Chamber and committees

The reasons for not approving the four most recent late applications are detailed in the decision notice for each. These can be found in the Register of Community Interest in Land (RCIL), which is held on the Registers of Scotland website. It is free to access. The four cases were:

Broomhill Community Trust Hub Limited (Ref:CB00263) – September 2023

Kinlochard (Cottages) Residents Association Ltd (Ref: CB00248) – January 2021

Kinlochard (Cottages) Residents Association Ltd (Ref: CB00247) – November 2020

Carty Port Community Company (Ref: CB00234) - April 2018

The review will examine all aspects of the four existing community rights to buy - Community Right to Buy, Crofting Community Right to Buy, Community Right to Buy Abandoned, Neglected or Detrimental Land, and the Right to Buy Land to Further Sustainable Development. This will include Scottish Government’s legislative and administrative processes and the various interactions between the Scottish Government, community groups, landowners and stakeholder organisations.

The next Social Housing Net Zero Heat Quarterly Report will be published in October and will update on the fund’s progress over Quarter 1 and Quarter 2 of this financial year.

Alasdair Allan: Currently, there is no date set for the next funding checkpoint of the Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund. When a date has been set it will be communicated to stakeholders through the fund website and stakeholder channels.

Review of NHS Hyperbaric Medicine Services in Scotland is ongoing. Scottish Government officials have been in contact with NHS National Services Scotland as commissioner of these services and NHS Grampian who provide and co-ordinate hyperbaric medical services in Scotland.

NHS Grampian have continued to engage with the private service provider in Oban and agreed to undertake further review of the facility. This took place in early May. Findings from the visit are being compiled and analysed before next steps are determined.

Discussions with stakeholders regarding the service are an operational matter, however we are being kept updated as review of the situation continues and have been assured risk is minimised, service capacity is in line with demand and plans are in place for the timely transfer and treatment of patients.

NHS National Services Scotland as commissioner of hyperbaric services and NHS Grampian who provide and co-ordinate the Hyperbaric Medical Unit in Scotland completed a full risk assessment exercise. Within this they reviewed the impact of the service level agreement with the NHS hyperbaric facility in Oban coming to an end.

This assessment is a matter for NHS National Services Scotland and NHS Grampian and information regarding it is not held centrally by Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government engages regularly with all three of these stakeholder groups, as well as with other bodies, to discuss a range of issues related to ensuring a just energy transition, including rates of employment and other workforce considerations.

The Scottish Government routinely meets with the Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council (SOWEC) and other stakeholders to discuss a range of issues including skills and workforce. The last SOWEC meeting was held on 20 June 2024.

In relation to oil and gas industry, I met with Offshore Energies UK on 20 March 2024. The First Minister also met with representatives from a number of individual businesses in Aberdeen, including oil and gas companies, to discuss the energy transition on 17 May 2024.

In relation to trade unions, I met with representatives from the Scottish Trade Unions Congress (STUC), UNISON, Unite, RMT and GMB on 29 February 2024. Ministers have also subsequently met with trade unions on matters related to transition in Scotland’s onshore energy system. Scottish Government officials also meet monthly, most recently on 3 June 2024, with representatives of STUC to discuss issues relevant to ensuring a just transition. Previous engagement with trade unions has been fundamental to our policy thinking about a just transition to date, including through the creation of the Just Transition Commission. The Scottish Government has committed to providing annual funding of £100k to support just transition capacity within the trade union movement, which will ensure this vital input continues, as we get on with delivering good, green jobs and a truly just transition.

The Scottish Government recognises that solar power has an important role to play in decarbonising our energy supply and supporting a just transition to net zero, however, we cannot meet our climate targets without ending the use of polluting heating systems in our buildings and moving to clean heat alternatives.

With sustained demand for the scheme and in the context of the real terms cuts to the Scottish Government’s capital funding – as well as drastic reductions in financial transactions – these changes were necessary to ensure that funding is best focused on interventions which directly decarbonise heat or reduce heat demand and ensure the scheme stays within its available budget.

With sustained demand for the scheme and in the context of the real terms cuts to the Scottish Government’s capital funding – as well as drastic reductions in financial transactions – these changes were necessary to ensure that funding is best focused on interventions which directly decarbonise heat or reduce heat demand in existing homes and ensure the scheme stays within its available budget.

The New Build Heat Standard currently requires new homes and buildings with a building warrant applied on or after 01 April 2024 to install a clean heating system, such as a heat pump. As these systems are now required to be included in the design of a project, it is expected that self-builders take into account the cost of installing a clean heating system into their project budget.

An annual capital and financial transactions budget is allocated to the Heat in Buildings programme, which covers a range of funding programmes. The Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan Scheme is allocated an element of this budget.

The HES Grant and Loan Scheme budget is agreed annually and investment for 2024-25 remains subject to final accountable officer sign off.