty in Scotland, to curb harmful carbon emissions and to use our energy efficiently. Given that 40 per cent of our energy is used in our buildings, making our buildings energy efficient has to be much more of a priority. We all live and work in buildings, so the measures that we are discussing today will help to engage everyone in the debate about energy efficiency.
I ask the minister to respond to concerns expressed by Energy Action Scotland and others that the new measures under the directive are so general and broad-brush that they will, if anything, be weaker and less effective than existing schemes. Does she agree that we need one simple energy rating scheme that can be applied right across the board and in which the energy rating of a building can be explained to people in language that they understand? If so, will she explain how what she has announced will achieve that, given that we will be left with many schemes, the weakest of which could be the one that the Government's own agency has chosen to promote to comply with the directive? The challenge in Scotland is not so much in making new housing more efficient but in dealing with older and colder housing stock. What assistance will be given to householders to make their homes energy efficient and to pay for the necessary improvements?
That was a lot of questions. I do not accept that the measures are a weaker version of existing schemes. We are trying to raise public awareness and make people think about the efficiency of our buildings.
Capturing information on a label such those that are used on household appliances will allow people to understand in a straightforward way what is expected of them. We have accepted that we should, in the interests of public awareness, introduce measures that are simple and straightforward, that change attitudes, that do not encourage people to avoid the process and that tell people what they can do to improve their buildings.
Buildings differ around the country. Through the Scottish Building Standards Agency, we have developed a set of standards, the energy element of which is being reviewed. There is an opportunity for people to get engaged in the process. Our work is rooted in an understanding that buildings differ from one another and that there will be opportunities to generate the certificates at various points in buildings' lifetimes.
The directive should be seen in the context of the Housing (Scotland) Bill that we passed a couple of weeks ago, which sets down clearly that people have a responsibility to maintain their properties and that we should support them in that. That bill addresses those concerns. Furthermore, through the warm deal, the central heating programme and other Executive initiatives, we have demonstrated our commitment to addressing fuel poverty. The measures that I have announced today should be seen as tools to be used in the context of that work rather than as being something that is entirely separate from it.
Scottish Conservatives welcome the initiative to reduce energy consumption, emissions, waste, fuel bills and fuel poverty.
Will the directive take full account of older stone-built, solid-walled properties in rural and urban areas? I accept that the minister addressed that to an extent in her previous answer.
Given that work is currently being done on the purchaser information pack, what will be the likely cost of an energy efficiency certificate to a potential purchaser?
On the first question, there is no point in producing a certificate that is not relevant to a significant amount of the buildings throughout the country, but there is no point in having a centralised one-size-fits-all approach that would mean that the system is of no relevance to people who live in certain kinds of property. The label will identify a building's energy rating and how its energy efficiency can be improved. The label will be particular to each building and the recommendations will be different for different buildings. That is an important part of the approach.
Some work has been done on the estimated cost of the certificates—I will provide Mary Scanlon with details later. We are clear that the purpose of the certificates is to raise public awareness, to make people think about energy efficiency and to help them improve their buildings' energy efficiency. Therefore, we do not want something that is not cost effective and that it is in people's interests to avoid. I assure Mary Scanlon that a focus of our work will be the need to make the certificates cost effective.
Mary Scanlon was right about the purchaser information packs; we have to ensure that the two elements come together. If our energy efficiency measures—or anything that we do in relation to the environment—are seen as something that gives people a row, or as something that they cannot engage with or do not see the point of, we have a problem. If people see the certificates as a burden, they will find ways to avoid them. We have to see the system as something that not only makes us feel better but has a practical impact on the quality of people's lives in their own homes.
I assume that the energy performance certificates will operate similarly to the energy efficiency ratings that are now used for fridges and cookers. In relation to older buildings, how will we be able to ensure that we judge all buildings in the same way? What assistance will be given to owners who have older buildings that are more difficult to insulate than newer properties?
People can get a lot of advice and support from the Scottish Building Standards Agency. However, the first thing that people need to know is what their building is like and what its problems are. We are not giving people marks out of 10 in the sense that a new-build house will get 10 out of 10 and an old stone house will be viewed as a complete failure; we are simply saying that different buildings present different challenges. People should engage with those challenges, which is why we have produced the certificate in this form. If I hold up this sample certificate, the member can see what I mean. I hate to use visual aids. We did not have such glossy visual aids when I was at school; using this one might encourage me to be more bossy than usual.
I know that I am repeating myself, but it is important to state that we are trying to measure the energy efficiency of the building so that we can improve it; we are not trying to say that certain types of building are beyond the pale and nothing can be done about them. We must all do what we can with existing properties and we must ensure that people support the directive and are not afraid of it.
I endorse what the minister has said. She has described a helpful and practical way forward.
Will the introduction of energy performance certificates mean that we will be able to tap into devices that we use now—such as the national home energy rating scheme—in preparing certificates? When ascertaining the ratings for one's house, will the outdoor climatic and local conditions be taken into account? I notice that the United Kingdom Parliament has established a directive implementation advisory group. Will we be able to tap into that group's expertise if we think it might be helpful?
We have to tap into whatever expertise exists. Indeed, Dr Paul Stollard, who heads the Scottish Building Standards Agency, has received a national award for the quality of his work. There is no doubt that there is expertise in Scotland that can be used; we will also build on expertise that exists elsewhere.
We are keen to establish a straightforward method for the certificate. We want a methodology that makes sense for buildings, so people can then put that in the context of climate change. It would be unfortunate if the certificate identified buildings in the central belt on which nobody had done any work as being better quality and more energy efficient buildings than buildings that suffer more challenging climatic conditions and on which work had been done.
We place ourselves in context looking at the label, rather than feeding that into the methodology.
I thank the minister for her statement. She mentioned that the Scottish Executive sustainable development strategy is also being launched today; it describes energy efficiency as a "major priority for Scotland." However, during the debates on the Housing (Scotland) Bill, the Executive blocked an attempt to introduce statutory energy efficiency targets. Today, the minister announced the implementation of the directive. One non-governmental organisation has described its implementation as a "cheap and cheerful approach" that is based on a Scottish energy rating tool that is inaccurate, untried, lacking in independence and not transparent. If the Executive had cracked the whip, that directive and the three year phase-in for the energy performance certificates could have been in place by now.
Do you have a question?
Cannot the Executive's approach to energy efficiency best be described as haphazard?
The member said "cheap and cheerful" but being happy must keep him going. It does not take the debate forward to see nothing in what is said or done across the Executive, or to characterise the directive as doing absolutely nothing. If people who are committed to the environment, such as the Green party, do not recognise progress, or that people have shifted and are wrestling with the arguments, we have a dialogue of the deaf. What, then, is the point of dialogue at all?
I do not recognise the member's characterisation of that NGO's comments. This step has taken three years because we want to get it right—we want to do it properly. If it is "cheap and cheerful" and it works, so be it. The labelling on fridges is cheap and cheerful, but it has transformed how people buy fridges. Cheap and cheerful is all right by me; expensive and complex, which is ignored or avoided, is not the best approach. Of course, we will keep all that under review.
Patrick Harvie said that the Executive blocked the introduction of statutory energy efficiency targets, but during debates on the Housing (Scotland) Bill, Parliament accepted that the targets that the Green party sought were inappropriate. The Executive is developing a full energy strategy, and it will be appropriate to proceed with it through the directive. It is nonsense to characterise implementation as being non-progressive. It is hugely significant. The debate on the matter has developed over time. Proper dialogue with people who care about these things—rather than saying that it is all rubbish and does not take us anywhere—will help us to make progress.
If the Executive is not to establish regular inspections of boilers that are fired by non-renewable liquid or solid fuel, or assess buildings' heating requirements, and will provide to users only advice on replacement of the boilers, I ask it to think again because I do not see how that will achieve the directive's objectives.
I urge the Executive to go one step further, in line with its commitments on the Kyoto protocol. Will the minister assure us that there will be sufficient numbers of appropriately qualified inspectors to certify buildings, draft recommendations and inspect boilers and air conditioning? If there are insufficient numbers of inspectors, how will the Executive address that situation, given the tight timescale for implementation of the directive?
Frances Curran is another member whom the festive season has obviously got to. I am not often described as cheerful, but in the present company I am beginning to look at bit more so.
I acknowledge the point about capacity, but it is because the Labour Government has developed and invested so much in our infrastructure and in building in communities such as my own that pressure has been put on the construction industry. The central heating programme has resulted in a huge demand for engineers and so on. Our approach to such matters has produced economic and employment benefits, but we recognise that there are issues around that.
On boilers, we must balance the impact of what we do against the cost of doing it. Cost must be a consideration—we have to think about other ways we could spend the money. If we advise people and they change their boilers because they are persuaded that doing so will benefit them and their community, that is progress. Through development of the building standards it is possible to create an incentive for installing more energy efficient boilers. There is more than one way of developing that agenda. I repeat: it is because of the Executive's commitments on energy efficiency that such work is being generated. The Executive is not dragging its heels and it views the directive in the context of work that has been going on for some time. In the United Kingdom, we lead the way on energy efficiency.
I assure the minister that I love "cheap and cheerful" and I thank her for prior sight of her statement.
I am interested in the timing of implementation. The way I read the situation, the UK would need to obtain a derogation to allow Scotland to do what Scotland plans to do, because I believe that we are the only country in Europe that is advocating a form of self-certification. The minister's department may have heard word to that effect from the EU energy performance of buildings directive implementation advisory group. From speaking to people south of the border, I know that they are rather concerned that we are completely out of step with the rest of Europe.
In relation to the energy performance of new buildings, large buildings or buildings that are visited by a large number of people, can the minister give me any indication of what energy rating the Parliament building will score? Will we start on an AA rating or will we end up getting a G? We will have to display the relevant literature prominently in Parliament from 4 January.
Derogation would obviously be a matter for the UK Government, but what is proposed is not self-certification. With buildings that are not captured by the single-seller survey or buildings that are not new, for example, people will have to fill in a questionnaire. If the local authority has any doubts about the information that is provided, it will be able to check it. We do not think that the proposals amount to self-certification.
On the Scottish Parliament building, a label will have to be put up. However, we are talking about how to make more energy efficient the diversity of buildings throughout Scotland. If we were to consider energy efficiency alone, we would only ever build large cubes; we would not take into account aesthetic considerations or anything else. In any building, energy efficiency has to be balanced against aesthetics. We appreciate the problems that tower blocks created in our cities and I am sure that we would not want to advocate them anywhere else on the ground of energy efficiency. We must balance different factors. When all the sums have been done, we will all be able to judge whether the correct balance has been struck in the Parliament building.
I have been generous with opening questions and we have five questioners still to come. I will get them all in if questions and answers are significantly tighter.
I welcome the minister's statement and I am sure that many buyers of new houses in Cumbernauld and Kilsyth will welcome the information that will be made available to them. We know the energy efficiency ratings of the cars and electrical goods that we buy and we should have similar information on the energy consumption of homes and public buildings.
As the certification requirements will come into force over the next three years, I am sure that the Executive will want to consult on who should measure the energy efficiency of people's homes. However, if my constituents approach me in the next wee while to find out that information because they have seen the publicity that today's statement will no doubt generate, to whom should I direct them?
Also, will the minister explain how the recently passed Housing (Scotland) Bill will link into those requirements?
The member asks how certificates will be generated. For many houses, that will be done when the house is being sold or built; that responsibility will need to be met before a completion certificate is issued. For housing association properties, we are working with the associations on developing the methodology and on support for their staff. Obviously, individual property owners will need to contact their local authorities and, ultimately, the Scottish Building Standards Agency.
As Cathie Craigie pointed out, the information needs to be relevant. Our clearly held view is that energy efficiency certification is in the context of our policies on ensuring that people take responsibility for maintenance of their property, and on promoting understanding of how we can improve matters globally by taking local action. That is very much the message behind the housing legislation and the practical approach that I have announced today.
Will the minister help us by stating how progress will occur? Energy performance certificates will apply when buildings are built, sold or rented. What percentage of our buildings are built, sold or rented each year? Given that 700,000 existing homes need to be climate proofed, how soon can we expect Scotland's housing stock to be up to scratch for this century's needs?
Given the pressure that I am under from the Presiding Officer, I am sure that the member does not expect me to give all those figures off the top of my head, which are likely to be out by a couple of thousand in any case. I will provide the member with that information.
We appreciate the scale of the task, which is why we will take three years to introduce the requirements. Despite the concerns that members have flagged up, I hope that there is consensus on the need for action, which must be practicable and deliverable. That is the context in which we are taking the matter forward.
I welcome the minister's announcement that she will link energy efficiency with renewables and, in particular, that public sector procurement will be used to drive that agenda. I also welcome her suggestion that the single seller survey will provide us with the chance to make every householder aware of the energy efficiency opportunities that are available in existing properties.
What practical incentives will be introduced to persuade people so that we improve the energy efficiency of our housing stock? Will she examine the Energy Savings Trust's research that suggests that a discount of £50 to £100 on council tax is required to make people really engage with energy efficiency so that they do something about it?
On the member's first point, the Executive has recognised the importance of public sector procurement. The Executive will work on its own buildings as speedily as possible so that we can lead the way on that.
It is important that the single seller survey gives relevant information not just on how much it will cost to get a mortgage on the property but how much it will cost in the wider context. That will be helpful.
Of course we will consider any research that is available. Energy efficiency has clear incentives, because it is about being cheap and cheerful. Promoting energy efficiency is about doing good things, but it is also about seeing the benefits inside the home, so that the home is comfortable and is a warmer and healthier place to be.
I will be brief. Given the £139 million black hole that is currently faced by local government, will councils be fully funded for any work that they do on the project? Where will the Executive get the inspectors from? She did not answer the question when it was asked, so will the minister say what grant aid will be available for people who want to update old property?
The grant aid must be put in the context of the investment that we are already putting into housing as part of the housing legislation that Parliament has passed.
We want implementation to work: we will ensure that it does. The information will come through in different ways. For example, in properties that are subject to a single seller survey, we expect that the information will be provided through the survey. We will look at what information exists and we will make use of it. Creating huge amounts of expense would not necessarily deliver either the change in attitude or the better homes that we want.
I am sure that the minister will agree that for many years housing associations have delivered some of the best-quality energy efficient new build. In extending energy efficiency across the whole housing system, what discussions has she had with the Scottish House Builders Association? How will she ensure that all builders of new housing give purchasers the certification and information that we are discussing?
There is on-going discussion with house builders and developers, to which my colleague Allan Wilson has been party. It is important that there should be on-going discussion to bring about good and effective development through our planning legislation. We will work with the developers so that they understand that the credibility of the development industry is dependent both on our using enforcement to ensure that it delivers what it says it will deliver and on the setting of new standards. We should recognise and celebrate that. The Scottish Building Standards Agency is looking closely at ways of encouraging and incentivising people to take on that shared agenda and to make use of the opportunities that new build provides.