Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government is committed to decarbonising Scotland’s historic buildings, while recognising the special characteristics of our buildings and places. As set out in our Heat in Buildings Strategy, the Scottish Government is working with Historic Environment Scotland to consider what specific support may be needed to decarbonise the heat supply of buildings designated as listed, or in conservation areas.

We offer a broad range of advice and support for householders and buildings to make their buildings more energy efficient, which includes those in conservation areas. This package of support will evolve over the course of the decade to meet the scale of change required and align with any regulations we introduce.

We would advise any household with questions about energy efficiency to contact Home Energy Scotland (HES) in the first instance. HES can be contacted on 0808 808 2282 or via their online portal: https://www.homeenergyscotland.org/

Historic Environment Scotland also provides information about adapting and repairing traditional buildings to reduce emissions and improve their energy efficiency.

The significant cut by the UK Government in support for businesses with their energy costs beyond March is very concerning, particularly for the more vulnerable sectors.

Scottish ministers wrote to the UK Government at the end of last year to express our disappointment at the lack of opportunity we were given to engage in the review of the Energy Bills Relief Scheme, and to stress that any continued support should be aimed at those businesses and sectors who need it the most.

We will continue to work with stakeholders to analyse the impact of this reduced level in support upon businesses and to raise our concerns with the UK Government at every opportunity.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-14517 on 7 February 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

The Scottish Government remains committed to the removal of fees associated with instrumental music tuition so income is not a barrier to children and young people taking up an instrument. Access to instrumental music tuition is for local authorities to determine depending on local circumstances and priorities.

Councils are autonomous and it is their responsibility to agree their annual budgets taking into account their statutory duties and national and local priorities.

Careful consideration is being given to the call for a public inquiry, and the Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs will respond to the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee’s correspondence on this matter in due course.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-14172 on 31 January 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 November the Scottish Government began a data reconciliation project with the aim of gathering detailed case-level updates on the progress and outcomes of property checks by Local Authorities for the Expressions of Interest from volunteer hosts. This data was collected ahead of the launch of the Scottish Government’s Offers of Accommodation scheme and is intended to provide a baseline data set for the property matching app being developed. The returns will be analysed and published in the monthly Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme in Scotland statistics series, as part of our commitment to data transparency.

The rail peak-fares pilot will apply to the whole Scottish rail network for a six month period, during the next financial year.

Work on the precise methodology and design is underway with Transport Scotland officials working closely with Scottish Rail Holdings and ScotRail to derive maximum benefit for this scheme.

The next Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme in Scotland: Statistics – January 2023 experimental statistics publication was released at 9:30am on 26 January. Scottish Government publishes a list of forthcoming publications which is updated weekly, and is available here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/official-statistics-forthcoming-publications/

We are not delaying the implementation of commercial short-term let licensing. Licensing schemes opened in October 2022, and new hosts must now apply for, and obtain, a licence before accepting bookings or receiving guests. Local authorities continue to receive applications from new and existing hosts

In recognition of the wider cost of living crisis that is placing pressure on existing short-term let hosts and businesses, we have announced that we will introduce legislation in January 2023 to extend the deadline for existing hosts to apply for a licence from 1 April 2023 to 1 October 2023.

This is not a pause and we encourage hosts to keep applying throughout.