Current status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 30 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-16779 by Patrick Harvie on 27 April 2023, who will be responsible for managing the coordination of suppliers at local level, to ensure that they have the skills and quality marks required, in time for the roll-out of delivery plans, and what it anticipates will be the role of local authorities in this.
Ensuring that we have a suitably qualified workforce in place will be imperative for delivering a smooth rollout of energy efficiency and zero emission heating measures which will support us to achieve our net zero ambitions.
We currently offer support to the sector through a number of schemes which includes the Low Carbon Skills Grant which is available to heating and plumbing apprentices’ to undertake heat pump training as part of their qualification.
To further ensure the quality of works carried out we also provide funding to assist Scottish SMEs installing heat pumps in achieving MCS certification for the first time through the MCS Certification Fund.
We will continue to keep our offers of support under review to ensure that they are aligned at a local level with business needs and future local demands.
Delivery partners for each scheme, including local authorities where relevant, are currently responsible for the coordination of suppliers to ensure they have sufficient capacity in place to deliver schemes. It is likely that this arrangement will continue but we are committed to working with delivery partners to support the development of local and national supply chains and skills.