Current status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 22 July 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the ministerial statement on the 2024-25 provisional outturn on 24 June 2025, and the response by the Minister for Public Finance regarding whether he will report to the Parliament before making any awards under phase 2 of the Public Sector Heat Decarbonisation Fund, which closed for applications on 27 May 2025, whether it will publish details of all the applications received, including the address of the building, a brief description of the works to be undertaken, the value of the building, the amount of the grant sought and the amount of any grant being considered, and whether it will propose the scheduling of a ministerial statement on this matter prior to any decisions being taken on the awarding of grants.
This funding supports public bodies to lead by example and take early and sustained action to achieve the priorities of the forthcoming Heat in Buildings Bill and decarbonise the public sector estate to reach net zero by 2045. It is anticipated that funding awards will be issued in August 2025 and details of successful projects – including recipient organisation, building location(s), grant awarded, and project overview – will be published later in 2025.
The value of building(s) in scope will not be published. The rateable value of a building is not the only measure of value for money and there are other relevant factors to consider when assessing options for how best to achieve a decarbonised public sector estate. It is also imperative that public bodies have quality, efficient premises which reduce energy costs and that they reside in areas which meet the needs of the essential services they provide.
The Scottish Government does not publish details of unsuccessful projects; however, all applications undergo robust technical assessment, and funding is offered only to projects that clearly meet the objectives of the scheme and have the potential to progress to deployment, driving value for money from our investment.
Parliament will be informed of the outcome of Phase 2 of Scotland’s Public Sector Heat Decarbonisation Fund once the application assessment process has concluded.