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Parliament dissolved ahead of election

The Scottish Parliament is now dissolved ahead of the election on Thursday 7 May 2026.

During dissolution, there are no MSPs and no parliamentary business can take place.

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Chamber and committees

Question reference: S6W-15197

  • Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
  • Date lodged: 20 February 2023
  • Current status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 6 March 2023

Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £1.8 billion allocated towards the Heat in Buildings Strategy it has already spent.


Answer

Scotland’s Heat in Buildings Strategy, published in October 2021, outlines our ambitious programme that reflects the scale and the size of the challenge to reduce emissions from our buildings. Our commitment to allocate at least £1.8bn over this parliament will help kick-start growth in the market and support those least able to pay. This includes:

  • At least £465m to support those least able to pay, delivered through our Warmer Homes Scotland and Area Based schemes.
  • £300m for Scotland’s Heat Network Fund.
  • £200m Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund, investing in a sector already leading the way in the heat transition.
  • £200m Scottish Green Public Sector Estate Scheme, supporting leadership for energy efficiency and heat decarbonisation right across the public sector.

Of the £1.8bn allocated as part of the strategy , £154.8m has been spent to the end of January 2023.

The delivery of the Heat in Buildings Strategy will require a combination of both regulation and support. Our investment in support will be enhanced and gain momentum as we develop our package of regulation through our Heat in Buildings Bill and policy and as we work towards a dedicated Public Energy Agency in 2025.

Work is continuing on the different categories of support for the allocation of £366 million of funding in the for 2023/24 financial year. However, the broad expectation is that around 60% of this will be allocated to our schemes to deliver energy efficiency and zero emissions heating to homes with households at most risk of fuel poverty. The remaining 40% would be targeted at larger investment schemes that improve energy efficiency or installation of zero emissions heating in public sector buildings, social housing homes and towards installation and development of heat networks.

A number of steps have been taken to aid in the delivery aims of the HiBs’ programme. We are in the process of finalising the procurement of the successor to the Warmer Homes Scotland scheme, with a potential spend over the next 7 years of £700 million. This is a significant component of the overall spend in the next 3 years. The continued development of robust Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies will help all stakeholders have greater insight to the likely deployment of different heat and energy efficiency solutions across different parts of Scotland. We are also making an increased investment in feasibility, advice and pre-capital support that will help to drive the implementation of projects at scale (e.g. public sector and heat network projects), which will see further acceleration in 2023. Finally, we are investing in raising public awareness of the heat transition and our schemes and we are committed to developing the Agency that will help accelerate take up in part through creating stronger, clearer identity and improving cross industry co-ordination. The Agency has already been set up in virtual form and now has resourcing in place to help start to create the momentum needed.

The HiBs' programme regularly publish reports to the Scottish Government website detailing projects that have completed or are underway within a number of the funded programmes. Reports have recently been published for the Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme , Central Government Energy Efficiency Grant Fund and Social Housing Net Zero Fund .