Chamber and committees

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy at the UK Government conducted a review of limited partnership law which closed for responses on 17 March 2017. The outcome of the review has not yet been published due to the pre election period.

This is a complex landscape and the Scottish Government will consider the sufficiency of any measures proposed to tackle this issue following the review into limited partnership law. I can reassure the member that the Scottish Government remains fully committed to ensuring that Scottish Limited Partnerships engaged in criminal activity and those individuals and organisations who help facilitate that activity are held accountable for their actions.

The Scottish Government estimates that in 2015 marine fishing employed five people and tourism businesses employed 200 people in the Ross and Cromarty South West area, which includes Plockton, Torridon and the Applecross peninsula.

The Scottish Government is unable to provide more detailed information on economic impacts at the sectoral and geographic levels requested by the parliamentary question (PQ).

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for the provision and maintenance of the Palace and an element of logistical support to functions arising directly from the Palace’s use as an official residence under a Memorandum of Understanding dating from 2000. The information requested relating to expenditure is not held centrally and is an operational matter for Historic Environment Scotland. I have therefore referred the question to the Historic Environment Scotland Chief Executive who will reply to the member directly.

Internationalising Social Enterprise: A Strategy for Scotland and Scotland’s Social Enterprise Strategy: 2016-2026 set out shared ambitions for growing the sector over the next decade.

As a key partner, SE already works collaboratively across the landscape and I expect SE to continue to play a role in supporting delivery of the plans that flow from these strategies.

The Scottish Government recognises the important economic contribution that social enterprise makes to the Scottish economy. Social enterprises clearly deliver on our ambition for inclusive growth by not just delivering economic benefits, but tackling inequalities at the same time.

Ministers are currently considering the membership of the new governance structures to support the implementation of the Enterprise and Skills Review.

The Scottish Affairs Office in Washington DC has not provided any support or assistance to Wildcat Haven CIC or Wildcat Haven Enterprises CIC, beyond sharing details on social media on one occasion of an event that Wildcat Haven were holding in the United States. The Scottish Affairs Office regularly shares public information about Scottish-related events taking place in North America.

The post was removed once the Scottish Government was made aware that the organisation was involved in a legal dispute with an elected representative.

The draft Climate Change Plan is clear that “by 2050, all buildings across Scotland will be near zero carbon - homes will be highly efficient and the heat supply largely decarbonised”. The 2032 milestones articulate the policy outcomes we need to realise as we work towards our longer term objectives. In 2032, it is estimated that 20% of domestic heat demand will be supplied using natural gas.

Scotland’s Energy Efficiency Programme (SEEP) will be the cornerstone of our efforts to decarbonise the country’s building stock. SEEP will bring together grants and loans with advice and information, and back this up with standards and regulation, helping to drive improvement. It will be an integrated programme of support for domestic and non-domestic buildings, with a key role for partners in local government, housing associations, communities and the private sector, building on our existing successful area-based energy efficiency programmes such as HEEPS:ABS.

We recognise that the objectives set out in the draft Climate Change Plan are very challenging and that is why we are now working with stakeholders to design the detail of the policy and delivery framework for SEEP, which will be rolled out from 2018. Our consultation on SEEP is open until 30 May, and can be found at: https://consult.scotland.gov.uk/energy-and-climate-change-directorate/scotlands-energy-efficiency-programme/. We are also consulting on how to support the development of heat networks and the planning at local level of heat decarbonisation and energy efficiency programmes within SEEP. This consultation is open until 18^th April 2017 and can be found at: https://consult.scotland.gov.uk/energy-and-climate-change-directorate/local-heat-and-energy-efficiency/.

The Scottish Government are defining a distinctive approach to Scotland’s future energy provision; putting communities at the heart of decisions about their local energy system; and empowering them to take an economic stake in new developments.

This supportive and positive environment has led in the last year to a number of achievements and key milestones being reached, including:

• our community and locally owned target of 500MW by 2020 being met five years.

• Over £10 million now being invested in Scottish communities every year from renewable energy projects

One of the key themes of our draft Energy Strategy is a more localised approach to energy provision, helping to tackle some of our most pressing issues – from fuel poverty, to security of supply, to increasing costs – and stimulate local economic renewal. We want to ensure that communities will be at the heart of this new approach.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of the roll-out of smart meters as a national modernisation programme that has the potential to bring benefits to Scottish energy consumers if properly implemented.

We have and continue to engage extensively, not only with the UK Government and energy companies, but with industry as a whole to ensure the programme is delivered to the greatest number of Scottish consumers, at the lowest possible cost, whilst enhancing the benefits to the most vulnerable in
our society and those at risk of fuel poverty.

In December 2016 we convened a summit of utility companies to target the identified inequalities in the energy market which included detailed discussion on the smart meter roll out and it's potential to make a material difference to those suffering the greatest degree of detriment in the energy market. We continue to build on these discussions and will hold a follow up event in 2017 extended to include consumer group representatives.

On 24 January we launched the draft Energy Strategy alongside a suite of consultations that includes the Scottish Energy Efficiency Programme (SEEP). These consultations seek views on how we will achieve our vision for the future energy system in Scotland, for the period to 2050 and include consultations questions around the opportunities to link SEEP delivery with other initiatives, including the smart meter rollout, so to maximise the benefits for the people of Scotland. These consultation can be accessed via the following link: http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2017/01/3414

We welcome responses to the draft Energy Strategy and SEEP consultation which are due to close on 30 May 2017.

In February we responded to a Ofgem consultation on proposed regulatory amendments to large energy suppliers smart meter roll-out plans. Our response highlighted the importance of balancing the challenging 2020 deadline with the delivery of a positive customer experience given that 32% of the programme’s benefits are attributed to expected consumer energy saving behaviour.

The development of the Scottish Energy Efficiency Programme (SEEP) will involve significant public consultation and engagement with delivery partners across Scotland. The SEEP consultation, launched on 24 January, asks key questions around the establishment and sustainability of local supply chains, standards and regulations, and financial incentives which will assist our understanding of the potential impact of the programme on Scottish businesses. By 2018 we will have developed a detailed route map for SEEP which will enable Scottish businesses and the wider sector to better forecast and plan long-term work. The consultation can be accessed via the following link: https://consult.scotland.gov.uk/energy-and-climate-change-directorate/scotlands-energy-efficiency-programme/

As part of our current programmes, the Energy Saving Trust and Resource Efficient Scotland are working together to provide assistance and support for businesses in Scotland to be able to participate effectively in the supply chain for energy efficiency and renewables measures /installations. Through this on-going engagement with installers we will consider what skills and training are required to develop the necessary capacity in the sector as SEEP is piloted and developed.