Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government has not had discussions with the Council regarding specific congestion charging schemes including charging for drivers not resident in Glasgow. The Scottish Government has had discussions with the Council in the context of local measures to support delivery of the 20% car km reduction target, and the Government’s commissioned research on equitable options for car demand management.

The Transport (Scotland) Act 2001 established the discretionary power for local authorities to implement road user charging schemes, and they are best placed to determine whether a local road user charging scheme supports the objectives set out in their local transport strategy and the amount of charge that supports these local objectives.

Since January 2022, the primary focus of the Caledonian System has been on reaccreditation with comprehensive material provided to the Scottish Advisory Panel on Offender Rehabilitation (SAPOR) earlier this year. Accreditation is an important step in independently re-checking the current programme design prior to further roll out. There has also been work servicing demand for training from existing delivery sites with a series of training events now set through to 2024. An Outcomes Monitoring Report has been compiled and will be published shortly which will look at: change in men’s beliefs, attitudes and behaviour; change for women who engage with the programme around safety, empowerment, and wellbeing; and the extent to which the wellbeing of children improved and the risk of harm to children reduced.

Since January 2022 there has also been work within the Scottish Government to conclude a procurement exercise to secure a licence arrangement for use of the SARA-V3 risk assessment tool. This tool is embedded in the Caledonian System and is also used by justice social work and other professionals in assessing the risk posed by domestic abuse offenders across all of Scotland. For the first time this has been procured on a long-term (5 year) basis, providing certainty for ongoing delivery and securing savings on the annual cost of the licence. Conversation is also continuing direct with individual local authorities about readiness for any further roll out of the Caledonian System to new geographical areas.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

Based on our knowledge of the SPS estate, we do not believe that RAAC is present within the prison estate.

SPS is however conducting a further evidence based scoping exercise to identify any buildings that cannot be categorically ruled out as containing RAAC. Any buildings identified will require further investigation and may need more intrusive testing/inspection by specialist consultants.

The initial scoping exercise should be concluded by 30 September 2023.

Decisions about the commissioning of individual community justice services, such as the 218 Service in Glasgow, are a matter for local authorities.

Community justice funding is primarily based on a local model, with the Scottish Government providing funding to local authorities which then provide or commission services according to local needs. Even where aspects of that funding are targeted at more specific needs, the commissioning and management of those services - including any re-tendering exercises - is a matter for the relevant local authority.

The Scottish Government has not reduced the overall funding available for community justice services across Scotland nor asked local authorities to reduce any specific funding within that.

The Scottish Government have commissioned Energy Systems Catapult to model six different archetypes of Scottish homes, comparing the operation of zero direct emission heating systems (including air source heat pumps and electric boilers) with gas boilers. This will provide information on the energy required to heat homes using these systems, and their running costs.

The Heat in Buildings Strategy, published in October 2021, set out a pathway to decarbonise Scotland’s buildings by 2045. The Scottish Government’s ambition, as part of a phased approach, is to see homes reach a minimum energy efficiency standard equivalent to EPC C by 2033 and transition away from the use of direct emission heating systems by 2045.

We are seeking to achieve this through a combination of clear regulations and financial support. These proposals, and any measures which accompany them, will be both fair and proportionate.

In Scotland, civil and political rights are protected by the Human Rights Act 1998, alongside provisions in the Scotland Act 1998. These rights derive from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). There is an overarching duty on Ministers to comply with the law, including international law and treaty obligations. Any legislation introduced by the Scottish Parliament will be compliant with these Acts.

Later this year we will publish our Heat in Buildings Public Engagement Strategy setting out how we will work with stakeholders to increase public awareness and understanding of zero emission heating systems, the different technological options available and how to access advice and support.

This year we will also consult on proposals that might be included in a Heat in Buildings Bill and aim to set out further details of any planned new regulations. We want to hear from as many people as possible, across all areas of Scotland, on ways to help us ensure that we design the right protections and exemptions from the start – making sure the transition is just, fair and effective.

Home Energy Scotland (HES), administered by Energy Saving Trust on behalf of the Scottish Government, is a domestic advice service that acts as a single point of access for free, bespoke, impartial advice on energy efficiency, renewable heating and fuel poverty support in Scotland. HES provides in-depth support to householders on low and zero emissions heating technologies, other domestic renewables and more complex energy efficiency improvements. In the new calendar year we plan to launch a new national marketing campaign to promote action amongst potential early adopters of heat pumps, directing people to find out more through contacting our HES service.

Our Let’s Do Net Zero marketing campaign will support this by highlighting carbon emitting heating systems as being a major contributor to climate change and challenge myths associated with zero emission heating technologies, like heat pumps, to increase consumer confidence.

Legislation relating to the efficiency of heating systems such as gas central heating is set out via Ecodesign and energy labelling product standards legislation which is reserved to the UK Government. The UK Government has recently consulted upon proposals to further improve the efficiency of gas boilers ( Improving boiler standards and efficiency consultation (publishing.service.gov.uk )) which closed on 31 March 2023. In addition, heating systems should be installed in line with latest buildings regulations as detailed in the Domestic building services compliance guide .

The Scottish Government also wants to ensure that current and prospective building owners and tenants have fuller information on the efficiency of heating systems as part of an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). This will provide homeowners and tenants with more information on the energy performance of their home, alongside the reserved UK Government Ecodesign regulations, which ensure manufacturers detail the efficiency of their products.

The Scottish Government published a consultation on EPC reform on 25 July 2023 and this is accompanied by workshops open to any stakeholder. In advance of this, we engaged extensively with industry regarding the proposed reform of the EPC rating system. For more detail I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-19032 on 26 June 2023.

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