Chamber and committees

Scottish Ministers have devolved responsibility for the design and operation of the Local Government Pension Scheme in Scotland, though general occupational pensions policy remains a reserved matter.

We will set up an Expert Commission on the delivery of district heating in the coming months. This has been highlighted as a key action in the recently published 2020 Routemap for Renewable Energy in Scotland. Members of the Renewables Task Group on heat, a sub-group of the Scottish Energy Advisory Themed Group on Renewables, and the assessment panel for the district heating loan fund will be involved in helping shape the membership, structure and remit of the Commission.

The report Low Carbon Scotland: Meeting the Emissions Reductions Targets 2010-2022 – The Report on Proposals and Policies, highlights that most of the cost-effective potential in this sector comes through energy efficiency measures. However renewable heat and the efficient use of “waste heat” will be important in securing additional emissions reductions.

Poyry identified the UK potential for district heating in a 2009 report The Potential and Costs of District Heating Networks. It estimates the potential annual savings achieved for a composite benchmark dwelling from a range of technologies. For example, they calculate that a district heating network covering 250,000 households may save between 0.25 Mt CO2 and 1.25 Mt CO2 relative to conventional heating systems annually, dependent on the fuel used and the carbon intensity of centralised electricity production.

In the coming months we will establish an Expert Commission on the Delivery of District Heating to advise on the steps we need to take to ensure a major move to district heating. A key task of the Commission will be to the most appropriate financial mechanism, including seeking advice from the Scottish Futures Trust. In the meantime, we are providing support for district heating through a district heating loan fund which opened for applications on 24 June 2011.

Various reports highlight the relatively high capital cost of developing heat networks. We have, in partnership with UK Government, opted for Scotland to be part of the GB wide Renewable Heat Incentive which will provide financial support from Central Government funding, and potentially increase the uptake rate of district heating. In addition to that support we recently opened the £2.5 million District Heating Loan Fund. The loan fund is a pilot scheme which will allow us to assess the level of support necessary and the timescales involved in making a major move towards district heating. Over the coming months we will establish the Expert Commission on the delivery of district heating who will take forward the findings from the pilot scheme.

This information is not held centrally.

The Scottish Government is in regular dialogue with Scottish Water on all aspects of its business. It has agreed a growth plan with Scottish Water which aims to facilitate renewable generation on their assets equivalent to the amount of electricity Scottish Water consumes.

The funding level for the Climate Challenge Fund in 2011-12 has been announced at £10.3 million, an increase of £1 million on the 2010-11 level. The 2012-13 funding level of the Climate Challenge Fund is subject to Parliamentary approval however, the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment confirmed to Parliament on 22 June 2011 that we will maintain funding of the Climate Challenge Fund for the next five years.

There has been a steady expansion of the forest estate in Scotland for many years, with woodland cover increasing from 5% in the early 20th century to its present level of 17.8%.

The estimated cost of achieving a new woodland planting programme of 10,000 hectares per year over the period 2011 to 2022 will be around £542 million.

Based on an average of 2,000 trees per hectare, we want to see the planting, in newly created woodlands, of 16 million trees in 2011-12, rising to 20 million trees per year in subsequent years.

The Scottish Government has not set annual targets for recycling. The next domestic target is 50% recycling of waste by the end of 2013. The EU Landfill Diversion target for 2013, of landfilling no more than 1.8 million tonnes, has already been met.