Chamber and committees

Equally Safe is Scotland’s strategy to take action on all forms of violence against women and girls. By this, we mean violent and abusive behaviour directed at women and girls precisely because they are women and girls. We know that VAWG can have a devastating impact on victims, and we are committed to eradicating VAWG in all its forms.

This is why, through our Delivering Equally Safe Fund, we are supporting 121 projects from 112 organisations that focus on early intervention and prevention, as well as support services. Included are organisations that support victims fleeing from family abuse. Inspiring Scotland manage DES on behalf of the Scottish Government. A full list of all the DES projects can be found on Inspiring Scotland's website.

The Scottish Government has not had discussions with the Council regarding specific congestion charging schemes including charging for drivers not resident in Glasgow. The Scottish Government has had discussions with the Council in the context of local measures to support delivery of the 20% car km reduction target, and the Government’s commissioned research on equitable options for car demand management.

The Transport (Scotland) Act 2001 established the discretionary power for local authorities to implement road user charging schemes, and they are best placed to determine whether a local road user charging scheme supports the objectives set out in their local transport strategy and the amount of charge that supports these local objectives.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

Based on our knowledge of the SPS estate, we do not believe that RAAC is present within the prison estate.

SPS is however conducting a further evidence based scoping exercise to identify any buildings that cannot be categorically ruled out as containing RAAC. Any buildings identified will require further investigation and may need more intrusive testing/inspection by specialist consultants.

The initial scoping exercise should be concluded by 30 September 2023.

Decisions about the commissioning of individual community justice services, such as the 218 Service in Glasgow, are a matter for local authorities.

Community justice funding is primarily based on a local model, with the Scottish Government providing funding to local authorities which then provide or commission services according to local needs. Even where aspects of that funding are targeted at more specific needs, the commissioning and management of those services - including any re-tendering exercises - is a matter for the relevant local authority.

The Scottish Government has not reduced the overall funding available for community justice services across Scotland nor asked local authorities to reduce any specific funding within that.

Since January 2022, the primary focus of the Caledonian System has been on reaccreditation with comprehensive material provided to the Scottish Advisory Panel on Offender Rehabilitation (SAPOR) earlier this year. Accreditation is an important step in independently re-checking the current programme design prior to further roll out. There has also been work servicing demand for training from existing delivery sites with a series of training events now set through to 2024. An Outcomes Monitoring Report has been compiled and will be published shortly which will look at: change in men’s beliefs, attitudes and behaviour; change for women who engage with the programme around safety, empowerment, and wellbeing; and the extent to which the wellbeing of children improved and the risk of harm to children reduced.

Since January 2022 there has also been work within the Scottish Government to conclude a procurement exercise to secure a licence arrangement for use of the SARA-V3 risk assessment tool. This tool is embedded in the Caledonian System and is also used by justice social work and other professionals in assessing the risk posed by domestic abuse offenders across all of Scotland. For the first time this has been procured on a long-term (5 year) basis, providing certainty for ongoing delivery and securing savings on the annual cost of the licence. Conversation is also continuing direct with individual local authorities about readiness for any further roll out of the Caledonian System to new geographical areas.

Legislation relating to the efficiency of heating systems such as gas central heating is set out via Ecodesign and energy labelling product standards legislation which is reserved to the UK Government. The UK Government has recently consulted upon proposals to further improve the efficiency of gas boilers ( Improving boiler standards and efficiency consultation (publishing.service.gov.uk )) which closed on 31 March 2023. In addition, heating systems should be installed in line with latest buildings regulations as detailed in the Domestic building services compliance guide .

The Scottish Government also wants to ensure that current and prospective building owners and tenants have fuller information on the efficiency of heating systems as part of an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). This will provide homeowners and tenants with more information on the energy performance of their home, alongside the reserved UK Government Ecodesign regulations, which ensure manufacturers detail the efficiency of their products.

The Scottish Government published a consultation on EPC reform on 25 July 2023 and this is accompanied by workshops open to any stakeholder. In advance of this, we engaged extensively with industry regarding the proposed reform of the EPC rating system. For more detail I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-19032 on 26 June 2023.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

In February 2022 we published research commissioned through the ClimateXChange (CxC) into direct, point-of-use greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with zero carbon heating technologies, including hybrid boilers ( Direct greenhouse gas emissions from low and zero carbon heating systems (ed.ac.uk) ).

In May 2021 we published an evidence review, commissioned through the CxC, of all aspects of the use of hydrogen to heat buildings ( Evidence review for hydrogen for heat in buildings (climatexchange.org.uk) ), including converting gas boilers to run on hydrogen.

We will continue to monitor the growing body of research commissioned by other bodies and factor that in to our own decisions concerning further studies.

Later this year we will publish our Heat in Buildings Public Engagement Strategy setting out how we will work with stakeholders to increase public awareness and understanding of zero emission heating systems, the different technological options available and how to access advice and support.

This year we will also consult on proposals that might be included in a Heat in Buildings Bill and aim to set out further details of any planned new regulations. We want to hear from as many people as possible, across all areas of Scotland, on ways to help us ensure that we design the right protections and exemptions from the start – making sure the transition is just, fair and effective.

Home Energy Scotland (HES), administered by Energy Saving Trust on behalf of the Scottish Government, is a domestic advice service that acts as a single point of access for free, bespoke, impartial advice on energy efficiency, renewable heating and fuel poverty support in Scotland. HES provides in-depth support to householders on low and zero emissions heating technologies, other domestic renewables and more complex energy efficiency improvements. In the new calendar year we plan to launch a new national marketing campaign to promote action amongst potential early adopters of heat pumps, directing people to find out more through contacting our HES service.

Our Let’s Do Net Zero marketing campaign will support this by highlighting carbon emitting heating systems as being a major contributor to climate change and challenge myths associated with zero emission heating technologies, like heat pumps, to increase consumer confidence.