Chamber and committees

Those are all important. I mentioned that reliability and public approval of the technology has climbed and that people are more and more confident about it. It is also important to say—as, I think, I mentioned at the beginning—that no Government can do the work on its own. Government can be a catalyst: it can provide support, grants and loans, but it cannot claim to take on all responsibility for people replacing heating systems for ever more—no Government anywhere in Europe would make such a claim. What the Government can do, as I said, is provide encouragement and support, ensure that the technology is advanced and out there, and that the people who need it are helped.

I can bring in others, if anyone wants to add to that.

I cannot comment on the example from Canada. However, when I was in Shetland, I met people from a business who pointed out that, for a small building firm or contractor in an island setting, one of the huge advantages of having a van, as you mentioned, is that, otherwise, they might have to put their staff up in a hotel or somewhere else for a week so that they can attend a course for three or four days. Therefore, a remote van provides considerable advantages to small contractors in islands and other very rural areas.

It is difficult to tell why that is the case if councils have not responded to us or given us the information. I will ask my officials whether local authorities have given reasons for that.

We are always looking to provide more support and information. For example, we have a van that goes around Scotland to provide advice, support and assistance to small companies that want to get involved in installation of heat pumps. It travels to many rural areas to ensure that information is available to businesses and the sector. Much of the work is about raising awareness among the wider public and providing information and facts about newer or different forms of heating for houses. It is also about providing clearer information through EPCs and about all the other efforts that I have talked about. Ultimately, it is a shared enterprise between the Government, businesses, householders and landlords—all four have to combine their efforts to get information out there.

I would be very supportive of that. I know that Angus Robertson has mentioned the issue in the context of Historic Environment Scotland and promoting skills, whether it be for stonemasons or for people who can slate traditional roofs. Those skills are very important, and a lot of effort has gone into promoting them—quite successfully.

The other side of the issue is about making sure that the information—again, I come back to EPCs—takes account of whether a building is of a vernacular or unusual type. Work is going on to ensure that we do just that.

With your permission, convener, I will bring in somebody who can tell us more about how your point fits into the issue of EPCs.

We are confident that we can meet the targets that we have set ourselves in the long term, but there is no doubt that challenges exist in the here and now, and I have mentioned some of the measures that we are taking to address them.

I will bring in officials to talk about this year’s figures.

Those are all important questions. As we have touched on a couple of times, financing the transition will need to involve everyone in Scotland—householders, landlords, the Government and many other agencies. The independent green heat finance task force has been considering all those issues, particularly how private finance can support the transition, and we will respond to its recommendations in spring.

As I mentioned, our 2025-26 budget commits to investing more than £300 million to help households to save in the here and now. In the future, we are keen to get advice about private finance for individuals, too.

I am sorry—I did not catch that. Which changes are you referring to?

There was consensus on changing to a system of carbon budgets across most of the political spectrum—perhaps not all of it—and on the need to ensure that the targets that the Scottish Government sets are achievable and meaningful. However, that does not alter the fact that we are committed to getting the best advice on ensuring that there are green finance options for home owners and other individuals, so that we get to a position in which those budgets become possible.

I will bring in others to see whether they can add anything to that.

Yes. The Government has supported the establishment of a number of hubs. I visited one in, I think, either Musselburgh or Portobello, but I am going to have got that wrong and I will have offended people along the whole coastline of East Lothian. It was clear from the visit that the hubs are able to draw together different interests in the community, to push Government and other agencies and to activate people to think about wider environmental issues. Therefore, yes—the Scottish Government is very happy to support them in what they do.