Chamber and committees

The £41 million will be distributed as follows:

• £10 million for a Fuel Insecurity Fund to provide direct support with fuel costs for low income households, delivered through a range of organisations including registered social landlords, Advice Direct Scotland, Energy Action Scotland and the Fuel Bank Foundation.
• £25 million to Local Authorities to tackle financial insecurity and respond to emerging need. This will include providing help with food, fuel and other essentials with a strong steer in favour of a cash-first approach and proactive and preventative action for those who are known to be at risk.
• £6 million for trusted third sector partners, allowing support to be provided by local charities and community groups to families in financial need all across Scotland.

We are currently in discussions with Local Authorities and partners and the funding will be made available as soon as is reasonably practicable.

The Scottish Government’s consultation on the regulation of electricians closed on 12 February 2021. All responses were analysed and a report was published on 23 March 2021. A link to the report can be found on the consultation web page at https://consult.gov.scot/energy-and-climate-change-directorate/a-consultation-on-the-regulation-of-electricians In addition, on the same web page can be viewed the submitted responses where consent had been given to publish the response. The Scottish Government is currently considering its response to the consultation and key stakeholders will be updated in due course.

The Scottish Government only holds data on chargepoint installation on our ChargePlace Scotland network. Data is available by local authority and not at a community or settlement level. The following table sets out the breakdown of charging by local authority as at September 2021.

The Scottish Government recognises that disabled persons’ parking places play a vital role in enabling disabled people to carry out day-to-day activities that non-disabled people can take for granted. Local authorities have a duty under the Disabled Persons' Parking Places (Scotland) Act 2009 to promote the proper use of disabled persons’ parking places, and aims to make all disabled bays enforceable. To do this, local authorities can use their Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) making powers to allow them to make adequate provisions for disabled parking around schools to aid parents or guardians.

In relation to the placing of a disabled persons’ parking place on a local road, it will be for the local authority to ensure it has complied with any relevant legislation and to take account of the safety of all road users. Local authorities are responsible for deciding how best to meet this duty on local roads in their areas.

In our Heat in Buildings Strategy, the Scottish Government has committed to phasing out the need to install new or replacement fossil fuel boilers (in off-gas grid areas from 2025, and in on-gas areas from 2030) subject to technological developments and decisions by the UK Government on reserved matters.

We will consult in further detail on this issue during 2022. Should any legislation be required subsequently, it will be subject to a range of impact assessments to allow the Scottish Parliament the opportunity to fully scrutinise the impacts.

In our effort to remove emissions from heating buildings, the Scottish Government has separately a zero emissions first approach in our delivery programmes and will phase out funding for fossil fuel heating systems by 2024 (where it is not detrimental to our fuel poverty objectives).

We have already phased out oil and LPG boilers from Warmer Homes Scotland, Area Based Schemes and Home Energy Scotland Loans.

No households have had their replacement oil or LPG boilers or heating systems cancelled as a result and all Warmer Homes Scotland and Home Energy Scotland Loan applications with committed offers signed prior to 6 September 2021, for either replacement oil/LPG boilers or heating systems, will have these honoured and receive their installations/loans. No local council has reported plans to install an oil/LPG boiler or heating measure as part of their Area Based Scheme.

From now on, households eligible for assistance under Warmer Homes Scotland will be offered low-carbon alternatives, where these are technically appropriate for the property. These include High Heat Retention Heating Systems, Air Source Heat Pumps, Ground Source Heat Pumps, Micro-hydro, Micro-wind and Micro-CHP systems. Some of these measures may be of particular benefit to households living in rural and island areas that are not served by the gas grid. Warmer Homes Scotland operates a national pricing mechanism, meaning that rural and island homes are not disproportionately affected.

Since April 2021 our Area Based Schemes have included additional funding to provide low carbon and micro-generation measures as part of a whole house approach. Local councils are encouraged to offer these measures to households living in or at risk of fuel poverty, where this is technically feasible and will result in lower energy bills. Our Area Based Schemes also provide additional funding and support for remote rural and island communities to reflect the delivery challenges in these locations, including higher installation costs.

The Scottish Government has no current plans to change the legislation in this area.

In relation to flatted properties, section 17 of the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004 gives homeowners reasonable access for maintenance and other purposes through the property of other owners. Section 17 may be viewed at:-

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2004/11/contents

There is no equivalent legislation for non-flatted properties. In some cases, title deeds, servitude rights over neighbouring land or the common law may provide the necessary access rights. Access to neighbouring land might also be permitted by way of a private arrangement between individuals. Where parties are in dispute, mediation can sometimes provide assistance.

If however, the member has evidence that a change in the law would be helpful, I would be happy to consider the issue further.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) are currently engaged with criminal justice partners, including the Police Service of Scotland, Transport Scotland and the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service to develop relevant infrastructure and guidance for the possible introduction of Speed Awareness Courses in Scotland.

The possible introduction of Speed Awareness Courses in Scotland requires enabling legislation. The United Kingdom Government has introduced the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill which is currently being considered by the House of Lords. The Bill includes provision for police forces in England and Wales to recover costs from drivers who are the subject of a road traffic diversionary courses.

Whilst the Bill does not include substantive provision to allow Police Scotland to recover costs from drivers, the Bill makes provision for the Secretary of State to make such provision for Scotland, similar to that provided for in England and Wales, by statutory instrument. Any such provision by statutory instrument would require to be made following passage of the Bill.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-03453 on 21 October 2021. 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 continues to work closely with Food Standards Scotland and other partners to raise awareness of the importance of vitamin D, particularly amongst those at highest risk of deficiency.

On 11 October, Food Standards Scotland (FSS) launched a new national campaign to raise awareness of vitamin D and encourage people in Scotland to take a daily 10 microgram supplement throughout the winter months. The campaign will run between October 2021 and February 2022 and follows on from previous promotional activity undertaken by FSS earlier this year. Action to target specific population groups at higher risk of vitamin D deficiency is being considered and will be integrated throughout the campaign.

Leaflets highlighting the importance of vitamin D and supplements are available in a range of languages and formats. Healthy Start vitamins, which contain Vitamin D, are provided free to all pregnant women in Scotland throughout their pregnancy and have been since April 2017. Vitamin D supplements are also available free of charge for breastfeeding women and all babies up to the age of one.

Regulations amending the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Requirements) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 were made today.

The Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Requirements) (Scotland) Amendment (No.3) Regulations 2021 amend the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Requirements) (Scotland) Regulations 2021, and will come into force on 30 October 2021.

The Amendment Regulations provide that UNFCCC-accredited attendees to the COP26 Blue Zone will be deemed to be fully vaccinated, for the purposes of entering the COP26 Green Zone.