Chamber and committees

The Net Zero Technology Centre has not provided any funding directly for the benefit of any of the three Operators in question.

The Net Zero Technology Centre model provides funding for developers with a prerequisite that the project has industry support in order to provide match funding, industry engagement and access to the facilities and expertise that is required to prove the technology. This is in line with the Business Case approved as part of the Aberdeen City Region Deal, in which joint Government funding of £180m over ten years was to be matched by industry and academia to a target amount of £174.1m.

No date has been set to close the Tenant Hardship Loan Fund (THLF) to new applicants. The THLF will continue to be part of the range of support available for tenants, alongside the Tenant Grant Fund, to help those struggling to pay their rent due to the pandemic.

We are taking forward a number of recommendations made by the Short Life Working Group on Ventilation in order to improve airflow in settings where transmission of Covid-19 is most likely to occur. As the First Minister stated when she announced this £25 million package of funding, the support will focus on the hospitality and leisure sectors although the specific sectors and premises that will be eligible for financial support through this fund is still being determined and community halls are being actively considered as part of this process.

The Scottish Government’s draft Heat in Buildings Strategy proposed that any regulations requiring the installation of zero emissions heating systems would be phased in, with all building owners being required to comply by 2045.

The draft Strategy specified that it may be appropriate to require earlier compliance from, for example, those using high emissions fuels like heating oil or coal (which are more prevalent in off-gas grid areas).

The draft Strategy was subject to consultation from 5 February to 30 April 2021, and questions 48 and 49 specifically asked for views on the regulatory actions and timescales proposed.

An analysis of the consultation responses can be found at: https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781802014464 .

As set out in our final Heat in Buildings Strategy, published on 7 October 2021, the Scottish Government will consult in further detail on our commitment to phase out the installation of fossil fuel heating systems during 2022.

The NHS Recovery Plan, launched on 25 August and backed by over £1 billion of additional investment, strives to recover NHS performance over the 5 years of this Parliament in order to ensure Treatment Time Guarantees and other waiting time standards can be met by every Health Board across Scotland.

Dealing with the direct and indirect impacts of the pandemic has resulted in the most significant challenge in 73 year existence of the NHS.

While it is not possible to anticipate when NHS Scotland will begin meeting the TTG in all instances, we know that it will take time and a series of targeted actions to build back capacity and redesign patient pathways to bring waiting times back within targets.

The National Services Division (NSD) in NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) have commissioning responsibility for the Scottish Genetic Laboratories. NSD are currently conducting a review of NHS Scotland’s genomics services which will include reviewing the Scottish genomic test directory and genomics infrastructure. The review is expected to be completed by the end of the 2021–2022 financial year.

The outcomes from the review will be considered by the Scottish Genomics Leadership Group, chaired jointly by Professor David Crossman, the Chief Scientist for Health for the Scottish Government, and Susan Buchanan, NSD Director, who are supporting the Scottish Government in ensuring appropriate planning and robust decision-making processes are in place for genetic testing availability in Scotland.

The Scottish Government has met all four Rail unions on a number of occasions recently, but union representatives have not chosen to use those meetings to discuss ScotRail’s Fit for the Future document.

The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) is the statutory advisory body to the Scottish Ministers in respect of meeting their duties under climate change legislation.

The CCC has stated that, with respect to the decarbonisation of heat, our short-term priorities should be a reduction in demand through improved energy efficiency and the installation of renewable heating systems in off-gas buildings where the carbon intensity of displaced fuel is greater than on-gas areas.

This advice is set out in the CCC’s ‘Next Steps for UK Heat Policy’ publication, which can be found at: https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/next-steps-for-uk-heat-policy/ . This advice has informed our proposed approach to heat decarbonisation set out in our final Heat in Buildings Strategy, published on 7 October 2021.

ScotRail, when proposing the May 2022 timetable, has examined in detail previous, current and expected passenger demand. ScotRail has developed a proposed timetable that offers an increase in the number of services compared to current service levels as well as service patterns that meet demand, with scope for growth, while recognising the need for financial and environmental sustainability as we work towards Net Zero.

Pension Credit is reserved to the UK Government and, therefore, the Scottish Government has not corresponded with local authorities or COSLA in relation to raising awareness about claiming pension credit or supporting people to do so.

The Scottish Government funds the Citizens Advice Network in Scotland to deliver the Money Talk Team Income Maximisation Service. This is a money advice service that includes advice about all benefits, including pension credit. We have undertaken three national marketing campaigns to make people aware of the service.