Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government has allocated £1.3 billion through its Heat in Building Programmes in this Parliamentary Session, investment it is committed to continuing in 2025-26 with over £300 million capital funding allocated in the draft budget. However, the Scottish Government cannot finance the transition alone and established the independent Green Heat Finance Taskforce with a remit to explore how to attract greater private finance to support the clean heat transition.

The Scottish Government is engaging with lenders and the wider finance sector as it considers the Taskforce’s Part 1 report and, following its Part 2 report, will formally respond identifying which recommendations across both Taskforce reports will be prioritised and how we will take forward action in partnership with others.

Our progress report highlighted gaps in data that made reporting on some areas challenging, particularly heat networks and non-domestic properties.

The Scottish Climate Survey is gathering data on public awareness and understanding of a variety of climate-related topics, including the heat transition. Data collection began in October 2024 and is continuing until January 2025. A report of findings is expected to be published by April 2025.

Work is underway to review and allocate the budget across the schemes funded through the Heat in Buildings programme. The allocations will be submitted for review to the Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy early in the new year.

The Scottish Government considers that, if one or more juror is excused during a trial, that should not place the accused person at a disadvantage or an advantage: the majority required for a conviction should not fluctuate depending on the number of jurors who remain. The Scottish Government therefore considers that the requirement for at least a two thirds majority should remain constant in cases where the jury reduces in size. Specifically, the Government's proposal is that:

• in the case of a jury consisting of 14 or 15 jurors, at least 10 jurors must be in favour of a guilty verdict for a conviction,
• in the case of a jury consisting of 13 jurors, at least 9 jurors must be in favour of a guilty verdict for a conviction, and
• in the case of a jury consisting of 12 jurors, at least 8 jurors must be in favour of a guilty verdict for a conviction.

The Government will be bringing forward Stage 2 amendments to the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill which, if passed, would set these thresholds for conviction.

The Scottish Government published the formal response to the final report of the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform (ECCLR) Committee Inquiry into Regional Marine Planning in Scotland in August 2023.

As part of this response, the Scottish Government has provided a clear approach to regional marine planning moving forward, with the position that no further MPPs should be established until after the adoption of the updated National Marine Plan (NMP2). This is with the exception of the Western Isles, where early work on developing an MPP had already commenced.

With the draft 25-26 budget allocation, the total allocation for Heat in Buildings within this parliamentary session is £1.7bn.

Between 2021 and 2024, expenditure under the Heat in Buildings Programme totalled £493m. The annual spend is as follows:

The Green Heat Finance Taskforce’s Part 1 report identified a range of finance mechanisms that could be expanded or developed to support individual property owners finance the upfront costs of installing clean heat and energy efficiency measures. These included approaches to encourage greater secured lending, developing equity release products focused on retrofit and exploring the potential to offer property linked finance in Scotland.

Its Part 2 report will cover financing place-based and social housing retrofit programmes as well as financing of heat networks. The report will focus on how to attract private investment at scale to unlock blended finance opportunities, combining public and private contributions, to deliver coordinated activity across multiple properties.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-22894 on 27 November 2023.

The National Marine Plan (NMP2) will inform if, where, when and how development takes place and provide guidance on reaching those decisions.

The regulation and management of activities are covered by sector specific regulations outside of planning. Fisheries management measures form part of our ecosystem-based management but are not a national or regional marine planning matter.

We have a live call for evidence under our Inshore Fisheries Management Improvement (IFMI) Programme, which closes on 04 February 2025. This seeks expert input to help us transition to a more agile management model and enable a regional approach.

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.