Chamber and committees

The Green Heat Finance Taskforce final report is expected to be published in early 2024.

The Taskforce’s part 1 report, which will be published shortly, will focus on potential finance and funding solutions for individual property owners. It will include consideration of the structure, availability and demand for green finance products; identify barriers which impede the flow of private finance at present; and make recommendations on how to reduce these constraints. It will cover financing mechanisms like green mortgages, equity release, green leases and property linked finance.

The Taskforce’s part 2 report will set out conclusions on communal and place-based financing solutions which can apply to multiple properties, for example, heat networks, municipal bonds and heat as a service subscription models. It will also consider options for the social housing sector, as well as further discussing how mechanisms like blended financing can help utilise public funding to crowd in additional private finance.

The Green Heat Finance Taskforce will continue to meet over the autumn as it works towards producing its final report in early 2024, as discussed in response to S6W-21001 on 20 September 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

I would refer initially to the statement I made on this topic to Parliament on 7 September.

Where the presence of RAAC is confirmed in a public building, we expect the owner to take appropriate measures to assess and manage any risk identified, following the Institution for Structural Engineer’s current guidance on this process.

We remain in regular contact with organisations across the public sector to seek reassurance on this matter, directly and through our cross-sector working group.

Information on RAAC and the work of our cross-sector working group, as an activity of the Ministerial Working Group on Building and Fire Safety, will be published on our website.

We have previously noted that it is for organisations responsible for buildings to make information on this issue available for affected buildings.

Survey work is underway across public buildings and is at various stages of discovery in different sectors.

Where the presence of RAAC is confirmed in a public building, we expect the owner to take appropriate measures to assess and manage any risk identified, following the Institution for Structural Engineer’s current guidance on this process.

We remain in regular contact with organisations across the public sector on this matter, directly and through our cross-sector working group.

The results of the initial Desktop survey of NHS Scotland buildings was shared with the Scottish Government on 9 June 2023.

Building safety is an issue the Scottish Government takes very seriously and we are fully aware of significant issues with some Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC). A survey programme across NHS Scotland is underway, to be completed by November, so we can all fully understand the scope of RAAC. The Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion will be surveyed as part of this prioritised discovery survey programme. NHS Lothian will continue to manage their Estate to provide a safe environment for patients, staff and visitors.

CSL engaged with a wide range of stakeholders including the Scottish Government, SEPA and producers on a regular basis. However as a private company their policies and practices were a decision for their management team and their board.

The Scottish Government received CSL’s application to be scheme administrator as referred to in S6W-20273. However, following the application process and in line with the DRS regulations, the Scottish Government did not have a role in providing authorisation to any of CSL’s policies as they were a private company.

There have been no power purchase agreements put in place so far for the sale of self-generated renewable energy to the grid under the current national framework agreement for the supply of electricity for the Scottish public sector. However, the new framework agreement which commences in April 2024 contains provisions for various type of PPAs.

The definition of green jobs as referenced was published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in March in 2023. The ONS are now developing a detailed framework to support this definition, including the identification of appropriate activities and categories.

Given this is still under development, I cannot currently provide accurate estimates on how many green jobs will be created over the long term via Energy Transition Fund funding. However, tens of thousands of jobs could be supported, if ETF investment leverages in anticipated additional investment from other sources.

The Energy Transition fund is primarily an enabling fund to support a just transition away from oil and gas to renewable energy. It supports four key projects that seek to create the conditions to attract inward investment, providing high quality green jobs for the North East. Whilst focused on infrastructure and enabling works, the Energy Transition Fund has also directly created around 30 roles in delivering the projects funded.

Elements of the Energy Transition Fund projects include a focus on skills development and training to ensure that workers and companies in the North East have the first adopter opportunities that will result from an effectively managed move towards renewable energy.

There are no further funding rounds for the Energy Transition Fund scheduled. All funds are allocated to the projects identified when the fund was launched in 2020.