Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government is committed to delivering a Net Zero, Wellbeing economy and a highly skilled workforce is critical to this ambition. Our National Strategy for Economic Transformation is clear that we must adapt our education and skills system to become more responsive and agile so that it can deliver on our key priorities.

Published in 2020, the Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan (CESAP) provides a framework for green skills planning and investment across priority sectors that will be critical to the transition to net zero: Energy, Construction, Transport, Manufacturing and Agriculture and land-use.

Skills Development Scotland and the Scottish Funding Council are progressing Pathfinder projects to identify the skills requirements necessary to support the priority sectors identified in CESAP including in heat decarbonisation. The Pathfinders are operating in Glasgow City and Shetland Islands and the findings will strengthen the green skills evidence base and inform further action to address green skills gaps.

Other examples of work in the energy sector include the development of an Energy Skills Passport, to support workers as we move towards the just transition. Additionally, the upcoming Onshore Wind Sector Deal, which will enable the delivery of 20GW of installed onshore wind by 2030, will have a specific theme on Skills, Supply Chain and Circular Economy.

The Scottish Government is committed to delivering a Net Zero, Wellbeing economy and a highly skilled workforce is critical to this ambition. Our National Strategy for Economic Transformation is clear that we must adapt our education and skills system to become more responsive and agile so that it can deliver on our key priorities. Published in 2020, the Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan (CESAP) provides a framework for green skills planning and investment across regions and priority sectors.

Skills Development Scotland and the Scottish Funding Council are progressing Pathfinder projects to identify the skills requirements necessary to support the priority sectors identified in CESAP including in heat decarbonisation. The Pathfinders are operating in Glasgow City and Shetland Islands and the findings will strengthen the green skills evidence base and inform further action to address green skills gaps.

On behalf of the Scottish Government, Skills Development Scotland work with Industry Leadership Groups and other key industry players to develop Regional and Sector Skills Investment Plans. They are created through a process of labour market and skills supply research and analysis, industry consultation and action planning with industry and partners across Scotland’s education and skills system.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-17263 on 4 May 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 .

Ministers will continue to meet COSLA and individual local authorities on a regular basis to cover a range of issues, including adaptation to the impact of climate change.

The Scottish Government is committed to working with COSLA and SOLACE to agree a New Deal for Local Government in Scotland with the aim of providing greater flexibility over local funding, with clear accountability for delivery on shared priorities and outcomes, such as climate change.

In February, I wrote to COSLA setting out my view that tackling flooding remains a top priority for the Scottish Government and developing a level of resilience to our future flood exposure is one of our greatest climate challenges. The Scottish Government remains committed to improving flood resilience in Scotland, and it is imperative that we make best use of the resources already allocated for this. I have also encouraged COSLA to play an active part in consultation on new a flooding strategy for Scotland recognising how we can build community flood resilience and engage a broader range of delivery partners to deliver more diverse flood management actions faster. A joint Scottish Government/COSLA Flood Risk Management Working Group is considering funding arrangements for flood risk management actions going forward. Managing our exposure to floods and their impacts is a significant and growing challenge as climate change brings more severe and frequent flood events.

We are in discussion with COSLA and the Scottish Cities Alliance about the development of a framework between national and local government to agree shared actions and approaches to delivering climate change action, enabling better alignment between national and local targets and to jointly address the challenges and barriers to delivery.

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Scottish House Condition Survey, 2019 is the latest year for which we have National Statistics for this. From Table 5 of the latest Scottish House Condition Survey (published 1 December 2020), there were 312,000 domestic properties using low or zero greenhouse gas emissions heating systems.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-17263 on 4 May 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 .

The Scottish Government is committed to delivering a Net Zero, Wellbeing economy and a highly skilled workforce is critical to this ambition. Our National Strategy for Economic Transformation is clear that we must adapt our education and skills system to become more responsive and agile so that it can deliver on our key priorities.

Published in 2020, the Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan (CESAP) provides a framework for green skills planning and investment across priority sectors directly affected in the transition to net zero: Energy, Construction, Transport, Manufacturing and Agriculture and land-use.

Since 2019, Transport Scotland has been commissioning reports in each of the highest emitting transport sectors to identify the skills gaps and skills shortages. A number of these reports have already been published, and others are due to be published in Spring 2023. The findings will become the foundation for skills activity, delivered by partners across Scotland to support the decarbonisation of the transport sector.

Transport Scotland works closely with colleges across Scotland and the Energy Skills Partnership. Targeted investment has supported training equipment for battery and hydrogen vehicles and has been utilised by colleges across Scotland, including in more rural and remote communities. This support has led to over 120 college lecturers being up-skilled to deliver training, and over 350 technicians receiving training to date, with that number growing annually with Scottish colleges delivering courses to new students. This work will support the development of a Just Transition Plan for the Transport Sector.

As set out in our Heat in Buildings Strategy (published in October 2021), the vast majority of the 170,000 off-gas homes and at least 1 million homes currently using mains gas, must convert to zero emissions heating by 2030 in order to meet our interim climate targets. We will therefore consult during 2023 on a Heat in Buildings Bill to phase out fossil fuel boilers in Scotland’s homes and buildings and move to clean heating systems.

The Scottish House Condition Survey (SHCS) is the main source for the number of domestic properties with low or zero emissions heating systems. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, fieldwork for the 2020 SHCS was suspended and the methodology for the 2021 SHCS was also impacted. Future SHCS publications will provide more information to measure progress towards the heat transition.

As a government, we are convinced that hydrogen, alongside renewable electricity, will play an extremely important part in our energy system going forward. We are scaling up renewable energy and taking action to transform and expand Scotland’s energy generation sector. The draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan which is open for consultation until 9 May, sets out actions to ensure that Scotland is home to a multi-skilled energy workforce, boosting our domestic supply chain and manufacturing capabilities.

Through the National Strategy for Economic Transformation (NSET), the Scottish Government is driving forward the transformation of Scotland’s Economy by committing to six programmes of action that will focus on stimulating entrepreneurship; opening new markets; increasing productivity; developing the skills we need for the decade ahead; ensuring fairer and more equal economic opportunities; and creating a new culture of delivery. We have established a clear set of metrics, which we will use to assess our performance against the long-term objectives set in NSET, and have been chosen to represent the key areas where NSET seeks to shift the dial.

As set out in our Heat in Buildings Strategy (published in October 2021), the equivalent of 50,000 non-domestic buildings must convert to zero emissions heating by 2030 in order to meet our interim climate targets. We will therefore consult during 2023 on a Heat in Buildings Bill to phase out fossil fuel boilers in Scotland’s homes and buildings and move to clean heating systems.

Since the size and energy consumption of our non-domestic buildings varies considerably, we said in our 2022 Climate Change Plan Monitoring Report that we would adopt a more appropriate indicator based on fossil fuel heat demand. Converting the equivalent of 50,000 non-domestic buildings (existing in 2020) to zero emissions heat by 2030 would bring the commercial sector fossil fuel heat consumption to 5,000 GWh or less.

The latest data for fossil fuel heat consumption from the commercial sector was 11,170 GWh in 2020. We will develop our approach for this indicator as part of our Heat in Buildings Monitoring and Evaluation Framework, due later this year, and use that in future monitoring.