Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government is currently consulting on draft policy options for the installation of electric vehicle charge points in a number of different building types, including an option that sets out a minimum requirement for all new residential buildings with parking spaces.

The consultation ( Scottish Building Regulations: Proposed changes to Energy Standards and associated topics, including Ventilation, Overheating and Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure ) can be found on the Scottish Government's website.

We aim to publish a consultation response in early 2022.

The reopening of the Edinburgh South Suburban rail line for passengers is being considered within the second Strategic Transport Projects Review.

There were no crimes of female genital mutilation recorded by Police Scotland in 2020-21.

The Scottish Government meets with COSLA and local authorities on a regular basis to cover a range of issues, including current and future budget pressures. Negotiations on the annual local government finance settlement are conducted between the Scottish Government and COSLA, on behalf of all 32 local authorities.

Statistics on uncollected council tax are published at Statistics on council tax collection rates are available at Statistics on council tax collection rates are available at Council Tax Collection Statistics, 2020-21 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).

In accordance with section 121 of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015, local authorities report annually on provisions on allotments in their areas. Reports are available from each local authority online. The Scottish Government does not hold historic data on allotment provision.

Local authorities are responsible for a range of public services, including housing, and the vast majority of funding for these services is provided to local authorities by means of a block grant from the Scottish Government. It is the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available on the basis of local needs and priorities.

In addition to the block grant, outlined below is the additional financial support the Scottish Government has provided to local authorities in the last five years to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping.

Rapid rehousing transition plans – Ending Homelessness Together fund

Since 2018, the Scottish Government has provided funding from the Ending Homelessness Together fund to local authorities to develop and implement rapid rehousing transition plans (RRTPs). RRTPs are the planning framework for local authorities’ housing-led approach to prevent and address all forms of homelessness, including rough sleeping. Funding for the development of the RRTPs was granted in 2018/19 and subsequent funding was granted for the implementation of the plans. The breakdown of funding by year and local authority can be found in the following table:

The Scottish Government will shortly commence a national marketing campaign to increase awareness of the support available to people and their families, including financial support, and encourage them to take it up. This campaign will ensure that information on the availability of, and access to, free debt advice will be available, planned to begin in January 2022. We will signpost to free debt advice providers which offer a full range of support with problem debt – from budgeting through to statutory solutions – and to services across the public sector.

The Help to Buy (Scotland) Smaller Developers scheme continues to be available to help people purchase a new build home throughout 2021/22. The scheme will close on 31 March 2022.

The Low-cost Initiative for First Time Buyers, which includes the Open Market Shared Equity and New Supply Shared Equity schemes will continue to be available. These schemes are aimed at first time buyers and priority access groups and count towards the Affordable Housing Supply Programme commitment to deliver a further 110,000 affordable homes by 2032.

This data is not centrally available; aggregated data for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) Waiting Times is sent to PHS from each NHS Board. It does not contain explicit information on the number of young people removed from the waiting list without receiving treatment. It reports on the number of referrals for young people to services; numbers waiting to start treatment and total waiting; rejected / not accepted referral and Did Not Attend status numbers for 1st contact appointments; and the time between referral and first treatment.

In our Heat in Buildings Strategy, the Scottish Government has committed to phasing out the need to install new or replacement fossil fuel boilers (in off-gas grid areas from 2025, and in on-gas areas from 2030) subject to technological developments and decisions by the UK Government on reserved matters.

We will consult in further detail on this issue during 2022. Should any legislation be required subsequently, it will be subject to a range of impact assessments to allow the Scottish Parliament the opportunity to fully scrutinise the impacts.

In our effort to remove emissions from heating buildings, the Scottish Government has separately a zero emissions first approach in our delivery programmes and will phase out funding for fossil fuel heating systems by 2024 (where it is not detrimental to our fuel poverty objectives).

We have already phased out oil and LPG boilers from Warmer Homes Scotland, Area Based Schemes and Home Energy Scotland Loans.

No households have had their replacement oil or LPG boilers or heating systems cancelled as a result and all Warmer Homes Scotland and Home Energy Scotland Loan applications with committed offers signed prior to 6 September 2021, for either replacement oil/LPG boilers or heating systems, will have these honoured and receive their installations/loans. No local council has reported plans to install an oil/LPG boiler or heating measure as part of their Area Based Scheme.

From now on, households eligible for assistance under Warmer Homes Scotland will be offered low-carbon alternatives, where these are technically appropriate for the property. These include High Heat Retention Heating Systems, Air Source Heat Pumps, Ground Source Heat Pumps, Micro-hydro, Micro-wind and Micro-CHP systems. Some of these measures may be of particular benefit to households living in rural and island areas that are not served by the gas grid. Warmer Homes Scotland operates a national pricing mechanism, meaning that rural and island homes are not disproportionately affected.

Since April 2021 our Area Based Schemes have included additional funding to provide low carbon and micro-generation measures as part of a whole house approach. Local councils are encouraged to offer these measures to households living in or at risk of fuel poverty, where this is technically feasible and will result in lower energy bills. Our Area Based Schemes also provide additional funding and support for remote rural and island communities to reflect the delivery challenges in these locations, including higher installation costs.