Chamber and committees

Ministers considered a range of options for conducting the review of Community Right to Buy. The selected option – a review led by the SG Community Right to Buy team – was chosen as the best, and most cost-effective, way to ensure the flexibility of process required to align with the stages of the Land Reform Bill.

The review will examine all aspects of the four existing community rights to buy - Community Right to Buy, Crofting Community Right to Buy, Community Right to Buy Abandoned, Neglected or Detrimental Land, and the Right to Buy Land to Further Sustainable Development. This will include Scottish Government’s legislative and administrative processes and the various interactions between the Scottish Government, community groups, landowners and stakeholder organisations.

The reasons for not approving the four most recent late applications are detailed in the decision notice for each. These can be found in the Register of Community Interest in Land (RCIL), which is held on the Registers of Scotland website. It is free to access. The four cases were:

Broomhill Community Trust Hub Limited (Ref:CB00263) – September 2023

Kinlochard (Cottages) Residents Association Ltd (Ref: CB00248) – January 2021

Kinlochard (Cottages) Residents Association Ltd (Ref: CB00247) – November 2020

Carty Port Community Company (Ref: CB00234) - April 2018

The next Social Housing Net Zero Heat Quarterly Report will be published in October and will update on the fund’s progress over Quarter 1 and Quarter 2 of this financial year.

Alasdair Allan: Currently, there is no date set for the next funding checkpoint of the Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund. When a date has been set it will be communicated to stakeholders through the fund website and stakeholder channels.

Review of NHS Hyperbaric Medicine Services in Scotland is ongoing. Scottish Government officials have been in contact with NHS National Services Scotland as commissioner of these services and NHS Grampian who provide and co-ordinate hyperbaric medical services in Scotland.

NHS Grampian have continued to engage with the private service provider in Oban and agreed to undertake further review of the facility. This took place in early May. Findings from the visit are being compiled and analysed before next steps are determined.

Discussions with stakeholders regarding the service are an operational matter, however we are being kept updated as review of the situation continues and have been assured risk is minimised, service capacity is in line with demand and plans are in place for the timely transfer and treatment of patients.

The Scottish Government recognises that solar power has an important role to play in decarbonising our energy supply and supporting a just transition to net zero, however, we cannot meet our climate targets without ending the use of polluting heating systems in our buildings and moving to clean heat alternatives.

With sustained demand for the scheme and in the context of the real terms cuts to the Scottish Government’s capital funding – as well as drastic reductions in financial transactions – these changes were necessary to ensure that funding is best focused on interventions which directly decarbonise heat or reduce heat demand and ensure the scheme stays within its available budget.

With sustained demand for the scheme and in the context of the real terms cuts to the Scottish Government’s capital funding – as well as drastic reductions in financial transactions – these changes were necessary to ensure that funding is best focused on interventions which directly decarbonise heat or reduce heat demand in existing homes and ensure the scheme stays within its available budget.

The New Build Heat Standard currently requires new homes and buildings with a building warrant applied on or after 01 April 2024 to install a clean heating system, such as a heat pump. As these systems are now required to be included in the design of a project, it is expected that self-builders take into account the cost of installing a clean heating system into their project budget.

An annual capital and financial transactions budget is allocated to the Heat in Buildings programme, which covers a range of funding programmes. The Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan Scheme is allocated an element of this budget.

The HES Grant and Loan Scheme budget is agreed annually and investment for 2024-25 remains subject to final accountable officer sign off.

Scotland’s Heat in Buildings Strategy, published in October 2021, outlines our ambitious programme that reflects the scale and the size of the challenge to reduce emissions from our buildings. Our commitment to allocate at least £1.8bn over this parliament will help kick-start growth in the market and support those least able to pay. This includes:

? At least £465m to support those least able to pay, delivered through our Warmer Homes Scotland and Area Based schemes.

? £300m for Scotland’s Heat Network Fund.

? £200m Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund, investing in a sector already leading the way in the heat transition.

? £200m Scottish Green Public Sector Estate Scheme, supporting leadership for energy efficiency and heat decarbonisation right across the public sector.

Of the £1.8bn allocated as part of the strategy, over £1.3bn has been allocated through the budget setting process, of which, over £500m has been spent to the end of May 2024.