Chamber and committees

The commitment to reduce car kms by 20% by 2030 (against a 2019 baseline) as set out in the Scottish Government’s Climate Change Plan update (CCPu) published in December 2020 remains unchanged, either in terms of measurement or time scale.

An incorrect graphic was posted on social media on the 10 th of December. As soon as the error was noticed, the post was removed at the earliest opportunity to avoid further confusion, and we remain fully committed to reducing car km driven in Scotland by 20% by the year 2030.

The Heat in Buildings Strategy confirms our intention to introduce – subject to consultation – regulations requiring Scotland’s homes and other buildings to meet EPC Band C equivalent, where that is technically feasible and cost effective. We also plan to regulate to ensure that buildings use zero emissions heating and cooling systems by 2045.

While the Strategy is clear that these regulations will apply to traditional and heritage buildings, we recognise that regulating and improving these buildings will present specific challenges and may require a bespoke approach. We will work with stakeholders including Historic Environment Scotland to consider what specific support and measures may be needed with respect to such buildings.

We plan to consult during 2022 on our proposals for regulating energy efficiency and zero emissions heating.

The Scottish Government provides support for energy efficiency measures and zero emissions heating in Scotland’s homes and businesses, including for traditional and heritage buildings. Home Energy Scotland (HES) is funded by the Scottish Government to offer free, impartial, bespoke information and advice on the installation of energy efficiency and renewables measures, and to act as a gateway to all our domestic energy efficiency funding schemes. For businesses, the Scottish Government offer free, impartial advice and support to Scottish SMEs through the Energy Efficiency Business Support Service, delivered by Zero Waste Scotland. Through this service, businesses can access the SME loan scheme which provides funding support for energy efficiency measures and zero emissions heating installations.

In order to meet our net zero ambitions, we will continue to invest in our advice services to increase their reach and support. We recognise that improving the energy efficiency of traditional and heritage buildings in Scotland may require a bespoke approach and we will work with stakeholders, such as Historic Environment Scotland, to understand the future support necessary to upgrade these buildings.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of mobile and broadband connectivity for almost all aspects of everyday life which is why we work closely with Local Resilience Partnerships, telecoms providers and the UK Government - both in preparing for, and responding to severe weather events which may impact telecommunications in Scotland.

It is important to note that resilience of the Communications Sector, which includes telecommunications and internet, is reserved and therefore the responsibility of the UK Government.

Major outages are extremely rare, but most telecoms equipment is dependent on a power supply in order to function which can be disrupted by extreme weather.

During the Storm Arwen response effort, welfare centres offered Wi-Fi and mobile phone charging facilities where possible. Additionally, in the in the run-up to Storm Arwen, the Scottish Government’s Ready Scotland campaign was activated using local radio and digital channels and was geographically targeted on the areas affected by the Amber and Red Met Office warnings.

The ‘Ready Scotland’ website, at ready.scot , provides advice to the public on how to prepare for and respond to emergencies; including utilities loss and severe weather.

We will continue to press the UK Government and the regulator (Ofcom) for assurance that increasing resilience of the telecoms network in Scotland is a priority.

A table containing the average daily traffic flows on the A96 in each year since 2017 has been lodged with SPICe, BIB number 63000.

The detailed information requested is currently being collated in consultation with the regional transport partnerships. I will write to the member as soon as the information is available and a copy will be placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib number 63013).

ScotRail is required through the Franchise Agreement to provide a delay-repay scheme to passengers, which offers compensation when their journey is delayed by more than 30 minutes.

The Delay Repay scheme operates on a railway period reporting basis from April to March.

The following tables summarise the actual compensation ScotRail awarded to passengers in each four-week period since the 2018-2019 reporting period.

The following table presents the total number of fatal and serious accidents for 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020. However, the information on the total number of fatal and serious accidents for 2021 are only available up to the date stated in the table.

The Scottish Government already offer bespoke and targeted advice and support to rural, remote and islands communities through a number of its delivery programmes, and the Heat in Buildings programme will take into account the distinct challenges facing these communities. The Scottish Government launched on Wednesday 15 December a further funding call to support heat decarbonisation and energy resilience in Scotland’s more remote, rural and island off electricity grid networks. Information on this can be found on the website, by accessing this link.

The Scottish Government currently provide support for community groups and organisations to explore their renewable heat options through the Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) delivered by Local Energy Scotland on the Scottish Government’s behalf. CARES provides advice and support including funding support (grants and loans) to community groups and organisations, rural SME’s, and other eligible organisations seeking to explore their renewable energy options.

The Scottish Government will be consulting in 2022 on its draft Islands energy strategy. This will set out an approach to decarbonisation for Scotland’s island communities that will support them to develop renewable energy solutions that promote resilience, enhance sustainability and meet their energy needs now and in the future. As part of this work, where not already in place, the Scottish Government intend to explore the evidence base and options for an islands specific uplift, as part of our commitment to provide additional support for rural and island homes for heat and energy efficiency.

Throughout Storms Arwen and Barra the Scottish Government’s Resilience Division maintained daily contact with the power companies and close engagement continues.

It must be noted that resilience of the electricity networks is reserved and is the responsibility of the UK Government. The Scottish Government will be engaging with both the upcoming Ofgem and UK Government Storm Arwen reviews.

In addition, the Deputy First Minister requested that the Scottish Government’s Resilience Division begin work on the scope and terms of a review into the Storm Arwen response on 30 November 2021, and on 14 December 2021 he formally commissioned the Scottish Resilience Partnership to collate evidence from local resilience partnerships to inform the findings of the review.

The Scottish Government will also gather evidence from other relevant groups, for example the voluntary sector and utilities companies, including power companies.

‎This work is already well underway and we aim to publish a review paper with recommendations in mid-January.