Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-08119

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 28 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-02823 by Kate Forbes on 24 September 2021, how much of the "up to £10 million" that was committed to help extend digital infrastructure across the City Deal region and the City Network Extension project has been spent; what precisely has been achieved with this funding; what precisely it projects will be delivered from the remaining funding, and, in light of the Aberdeen project being "expected to complete later" in 2021, whether it did so, and whether the Full Fibre Project in Aberdeenshire that is expected to complete in 2022 will do so.

The Memorandum of Understanding for additional investment in the Aberdeen City Region allows for up to £10 million of funding to help extend digital infrastructure across the region. To date £5 million of this funding has been spent.

£2 million was invested in the City Network Extension project which connected 57 council sites to full fibre with build completing in 2021. This investment successfully stimulated around £40 million of commercial investment across the region by CityFibre and Vodafone who are utilising this infrastructure to help extend the reach of full fibre broadband across the region. In January 2022 CityFibre announced a further £19 million of investment in Aberdeen.

£3 million was invested in the Full Fibre Infrastructure project which will connect 192 public sector and NHS sites across Aberdeenshire. To date, 190 sites have been connected with one site expected to be completed in the coming months, and the final site – an additional site made possible by cost savings – to be connected once construction is completed in summer 2023.

We continue to work closely with the Aberdeen City Region Deal team as they develop options for the remaining funding.

Question reference: S6W-07521

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 28 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 28 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to the Complementary Climate Delegated Act, regarding taxonomy, approved by the European Commission on 2 February 2022, and whether this will have any impact on its energy policies.

Question reference: S6O-01051

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 April 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the A96 dualling project.

Question reference: S6W-07827

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 27 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how the technology neutral stance of Home Energy Scotland takes account of research that reportedly suggests that homeowner decision making can be delayed and often aborted in relation to renewable products where the buyer has insufficient understanding of the product and there is a lack of unbiased information support to aid the decision-making process.

Home Energy Scotland exists to provide homeowners with impartial and bespoke information about their home energy and renewables options to encourage action to reduce energy use, fuel bills and carbon emissions and increase comfort. The advice services are designed to address well-known barriers to action including costs, lack of confidence and information about options and installers, and potential disruption.

It is important that homeowners are given impartial information about all of their options, including for example, replacement of existing fossil fuel heating systems, to ensure they are as informed as possible and make the right choice for them. Home Energy Scotland also has a role to encourage the uptake of low and zero emission heating systems to meet climate change targets and this is one of the reasons as to why the specialist renewables support services exist. In this regard, Home Energy Scotland does not have a technology neutral stance with regards to which heating systems it is actively raising awareness of.

Within Home Energy Scotland there are specialist renewables advisors with training on home renewables systems, home energy efficiency and solutions for historic buildings. These specialists provide an in-depth service to Scottish homeowners, including on-site visits to assess their home and talk through recommendations in person. Reports and fact sheets are issued to homeowners explaining how best to improve the energy efficiency of their home and which renewables systems may be suitable, alongside fuel bill and carbon saving estimates.

Homeowners are given bespoke information on the next steps to take and other support services accessed via Home Energy Scotland. This includes, for example, how to find renewables installers, where they can read customer reviews of installers, and the Green Homes Network, where they can find case studies of other homeowners who have already made improvements to their home. Members on this network are also willing to speak directly to other homeowners, or host them for a visit, to further share their experiences. Homeowners are also given information about the various financial support routes which are open to them including the Scottish Government’s Home Energy Scotland loan and cashback that helps homeowners with the costs of home energy improvements and renewables systems.

Question reference: S6W-07980

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 26 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when it will respond to the Zero Emissions Social Housing Taskforce report.

Question reference: S6W-07982

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 26 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to commission a sector capacity assessment of the estimated net cost of the energy transition in the social housing sector, in line with the recommendation by the Zero Emissions Social Housing Taskforce, and if it does, by when it will do so.

As covered in the response to S6W-07980, the Scottish Government’s response to the Zero Emissions Social Housing Taskforce report will be published after the Scottish local government elections. The response will address the recommendation of commissioning a sector capacity assessment of the estimated net cost of the energy transition in the social housing sector.

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

Question reference: S6W-07981

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 26 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government by what date it will announce its review of the second Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing, in light of the reported need for certainty for social landlords to be able to plan for the required transition to net zero emissions.

As covered in the response to S6W-07980 on 26 April 2022, the Scottish Government’s response to the Zero Emissions Social Housing Taskforce report will be published after the Scottish Local government elections. The response will address the review of Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing.

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

Question reference: S6W-07979

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 26 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to establish a Housing Net Zero Technical Steering Group, in line with the recommendation by the Zero Emissions Social Housing Taskforce (ZEST).

As covered in the response to S6W-07980 on 26 April 2022, the Scottish Government’s response to the Zero Emissions Social Housing Taskforce report will be published after the Scottish Local government elections. The response will address the recommendation of establishing a Housing Net Zero Technical Steering Group.

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

Question reference: S6W-07520

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 25 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how Scotland's reliance on nuclear power to generate its electricity compared with that of the other UK nations in 2020, and (a) whether and (b) by when it plans to replace nuclear-generated energy in Scotland with energy generated by renewables in Scotland.

The information you have requested is publically available at the Scottish Energy Statistics Hub (shinyapps.io) taken originally from National Grid - : https://carbonintensity.org.uk/ .

In addition to that, the recent announcement of ScotWind has seen aspirations from consortia to develop up to 25GW of offshore wind capacity. This will allow us to make huge progress in further decarbonising our energy supply while securing commitments from ScotWind developers to invest at least £1bn in Scotland’s supply chain for every gigawatt of power.

The Scottish Government is clear that nuclear energy represents a bad deal for consumers and our priority continues to be to support energy efficiency, develop Scotland’s huge renewable resource and to promote storage and flexibility.

Question reference: S6W-07824

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 22 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what training is given to Scottish energy assessors to ensure they are up to date with the range of low carbon heating technologies to ensure that the optimum capex and opex units are continually promoted.

Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) provide an assessment of the theoretical energy performance of existing and new buildings. They are generated by accredited EPC Assessors, belonging to Assessor Organisations approved by the Scottish Government. EPC assessors are required to have the necessary skills and expertise to operate the software that produces EPCs according to the standardised national methodology (SAP) developed by the UK Government and used by the Scottish Government. SAP produces indicative recommendations on how to improve the EPC score– which can include low carbon heating technologies where they are cost effective (however energy efficiency measures are currently prioritised).

The Scottish Government recognises that at present, the information presented on EPCs needs to be reformed, in line with the recommendations of the Climate Change Committee. That is why we have consulted on reforming EPCs to ensure that the metrics and recommendations align with our net zero target. This includes reforming the current energy efficiency metric, which has often incentivised fossil fuelled heating ahead of zero emissions heating solutions. We are now completing further research and intend for reformed EPCs to provide additional information on suitable zero emissions heating systems, and to provide information on the costs associated with such systems, together with energy efficiency measures, and their impacts on the costs of heating a building. As part of our wider proposed legislative programme, we will consult further on the detail of our proposals and will ensure that accredited EPC assessors have the skills needed to produce the reformed certificates.

Building owners can also seek further specialist advice on low carbon heating options beyond those generated in an EPC from a heating specialist or Building Service Engineer (represented by the professional body CIBSE). The Energy Savings Trust, Home Energy Scotland and Zero Waste Scotland provide further information and advice on low carbon heating on the behalf of the Scottish Government.

Chamber and committees