Chamber and committees

The Working Group has identified options in Lancashire and between Abington and Glasgow that, in conjunction with HS2, could also increase capacity and achieve an air competitive Glasgow to London journey time of approximately 3¼ hours.

The Working Group is currently taking forward work to determine if there would be a strong business case for implementing these options, which will be presented to the Scottish Government and the UK Government in due course to inform their investment decisions.

Scotland’s response to the global climate emergency must be a truly national endeavour. There is a significant role for the whole of Scottish society in supporting transformational change. For this reason, constructive dialogue with the Scottish public must be a central pillar of our approach.

Last summer, the Scottish Government ran a series of public engagement events called the Big Climate Conversation. Over 2,500 people across Scotland in rural, island, and urban areas participated. These events were an opportunity for people to voice their opinions and concerns about climate change, Scotland’s net-zero target, and the Scottish Government’s response to the global climate emergency. All the findings have been summarised in the Big Climate Conversation Report that was published on 30 January and is available on the gov.scot website.

The findings from the report will be used to inform the revision of our new climate change public engagement strategy, which is due to be published in Spring 2020. This strategy will set out our approach to engaging the Scottish public on climate change and encouraging public participation in the transition to net-zero emissions.

As we update our Climate Change Plan, three cross-cutting engagement events are being held this month in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen. Several hundred stakeholders, including a mix of public, private and third sector organisations, as well as community groups are invited to join the national dialogue. These events have been designed to gather views on Scottish Government policy proposals, and invite further constructive proposals, as well as offer advice and support for businesses, communities and the public sector on the collective action that’s required to end Scotland’s contribution to climate change.

Later this year a Climate Citizens’ Assembly for Scotland will meet. The Assembly will play an important role in informing decision making as we consider the far reaching changes across society that will be required to meet our ambitious targets.

COP 26 in Glasgow will be focused on addressing the global climate crisis and setting the world on course to transition to a net-zero world in a way that is fair and just for everyone. Our approach to tackling climate change is supported by the Just Transition principles, to help ensure that no one is left behind as we move to a net-zero economy. We established an independent Just Transition Commission which is conducting a wide range of engagement to ensure its recommendations will reflect the concerns and aspirations of people across the country.

 A number of impact assessments which consider socioeconomic factors are undertaken for new Scottish Government policies and strategies, where appropriate. This includes the Fairer Scotland Duty, Equalities Impact Assessments and Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessments.

In particular, the Fairer Scotland Duty places a legal responsibility on the Scottish Government and other public bodies in Scotland to actively consider how they can reduce inequalities of outcome caused by socioeconomic disadvantage, when making strategic decisions.

The Scottish Government is committed to tackling the global climate emergency and reaching net-zero emissions in a way which is fair and just for all.

The draft regulations require that new tenancies in the private rented sector (PRS) must meet an EPC rating of E from 1 October 2020.

The Scottish Government expects local councils to take a targeted approach to enforcement. This means initially gathering evidence about non-compliance; identifying and eliminating barriers to improvement by landlords; and considering how these regulations can be used to strengthen existing programmes.

The Scottish Government will develop a toolkit to support local authorities’ gathering of information and a guidance document to provide scenarios and practical assistance to local authority staff involved in applying the regulations within their area.

This learning will then be used to shape policy development in partnership with local authorities strengthening enforcement over time.

The Scottish Government regularly met with local authorities, individually or as part of a group before and during the 2019 consultation and continues to have discussions with local authorities.

The Scottish Government set up a short life working group on enforcement, made up of representatives of local authorities, that met several times to discuss and inform proposals for enforcement before and after the 2019 consultation.

The Scottish Government continues to take part in a number of local authority forums to discuss the role of local authorities in enforcement.

Senior officers from the Scottish Government met with COSLA on a number of occasions to discuss the role of local authorities in enforcing the regulations for energy efficiency in the PRS.

The Scottish Government will publish draft guidance in April and will use this to continue engagement with local authorities and key stakeholders.

The draft regulations require that new tenancies in the private rented sector (PRS) must meet an EPC rating of E from 1 October 2020.

Citizens’ Advice Scotland (CAS) was part of the working group to develop the proposals, alongside the Existing Homes Alliance, representing tenants’ interests. We have also engaged separately with Shelter Scotland to develop the proposals and raise awareness.

We will continue to engage with CAS and Shelter Scotland, so that new and existing tenants coming to their bureaux or offices, can get relevant advice and support, as well as ensuring that tenants are aware of the regulations coming into effect.

We have also attended, and will continue to attend, area based forum meetings organised by local authorities, which enables direct engagement with locally based housing advice and advocacy groups.

Scottish Government continues to fund free and impartial advice through Home Energy Scotland (HES), to anyone, including private tenants. Our Warmer Homes Scotland Scheme already helps those on low incomes. This is an ideal opportunity to raise their awareness of the forthcoming regulations, as we install energy efficiency measures to make tenants’ homes warmer. For more information and qualifying criteria, contact Home Energy Scotland on 0808 808 2282 or https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/scotland/grants-loans/heeps/heeps-warmer-homes-scotland-scheme .

Home Energy Scotland (HES) are currently running a campaign to raise awareness of the available financial assistance, through a combination of social media, radio adverts and direct mail to highlight the support that is available to improve the energy efficiency of people’s homes.

HES loans, launched in May 2017, offer owner occupiers and some private sector landlords interest free loans for energy efficient measures. Over the past three financial years, a total of over £70 million has been made available under Scottish Government Energy Efficiency loan schemes. We are currently offering cashback on some energy efficiency and renewable energy measures to help people meet part of the costs of improving energy efficiency of their homes.

We have also recently amended the qualifying rdSAP (Reduced data Standard Assessment Procedure) rating for Warmer Homes Scotland, the Scottish Government’s national fuel poverty scheme, from 64 to 67 enabling more households who are struggling to pay their energy bills to qualify for support.

We also currently offer cashback on some energy efficiency and renewable energy measures to help people meet part of the costs of improving energy efficiency of their homes.

The “ Energy efficiency and condition standards in private rented housing: A Scotland’s Energy Efficiency Programme Consultation : Analysis of responses to the public consultation exercise ” was published on 14 November 2017.

The report can be accessed at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/energy-efficiency-condition-standards-private-rented-housing-analysis-responses-public/ .

As stated in the answer to S5W-27472 on 27 February 2020, if, in advance of the backstop date, the tenant has not changed, and has legitimate reasons to refuse access for installing measures, the regulations allow the landlord to seek an exemption based on this precise situation.

There are further existing safeguards for tenants from eviction. A landlord must provide the correct notice and obtain an eviction order from the First-tier Tribunal (Housing and Property Chamber) before a property can be recovered. Depending on the tenancy agreement, there could be penalties for misleading a tenant into leaving.

Of course, should the landlord wish to subsequently let the property again, they will face delay and additional expense to find a new tenant. They will of course need to meet the energy efficiency regulations .

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

The draft regulations require that new tenancies in the private rented sector (PRS) must meet an EPC rating of E from 1 October 2020.

The Scottish Government set up a working group to develop these proposals, and membership included the Scottish Association of Landlords (SAL) and Scottish Land & Estates (SLE), both representing private sector interests. The proposals were consulted upon in 2017, and a final consultation on draft regulations and guidance took place in the summer 2019, which sought to raise awareness of the proposed regulations. Responses informed the development of the draft regulations.

The Scottish Government has continued to engage with SAL and Scottish Land & Estates, to ensure that their members are aware of the forthcoming changes. This includes officials attending area focused meetings held by landlord groups.

The Scottish Government continues to fund free and impartial advice through Home Energy Scotland (HES), including tailored advice for landlords. HES has also promoted these forthcoming regulatory changes to enquirers and on its website, including a short information video.

The Scottish Government will publish draft guidance for landlords in April and will use this to continue engagement with landlords and key stakeholders.