Chamber and committees

Home Energy Scotland (HES) is the main advice and referral mechanism to all Scottish Government energy efficiency schemes for homeowners. Energy Saving Trust (EST) manages the HES Service on behalf of the Scottish Government. Home Energy Scotland provide regular figures to the Scottish Government on the numbers of households they advise and the value of that advice. The Scottish Government has regular contact with EST to ensure they are meeting pre-agreed targets and maintaining the high standard of the advice that is expected of these services.

Householders making an enquiry to the HES service are dealt with by trained and qualified (SQA) advisors. HES advisers use a series of tools to ensure that the advice provided is based on the most effective measure for each householders’ specific needs. A fabric first approach is also recommended to households to ensure that heat loss is minimised before the most efficient routes to supplying the remaining residual heat requirements are considered. The analysis provided by an advisor to a householder is informed by use of a personalised Home Energy Check (HEC). The Home Energy Check is generated using bespoke energy modelling software which is used to model the thermal and other energy use characteristics of each property based on data provided by the householder. The HEC can be completed online independently by the householder via the HES website or over the telephone with an advisor.

For vulnerable householders who may require a little more support to be able to engage fully with the service or for households considering installation of low and zero carbon heating or renewable energy technologies, further specialist advice is available which can include a visit from an advisor and a bespoke onsite survey of the home. Energy modelling software is again used to model the property and to generate measures recommendations and savings figures for the householder. Through use of approved bespoke energy modelling and ensuring that advice is only delivered by suitably qualified advisors, the quality of recommendations and advice given to householders is maintained at a consistent, high level.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-07565 on 19 April 2022. 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 is clear that deposit return schemes (DRS) are a form of extended producer responsibility (EPR). Therefore, producers will not have to purchase Packaging Waste Recycling Notes (PRNs) or Packaging Waste Export Recycling Notes (PERNs), or pay producer fees under packaging EPR once that is operational, for containers collected through our DRS. We are working with the other UK administrations to legislate to give effect to this position.

On the member’s questions regarding quantity and quality of glass collected through our DRS, I refer him to the answer to question S6W-07104, answered on 18 March 2022. Increased quantity and quality of glass cullet means more glass available to go to re-melt and we would expect Scotland’s glass industry to benefit from this economic opportunity.

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 .

We are aware that the percentage of eligible young people holding cards providing free bus travel under the new Young Persons’ Scheme varies between local authorities. There will be a variety of reasons for this, including different levels of local awareness and interest in the scheme and also variations in how different local authorities handle applications which come to them rather than through the national online portal, getyournec.scot, and Transport Scotland’s Pass Collect app (for people between 16 and 21 who already possess an active NEC or Young Scot NEC card). We estimate that the number of cards produced and dispatched for South Lanarkshire as of 19 April 2022 represented 14% of the eligible population.

We are working with our delivery partners, including the Improvement Service and local authorities, to identify and support improvements to both online and offline processes to maximise the uptake of scheme and get cards issued faster. One such measure, which we are encouraging, is to coordinate applications through schools on behalf of pupils. Some authorities are already doing this, including – we understand – South Lanarkshire for pupils moving up to secondary school.

The identification, assessment and management of people with long-term effects of COVID-19 in Scotland is guided by the UK-wide clinical guideline developed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) and the Royal College of GPs.

This guideline is clear that there is no requirement to prove previous COVID infection via a positive test in order to access an assessment or be considered for referral for further investigations or specialist input.

The Scottish Government is actively supporting the implementation of the clinical guideline in Scotland, including through our long COVID ‘Implementation Support Note’ and our collaboration with SIGN on its online ‘Decision Support Tool’ on managing the long term effects of COVID-19.

The Scottish Government is not a reporting agency for cyber attacks in Scotland. When notified of a cyber incident under the Scottish Public Sector Notifiable Cyber Incident Procedure and Policy, the Scottish Government together with other relevant partners supports organisations with immediate cyber incident management and response, rather than their long-term recovery.

Public sector bodies generally manage their recovery processes themselves, dependant on their own circumstances. The Scottish Government does not collate information on the costs to the Scottish public bodies incurred as a result of cyber attacks.

The Scottish Government does not hold the information requested. The data we receive from Police Scotland for production of the Recorded Crime in Scotland National Statistics is a simple count of the numbers of crimes and offences, for each local authority, which the police have recorded and cleared up in each financial year. We do not receive further details on the characteristics and circumstances of individual crimes, including the age of any victim(s).

The benefits of a Deposit Return Scheme to businesses are not only a function of container numbers. As well as reimbursement to retailers through the handling fee, the benefit to businesses includes: savings from waste uplift costs for hospitality return points, reduced operational costs for private waste management companies (relating to uplifts from hospitality customers, albeit offset by reduced income from these activities), avoided compliance costs for producers, and income to the reverse vending machine service industry, as well as potential advertising revenue.

The economic model underpinning the figures in the amended final Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment takes account of a number of factors, and costs and benefits do not necessarily increase in proportion to the change in input. In this case, the addition of 0.5bn containers increases costs through greater potential for fraudulently redeemed containers, but also increases the benefits both from more income from sale of materials and from unredeemed deposits.

I am committed to engagement of the type I think Ms Hamilton is suggesting. I, and my officials, frequently meet with land management stakeholders, including organisations representing gamekeepers, and I am due to meet again with the Scottish Gamekeepers Association shortly. We expect to continue to engage with those stakeholders on issues affecting the sector, including specific issues relating to gamekeeping now and as we move forwards with tackling the biodiversity and climate emergencies.