Chamber and committees

The Green Heat Finance Taskforce meets on a bi-monthly basis with the last meeting taking place on 2 November 2022. All meeting summaries and action points of the Green Heat Finance Taskforce are published on the Green Heat Finance Taskforce webpage following confirmation of Member's approval at the following meeting. Therefore, the action points of the November meeting will be made available on the website in January 2023.

This is a matter for Public Health Scotland. The information requested is not held centrally.

Scottish Ministers take decisions on wind farm applications that are made to them under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989. There are two sites for which two or more applications, under section 36 or section 36c of the Electricity Act 1989, have been submitted in the last 5 years. Site is defined ordinarily as an area delineated in red on an application site map, within which the wind farm development will take place.

These applications have been made to vary the proposed wind farm developments which had previously been granted section 36 consent in the last 5 years. These applications are made to Scottish Ministers under section 36c of the Electricity Act 1989. If the variation is approved, it is the varied development that will be built and operated i.e. it cannot be constructed and operated in addition to the originally consented wind farm.

In the last 5 years there have also been four applications made to Scottish Ministers under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 to extend wind farms, which had previous applications submitted and consented in the last 5 years, by adding additional wind turbines. Some of these applications will use part of a site already consented as the wind farm they are extending.

More detail on these applications can be found by using the search options/fields at Scottish Government - Energy Consents Unit

Wind farms that generate less than 50 megawatts of electricity do not require section 36 consent from Scottish Ministers but are instead determined by the local planning authority. Detailed information on wind farm applications which have been made to local planning authorities over the last five years is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

The right to appeal certain decisions made by local planning authorities is an important part of the planning system. The vast majority of appeals are decided by an independent reporter from the Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA) of the Scottish Government. In the last five years there have been four wind farm appeals on sites for which there had been an earlier appeal on the same site. In two appeals the later appeal related to a smaller scheme and in the other two appeals the later appeal related to appeals against conditions imposed on the earlier decisions.

Regulation of energy markets and consequently smart meter policy is reserved to the UK Government.

There are currently no requirements on landlords, whether social or private, to undertake installation of smart metering equipment as energy suppliers are responsible for undertaking this work. Suppliers are required to aim to install smart metering equipment in all homes and are required to do so at no up front cost. It would be for the energy supplier to arrange with the account holder to install the required equipment. In the majority of cases the account holder would be the tenant.

Given this, there are currently no plans to amend the Scottish Housing Quality Standard or the Repairing Standard to introduce requirements on landlords to install smart meters.

Smart meters have an important role to play in helping the Scottish Government achieve our aim of increasing energy efficiency across Scotland as well as helping consumers manage their spend on energy. At the recent energy summit chaired by the First Minister, we committed to working with partners to increase the number of households with smart meters in Scotland, with a focus on rural areas, by highlighting the benefits they can deliver in terms of both energy bills and energy efficiency. As part of this work, we will continue to call upon BEIS and Ofgem to take the necessary action to ensure all households eligible for a smart meter have the opportunity to install one in their home.

Scottish Ministers take decisions on wind farm applications that are made to them under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989. The three most common reasons for refusing consent to a proposed wind farm, made to Scottish Ministers in the last five years, were landscape and visual impacts, impacts on the qualities of a National Park or National Scenic Area and impacts on the qualities of a wild land area.

More detail on the reasons for the decisions can be found in the decision letters which are published on our website Scottish Government - Energy Consents Unit by using the search tool to find wind farm applications that have been refused.

Wind farms that generate less than 50 megawatts of electricity do not require section 36 consent from Scottish Ministers but are instead determined by the local planning authority. Information on the reasons why wind farm applications were refused planning permission by local planning authorities is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

The right to appeal certain decisions made by local planning authorities is an important part of the planning system. The vast majority of appeals are decided by an independent reporter from the Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA) of the Scottish Government. The three most common reasons for refusing an appeal relating to a proposed wind farm in the last five years were: landscape, visual and residential amenity impacts.

The 24% reduction is when comparing the total More Homes budget in 2023-24 against the total More Homes budget in 2022-23. The profile of our more than £3.5 billion commitment over this parliament varies from year to year as do its component parts which include capital, financial transactions and anticipated receipts.

The £751.945m budget for 2023-24 for the Affordable Housing Supply Programme has reduced by 4.7% from that previously planned, a net decrease of £37.320m, and will be supplemented by donations from the Charitable Bond Programme and contributions from the Heat in Buildings Fund for the installation of zero emission heating systems in affordable homes where these systems are installed.

Our guidance asks Local Authorities to over plan in their Strategic Housing Investment Plan (SHIP) programmes against these planning assumptions by at least 25% to mitigate delays to housing programmes. There are therefore no plans to revise Resource Planning Assumptions for 2023-24. Any in year funding pressures that emerge will be managed in discussion with local partners. Planned annual budgets for the remainder of the parliament have not been reduced.

The Scottish Government is not involved in provision or installation of smart meters. Regulation of energy markets is reserved to the UK Government and subsequently the smart meter programme is owned and led by them.

There are currently no rights for a prospective tenant at the point of signing a (a) private residential and (b) Scottish secure tenancy to request that a (i) credit and (ii) smart meter be installed in the property.

It would be for the account holder to arrange with the energy supplier to install the required equipment. In the majority of cases the account holder would be the tenant.

Smart meters have an important role to play in helping the Scottish Government achieve our aim of increasing energy efficiency across Scotland as well as helping consumers manage their spend on energy. At the recent energy summit chaired by the First Minister, we committed to working with partners to increase the number of households with smart meters in Scotland, with a focus on rural areas, by highlighting the benefits they can deliver in terms of both energy bills and energy efficiency. As part of this work, we will continue to call upon BEIS and Ofgem to take the necessary action to ensure all households eligible for a smart meter have the opportunity to install one in their home.

The £29.5 million funding to specialist research centres announced by UK Government on 12 December 2022 includes £12.5 million to be delivered through the UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI). Edinburgh University hosts one of the 6 UK DRI Centres and is eligible to bid for this funding. In addition, £8 million of the research centre funding will be delivered through the National Institute for Health and Care Biomedical Research Centres (BRC's). While Scotland does not have direct BRC equivalents, officials from the Scottish Government Chief Scientist Office have confirmed with Department of Health and Social Care officials that Scottish research teams can join BRC consortia to bid for this funding.

The NHS Research Scotland Neuroprogressive and Dementia Research Network is funded by the Scottish Government to deliver cutting edge clinical research in Neuroprogressive conditions and Dementia across Scotland. The network has been key to the delivery in Scotland of the UK-wide MND SMART Trial, with over 200 of the 400 total trial participants as of October 2022 enrolled in Scottish centres.

Scottish Ministers take decisions on wind farm applications that are made to them under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989. No wind farm applications made to Scottish Ministers, under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989, within the last two years have been refused. Two of the applications received within the last two years have been consented and three have been varied by Scottish Ministers. A further thirty nine have yet to be determined.

Wind farms that generate less than 50 megawatts of electricity do not require section 36 consent from Scottish Ministers but are instead determined by the local planning authority. Detailed Information on the determination of each wind farm application made, in the last two years, to local planning authorities is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

The right to appeal certain decisions made by local planning authorities is an important part of the planning system. The vast majority of appeals are decided by an independent reporter from the Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA) of the Scottish Government. Of appeals referred to the DPEA in the last two years, seven have been refused, eleven have been allowed and three have yet to be determined. One appeal was withdrawn and a further three were found not to be within the jurisdiction of the DPEA to consider.

The Scottish Government does not routinely collate or hold this data. Details of hen harrier nest sites on RSPB and non-RSPB nature reserves are collated and analysed through the Scottish Raptor Monitoring Scheme coordinated by British Trust for Ornithology. Annual data from 2016-2020 relating to the breeding success of hen harrier nest sites are available from their website at Hen Harrier | Scottish Raptor Monitoring Scheme

The Scottish Government does not believe it is necessary to hold information on the number of successful and unsuccessful hen harrier nest sites on RSPB and non-RSPB nature reserves prior to introducing any legislation on the licensing of grouse moors.