Chamber and committees

Annex A of the draft Heat in Buildings Strategy contains over one hundred actions. Not all actions represent separate budget items or specific deliverables. Accordingly, the information below sets out timescales, status and expenditure across broad groups of actions and specific programmes. Further detail will be published in our finalised Heat in Buildings Strategy.

Delivery schemes

• We have allocated a record £50 million for Warmer Homes Scotland and £64 million for our local authority-led Area Based Schemes this year.
• We have increased the cashback available to home and building owners on measures to improve efficiency and install zero emissions heating, and will replace the cashback with a grant scheme in 2022/23.
• We have announced at least £95 million of capital funding for our Scottish Green Public Sector Estate scheme, this year investing at least £10 million.
• We have launched a second £30 million call through the ‘Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund’, and committed to keep the fund open with up to £100m available over the course of this Parliament.
• We will invest at least £400 million over this parliamentary session in large scale heat and energy efficiency projects, including providing support for zero carbon local and district heat networks, and large scale heat pumps. This scheme will provide both capital and project development support.
• Through our CARES programme, up to £5.25 million has been made available for this financial year to support community and locally owned energy. A further £3 million has also been made available to support the upgrade of fragile grids, recognising the distinct challenges faced by island, rural and remote communities.

Working with the energy sector

• In partnership with Ofgem and Scotland’s gas and electricity network companies we have published the Principles for the Development of Scotland’s Gas and Electricity Networks.
• We continue to work with electricity network operators through our Heat Electrification Strategic Partnership, and to work with gas network operators to develop the evidence base on gas decarbonisation.
• The Scottish Government provided £6.9 million support to the H100 project, helping to evidence the role that hydrogen can play in decarbonising heat.
• The Heat Networks (Scotland) Act was unanimously agreed by the Scottish Parliament, and we are developing the secondary legislation provided for by the Act. We have introduced a 90% relief from non-domestic rates for new heat networks run from renewable sources, and extended the existing 50% relief for heat networks to 2032.
• We will refresh the Energy Strategy in Spring 2022.
• We are partnering with Scottish Renewables to undertake a ‘Heat in Buildings Workforce Assessment Project’.
• We will respond to the forthcoming Heat Pump Sector Deal Advisory Group’s recommendations once they are finalised.

Regulation

• We have committed to phasing out the need to install new or replacement fossil fuel boilers, in off gas from 2025 and in on gas areas from 2030, subject to technological developments and decisions by the UK Government in reserved areas.
• We have made a commitment that where technically and legally feasible and cost-effective, by 2030 a large majority of buildings should achieve a good level of energy efficiency, which for homes is at least equivalent to an EPC Band C, with all homes meeting at least this standard by 2033.
• We will introduce primary legislation, subject to consultation and to limits on devolved competence, that provides the regulatory framework for zero emissions heating and energy efficiency, and underpinning powers to support this transition and ambitious programme

Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies

• We have developed a methodology and guidance for the production of Local Heat & Energy Efficiency Strategies and Delivery Plans.
• The LHEES pilots programme completed in April 2021 and an evaluation is underway, synthesising learning across three phases. We have commissioned a National Assessment to create a central resource that local authorities can draw on.

Consultations

In addition to the consultation on the draft Heat in Buildings Strategy we have consulted on:

• Scottish skills requirements for energy efficiency, zero emissions and low carbon heating systems, microgeneration and heat networks for homes
• New Build Heat Standard (scoping consultation)
• Home energy efficiency: equity loan pilot
• Domestic Energy Performance Certificates reform
• Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme (LCITP): call for evidence