Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government has not stopped offering interest free loans for residential solar photovoltaic and battery energy storage systems. The Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan currently provides grant funding of £1250 for the installation of each of these measures, with a further £4750 available as an interest free loan for each. This funding is available where these measures are installed alongside a renewable heating system.

Previously, the HES scheme also provided interest free loans for installation of solar photovoltaic and battery energy storage systems where not installed alongside a renewable heating system. For the reasons behind this decision, I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-19607 on 28 July 2023, lodged by Richard Leonard. 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

This update to the scheme was communicated directly to potentially affected applicants to the scheme, and notified on the Home Energy Scotland Grant & Loan web page, rather than through a press release.

There was no specific consultation on this decision, however the update to the scheme is in line with the priorities and principles which were set out in our Heat in Buildings Strategy. We consulted on a draft of this Strategy in February 2021.

The terms of the scheme are clear that funding is available on a first-come first-served basis while budget lasts. Any advance announcement would have risked a surge in applications that could have overwhelmed the advice and application services, as well as resulting in a total value of applications which would have exceeded the available budget.

The Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan scheme aims to decarbonise the way we heat our homes by helping with the costs of installing zero direct emissions heating systems (ZDEH) such as a heat pump and installing energy efficiency measures in homes.

Where a ZDEH has been installed, a solar PV system and battery storage can be used to generate and store some of the electricity required to run the system – reducing electricity demand and the running costs for the homeowner. A solar PV system and battery storage system would not support a household reducing demand for gas if it is installed in a home heated by a gas boiler. Solar PV and energy storage can reduce overall energy bills for consumers with other forms of heating such as oil and gas but they do not specifically contribute to reducing the energy required to heat homes.

Energy efficiency measures will reduce the energy required to heat a home, and reduces the running costs of any heating system. A home with gas heating can still apply to the HES scheme for grants and loans towards the costs of installing energy efficiency measures in their home because this would reduce the energy required to heat their homes.

The Scottish Government is in the process of conducting the Student Finance and Wellbeing Study which will provide data on paid work undertaken by students.

The requirements of individual homes will likely depend on a number of factors such as overall power demand for the home, the size of the home and its general energy efficiency. We are currently conducting research with CXC, which includes looking at the impact of heat pump and electric vehicle uptake on the electricity network. We expect this report to be published shortly. Decisions regarding grid upgrades are currently reserved.

Information on the outcomes of students enrolled at Scottish colleges is published by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) in their annual college performance indicators release.

College Performance Indicators 2021-22 (sfc.ac.uk)

The SFC are continuing to develop and improve this data collection and are working to collect more robust data on the reasons why people are not completing their courses.

Data is not readily available for universities on those completing courses within a set time length as some university courses have more flexibility with mode and course length. The number of enrolments and qualifiers on courses at Scottish universities is published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).

Enrolments: Figure 3 - HE student enrolments by level of study 2017/18 to 2021/22 | HESA

Qualifiers: Figure 15 - HE qualifications obtained by level of qualification 2017/18 to 2021/22 | HESA

As students withdraw from university for a number of interlinked reasons, HESA no longer collect information on why students withdraw. Their statistical release concentrates on the proportion of students not continuing with university study. This Non-continuation release was last published in March 2022:

Table D - Percentage of UK domiciled full-time entrants who did not leave within 50 days of commencement not continuing in HE after their first year by location of HE provider and academic year 2014/15 to 2019/20 | HESA .

The New Build Heat Standard ( Building (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2023 ) prohibits the installation of direct emissions heating systems that produce more than a negligible amount of direct greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This is to ensure that new buildings no longer contribute emissions to climate change, and do not require future retrofit to support net zero.

Hydrocarbon gas produces more than a negligible amount of direct emissions, as demonstrated in research completed by ClimateXChange: Direct greenhouse gas emissions from low and zero carbon heating systems (climatexchange.org.uk) .

Any hydrogen-ready technology is likely to operate on hydrocarbon gas for the foreseeable future. This means that these systems would not be permitted under the Standard, as they continue to emit significant direct emissions.

Although most staff returned to Ferguson Marine by 30 June 2023, eight members of staff continue to be seconded to BAE Systems.

As regards the £25,000 working capital loan, the loan agreement is still extant. To date, the loan has not been repaid.

As set out in the Scottish Government’s Heat in Buildings Strategy, we are taking a ‘zero emissions first’ approach in our heat and energy efficiency delivery programmes, where it is technically feasible and will not increase fuel poverty. The main solutions for meeting our climate change targets in buildings are to install energy efficiency measures and zero direct emissions heating, such as heat pumps and low and zero emissions heat networks. Electricity networks must not become a barrier to achieving net zero, so it is essential they are ready to support our energy transition and heat ambitions.

As set out in the Ministerial Code, the Scottish Government publishes ministerial engagements, travel and gifts three months in arrears, and publishes the whole month at one time, taken from the end of the relevant month. The Scottish Government plans to publish the information relating to April's ministerial engagements, travel and gifts by the end of July 2023. No breach of the Scottish Ministerial Code has occurred.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-19389 on 4 July 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.