Chamber and committees

The proportion of Home Energy Scotland loan offers that have expired during the Covid-19 pandemic compared to the previous three years is:

For all woodland creation proposals, applicants are required to undertake land surveys as part of their due diligence. This due diligence includes surveying for peat soils, including deep peat. Where peat soils are found, further more intensive surveys are required, to produce a detailed soil survey map which is submitted to Scottish Forestry for approval. Depending upon the distribution of peat and peat depths across the proposal area, further peat surveys may be required before a contract for woodland creation is approved and a final detailed peat and soil survey map is accepted. At this time, a species and constraints map is also agreed and areas of deep peat are excluded from the agreed contract. We have released new cultivation guidance on 26 July and this will prevent the use of high impact cultivation techniques on peat and organo-mineral soils over 10cm.

Applicants and agents use existing soil survey maps for Scotland as a baseline ahead of beginning on site land surveys. Subsequently areas of deep peat are demarcated on site and cultivation contractors are provided with soil and species maps to ensure cultivation is undertaken in line with the agreed contract.

As a priority action within our Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan and as a 100 Day Manifesto Commitment, the Green Jobs Workforce Academy will be launched in August 2021. This reflects the Scottish Government’s commitment to ensuring Scotland’s workforce has the skills to support the transition to net zero.

Through the new online resource, individuals will be able to access information and careers advice on green jobs and the skills required to enter into or progress in them, and identify courses and funding available to support their upskilling or retraining.

In 2019-20 and 2020-21, the National Transition Training Fund has already been supporting workers whose employment has been affected by the pandemic upskill and retrain, including for jobs in sectors that will be critical to a just transition.

Our 2021 campaign to raise awareness of the climate crisis is a core part of our approach to engagement, as set out in the draft Public Engagement Strategy (PES). As with all marketing activity, the Scottish Government has set objectives and evaluation plans from the outset of activity. In this case we will use quantitative research with our target audience to measure awareness and message recall of our domestic climate change campaign, as well as measuring the motivation by the public to take action as a result. In particular, we will identify whether there is a change in the proportion of the public agreeing that there is a climate emergency and, if so, assess changes in agreement that we all need to take action to tackle climate change.

Alongside this, we will use quantitative metrics to monitor the reach of paid for media associated with the campaign and supporting digital content.

First-time buyers can access a variety of support to become a home owner, including the Help to Buy Smaller Developers Scheme and the Low Cost Initiative for First-Time Buyers (LIFT). In addition, the first-time buyer relief for Land and Building Transaction Tax means that an estimated 8 out of 10 first-time buyers pay no tax at all.

Despite being closed to new applications, the main Help to Buy scheme and First Home Fund continue to benefit first-time buyers across Scotland with settlements occurring throughout this financial year.

In line with the principle of producer responsibility, it is for Circularity Scotland Ltd as scheme administrator of Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) to put in place policies that will allow it to discharge its obligations under the DRS Regulations.

We are confident that, as set out on page 32 of the Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) for DRS, our ‘scheme has been designed with features that mitigate the potential impact on smaller producers and retailers’. The BRIA is available here: A Deposit Return Scheme for Scotland - Full Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (www.gov.scot)

In designing Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), we were mindful of the potential for future growth in the proportion of single-use drinks containers sold online. To ensure that our DRS is successful and fair, it is important that online retailers charge the deposit and provide a service to allow it to be redeemed and the container returned.

The draft Heat in Buildings Strategy sets out that the Scottish Government will legislate to require the installation of zero emissions heating systems in existing buildings, subject to the Scottish Parliament having devolved competence to do so.

The draft Strategy proposes that such legislation would begin to take effect from 2025, with the intention that all building owners are regulated to meet the requirement for zero emissions heating by 2045.

The exact phasing and operation of the proposed regulations is still to be determined, but as set out in the draft Strategy, and where within competence , could include requiring certain buildings to install zero emissions heating systems earlier than 2045. This may include those buildings using high emissions fuels (which are more prevalent in off-gas grid areas), or those buildings which reach a natural trigger point (such as the replacement of an existing fossil fuel heating system).

The Scottish Government plans to consult on detailed proposals on this issue in 2022.

The Scottish Government currently only allows travellers returning from green and amber list countries to use NHS tests, arranged through the CTM booking portal, as they are the highest quality with established data flows into NHS boards and samples are sequenced to ensure early detection of variants of concern.

Travellers arriving in other parts of the UK can access the NHS tests, however those arriving in England and Northern Ireland are also able to access private test providers who charge a range of prices.

The Scottish Government is exploring ways to allow private testing for travellers coming to Scotland provided we are confident in the flow of data into contact tracing services and that all positive test results are analysed to identify any variants of concern.

The Covid-19 test kits are home PCR kits provided by NHS Test & Trace. The cost of the kits is set by the UK Government and the process managed through its contract with the travel management company CTM.

Currently, the Scottish Government does not allow use of private test providers for international travellers arriving into Scotland from green and amber list countries.

We are having on-going discussions with the UK government on using private test providers and exploring ways to allow private testing for travellers coming to Scotland provided we are confident in the flow of data into contact tracing services and that all positive test results are analysed to identify any variants of concern.