Chamber and committees

Given that that is separate from the LHEES order that we are debating, it might be appropriate for either me or the cabinet secretary to write to the committee if there has not been a recent update on that.

We are already working with agencies and organisations to deliver not just the heat in buildings agenda but support on fuel poverty and energy efficiency. That work is already resourced, and there have been increases in resources since the beginning of the current cost of living crisis. We have been keen to ensure that we maximise the uptake and availability of the grant, loan and other advice services that are available as we continue to develop and embed that throughout Scotland. The new agency will take on a key role in not only bringing that together but improving how it is delivered throughout Scotland.

That will be one area of work of the new national public energy agency, which we will launch later this year.

When we published the heat networks delivery plan, I visited Queens Quay in West Dunbartonshire. That is one example of where a local authority is already giving leadership. It is showing that the development of capacity in heat decarbonisation and heat networks can be of benefit to the local economy and to democratisation in our energy system, and it is working in a way that will also create opportunities for the private sector to connect to that network and gain co-benefits.

There will be other local authorities that have not yet gone down that road, but will see the opportunity to do so in future. They will need support to share skills and gain the capacity that is required to make that happen. The experience to date, as well as the potential support that would come from not only Scottish Government resourcing but from working with the new agency, show the huge potential for that to happen.

The question of resourcing needs to respect the discussion that continues to take place between the Scottish Government and COSLA. After the upcoming elections, we will see new leadership in some local authorities and, I hope, many local champions of this work across the political spectrum and across all local authorities.

The Scottish Government will work actively and constructively with individual local authorities and COSLA to address the capacity issues. Once again, however, I have to say that the discussions on specific resourcing need to be allowed to continue, and we will need to take account of Parliament’s decision on passing the order before we are able to specify exactly what the funding is going to be.

In the first instance, the first strategies will have to be completed by the end of 2023, and they will be updated on a five-yearly basis from that point.

The nature of the challenge will be different in different parts of the country, which is why locally led planning is so important. It would be appropriate for each local authority to identify in its first strategy the issues and challenges that need to be addressed. It is fair to say that, at this point, no one is able to confidently predict with precision exactly how the strategies will be implemented over the coming decades. That is why we will go through the process of giving local authorities not only the duty but the resources to identify the circumstances that are right in their locations, to develop place-based approaches and to update them on a five-year cycle.

Good morning, colleagues. I am grateful for the opportunity to give evidence on the draft Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies (Scotland) Order 2022.

As we are all aware, achieving our statutory targets for net zero and fuel poverty will mean transforming Scotland’s building stock. As set out in our heat in buildings strategy, we have to ensure that, by 2045, our homes and buildings no longer contribute to climate change, as part of the wider just transition to net zero. More specifically, by 2033, all homes should have achieved a good level of energy efficiency—equivalent to energy performance certificate band C—and, by 2030, emissions from heating our homes and buildings must be 68 per cent lower than 2020 levels. That will require very significant deployment of zero-emissions heating.

Delivering that transformation will require concerted effort across national and local government as well as the wider public and private sectors. Locally led planning will be key to ensuring that the decarbonisation of heat in buildings is delivered in a way that is relevant to local contexts and tailored to the specific needs of communities. Such planning is needed to translate national and local net zero priorities into place-based strategies for heat decarbonisation and energy efficiency improvement.

Local heat and energy efficiency strategies are the principal mechanism for that locally led planning. They will support local planning, co-ordination and delivery of the heat transition across communities in Scotland.

The Scottish Government has been working closely with local authorities to test approaches for local heat and energy efficiency strategies. I express my gratitude to all those who took part in the pilot programme, which involved all 32 Scottish local authorities and was a great example of partnership working between national and local government.

LHEES will be structured in two parts. Local strategies will provide a long-term strategic framework for the improvement of the energy efficiency of homes and buildings in the local authority’s area and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the heating of such buildings. Those strategies will be accompanied by delivery plans, which will set out how a local authority proposes to support the implementation of its strategy.

The Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies (Scotland) Order that we are debating today will place a duty on local authorities to produce strategies and delivery plans by the end of 2023 and then to update them every five years. If the committee and the Parliament approve the order and it is brought into force, it will create a clear statutory basis that will ensure consistency and comprehensive coverage across Scotland against a common minimum standard and raise the profile of local strategies with industry and investors.

The order was developed in co-operation with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities. I particularly thank COSLA’s environment and economy spokesperson, Councillor Steven Heddle, and COSLA leaders for their support and for the partnership approach that has been taken in developing local heat and energy efficiency strategies.

Local authorities will need to be suitably resourced to undertake the new duty. Scottish Government officials are working with COSLA to deliver appropriate funding to enable local authorities to access the necessary staff capacity and technical skills to produce their local heat and energy efficiency strategies.

It is clear that local government has an absolutely critical role to play in the transition of Scotland’s building stock to deliver net zero and that many local authorities are already driving forward action in that area. Approving the order will ensure that there is consistent, comprehensive coverage of local heat and energy efficiency strategies across Scotland and will enable local planning, co-ordination and delivery of the decarbonisation of Scotland’s homes and buildings.

I look forward to the committee’s discussion and to answering questions.

I very strongly agree that action must be taken and that a short-term cut to VAT on energy fuels, among a range of other measures, would be one way of providing short-term relief for households that are faced with the huge increase—resulting from the price cap that has just come into effect—which we expect will get worse later this year.

We first suggested such a cut in VAT back in January. My colleagues, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy and the Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport, both reiterated the request when they wrote to their United Kingdom Government counterparts last month. We have proposed a range of other actions to address the cost of living crisis, some of which sit with the UK Government and some of which, as discussed, we have already implemented in Scotland through our devolved powers.

For some time, we have been pressing for an end to VAT on energy-saving measures, which would increase uptake of those products. It is good that the UK Government has finally recognised the merits of that policy. We also continue to urge it to commit to rebalancing the policy cost element of energy bills in order to reduce the premium that is paid by households that rely on electric heating, and to unlock deployment of low and zero-emissions heating.

Finally, I say that it is astonishing that the UK Government has published an energy security strategy that says absolutely nothing about energy efficiency. I am pleased to say that the Scottish Government continues to make the matter a long-term high priority.

The home heating support fund is delivered on our behalf by Advice Direct Scotland. It reopened at the end of last year with funding that was provided from our fuel insecurity fund. Since then, it has been successfully helping households that are at risk of severely rationing their energy use or of self-disconnecting entirely. Although figures are still being collated, the provisional figures show that more than 7,300 applications for support had been received by 11 April.

The fund will continue to offer households support through the current financial year, thanks to the additional £10 million funding that we recently announced for the fuel insecurity fund.

I will in a moment.

Furthermore, the debate does not deserve defensiveness from this Government. I want to reassure the small number of members who chose to use their time in the debate to put forward positive, constructive ideas instead of simply downplaying what we are doing that we are constantly looking to see, and we will continue to look at, what more we can do beyond the actions that we have taken and that any positive ideas that have been put forward in the debate will be taken seriously.

This Government has a strong track record of addressing the cost of living crisis where we can. We want to do more, we will continue to commit to do more and we look forward to engaging with any members who have positive, workable and constructive proposals to bring.

I welcome the tone of the member’s closing remarks, which is unlike the tone of Mr Cole-Hamilton’s speech. Does he acknowledge, though, that there is an immense gap between what the UK Government has been doing, which has made the problems worse, and the actions that the Scottish Government is taking to address the problems? Does he acknowledge that there is that difference and that we are not sitting on our hands in the way that Mr Cole-Hamilton suggested?