Chamber and committees

The Heat in Buildings Strategy, published in October 2021, set out a pathway to decarbonise Scotland’s buildings by 2045. The Scottish Government’s ambition, as part of a phased approach, is to see homes reach a minimum energy efficiency standard equivalent to EPC C by 2033 and transition away from the use of direct emission heating systems by 2045.

We are seeking to achieve this through a combination of clear regulations and financial support. These proposals, and any measures which accompany them, will be both fair and proportionate.

In Scotland, civil and political rights are protected by the Human Rights Act 1998, alongside provisions in the Scotland Act 1998. These rights derive from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). There is an overarching duty on Ministers to comply with the law, including international law and treaty obligations. Any legislation introduced by the Scottish Parliament will be compliant with these Acts.

The Scottish Government have commissioned Energy Systems Catapult to model six different archetypes of Scottish homes, comparing the operation of zero direct emission heating systems (including air source heat pumps and electric boilers) with gas boilers. This will provide information on the energy required to heat homes using these systems, and their running costs.

There has been no female high secure provision in Scotland since 2009. The decision to stop providing treatment was because the majority of women at the time did not in fact require high security and the development of medium secure services provided an opportunity to address that.

In the small number of cases where a female does require high security, an arrangement was put in place whereby a woman who requires treatment in a high secure facility can be referred to Rampton Hospital, Nottinghamshire, and transferred via the statutory cross-border transfer process.

The Scottish Government has been clear that the UK Government's cruel Illegal Migration Bill should be withdrawn immediately. The proposals, if enacted, will unjustly harm some of the most vulnerable people in society by restricting access to support and assistance under the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015 for a person deemed within scope of the UK Bill.

We recognise and share the significant concern displayed across Scotland about the UK Bill. The Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice and Minister for Equalities, Migration and Refugees hosted a Summit on 22 June, focusing on our response to the Bill's likely impacts - including on potential victims of human trafficking. We will reflect on discussions at the Summit and continue our engagement with partners throughout Scotland.

The Scottish Parliament rejected the UK Bill during a debate on 25 April. We set out our intent to lodge a Legislative Consent Memorandum (LCM) on two clauses within the Bill which alter the executive competence of the Scottish Ministers. Following consideration, the Scottish Parliament has determined that it is not a relevant Bill for the purposes of Standing Orders Rule 9B.1 and has not accepted the lodging of the LCM.

Although an LCM cannot be lodged, the Scottish Government intends to facilitate an alternative debate motion to allow for Parliamentary scrutiny of the Bill. Scottish Ministers will also write to relevant Parliamentary Committees setting out the Scottish Government’s position on the Bill for the record and inviting consideration about the implications of the Bill for Scotland.

We continue to monitor the Bill closely as it is considered by the House of Lords.

This Bill will disproportionately impact vulnerable groups including victims of trafficking, children and LGBTQIA+ people. It is regrettable that the Home Office did not publish an Equality Impact Assessment for the Bill until the 10 May, by which point it had already passed through the House of Commons, consequently restricting the ability of those involved to scrutinise this Bill to the full extent of their powers.

The Joint Committee on Human Rights published a report on the Illegal Migration Bill last week in which it said certain provisions were incompatible with the UK’s legal obligations under international law, including the European Convention on Human Rights. The Home Secretary herself, was unable to make a statement that provisions of the Bill are compatible when it was introduced. The implications of the bill as it applies to Scotland are being assessed in the context of the requirement for legislative consent and were also considered by Parliament when the bill was debated in April. The requirement to carry out and publish any impact assessments belongs with the UK Government.

Scottish public authorities exercise their functions in accordance with all relevant legal requirements, including those set out in legislation passed by the UK Parliament relating to reserved matters.

The Scottish Government has no functions in connection with which it may be required to report persons to the Home Office on the grounds of immigration status. Other public authorities may, however, be subject to such requirements.

The sharing of personal information between public authorities must be considered in line with relevant data protection legislation, including the Data Protection Act 2018 and the GDPR.

Asylum and immigration are entirely reserved to the UK Parliament and are handled by the Home Office, including provision of asylum accommodation for people who would otherwise be destitute while waiting for an asylum decision from the Home Office.

The Scottish Government has regular discussions with the Home Office and local authority representatives about asylum accommodation, including different types of contingency accommodation. We have been consistently clear that people seeking asylum should be accommodated in communities, with access to the essential support and services they need. The Scottish Government supports widening dispersal in principle, but believes that participation by local authorities should be voluntary. Funding for local authorities, introduced for the first time in 2022, is a positive step but this needs to be a long term commitment to make asylum dispersal more attractive and enable better support for people seeking asylum as well as local communities. Improved partnership working, data and information sharing are also needed. The Scottish Government is clear that the Home Office must engage with local authorities and COSLA on these matters.

As part of the UK Government’s plans to pursue alternative accommodation sites, the UK Immigration Minister spoke to Scottish Government and COSLA on 25 May.

In that meeting the Scottish Government was very clear that hotels and other forms of temporary accommodation, including vessels, are not suitable for people seeking asylum. It is not comparable to use for displaced people from Ukraine or other groups supported in temporary accommodation, because of fundamental differences in the rights and agency of people seeking asylum. While people are waiting for a decision on their asylum application they are restricted from working and have no recourse to public funds – a policy which prevents access to most mainstream benefits.

The Scottish Government was also clear that if the Home Office were to impose a vessel in Scotland they must: undertake a detailed risk assessment and engagement through the Asylum Partnership Board and local service providers in Scotland; fully engage the relevant local authority in this work; and that suitable funding is provided for local authorities and services to ensure that essential services are in place, people are supported appropriately and any impact on local services is minimal.

There are no current plans to publish correspondence in order to prevent substantial prejudice of relations between administrations and in the interest of maintaining the effective conduct of public affairs.

Responding to incidents is an operational matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. The Scottish Government does not hold information on average response times.

SFRS responds to every emergency incident as quickly as possible with the appropriate level of resources.

Responding to incidents is an operational matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. The Scottish Government does not hold information on average response times.