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Good morning. I am pleased to join the committee today to speak to the draft Energy Performance of Buildings (Scotland) Regulations 2025, which will legislate to reform energy performance certificates.

The EPC system has formed a long-standing part of Scotland’s property market since 2008 and of retained European Union law across the United Kingdom. However, the Scottish Government has heard concerns from stakeholders such as the Climate Change Committee and consumer groups such as Which? that EPCs need to change and be of higher quality. I want them to be accurate, up to date and relevant, and to give consumers the information that they need on the journey to net zero and warmer, more energy-efficient homes.

We have consulted extensively over the past four years on EPC reform. Users have been at the centre of that, helping to design a new EPC that I believe is now fit for purpose. I will be glad to share that design with the committee after our session.

The draft regulations that I have introduced do three things. First, they retain the well-established and well-understood parts of the existing EPC system, namely the existing trigger points for when an EPC is required, the standardised assessment that is carried out by suitably skilled and accredited assessors and a public register of certificates.

Secondly, they introduce the new reforms that we believe are necessary: a redesigned certificate that has been shaped by user feedback; new ratings and a new property report to ensure that consumers have clear information on current and potential fabric performance, heating systems and costs; a reduced validity period from 10 to five years to ensure that consumers have more up-to-date information; and strengthened quality assurance for EPC assessors to safeguard consumers.

Finally, they protect the property market during the transition. By introducing the regulations a year before they come into force and including a further one-year transition period, we are supporting the market to adjust to the new regime. That will be underpinned by a clear communications and engagement campaign. Consumers will also benefit from an interactive interface for a more dynamic EPC and through the heat and energy efficiency technical suitability assessment.

That is what today’s reform regulations will do, but I should be clear that they do not mandate property owners to meet an energy efficiency standard. We have consulted separately on those matters, but decisions have yet to be taken.

By introducing the reformed EPC and the new rating systems as a first step, we are providing a foundation for our wider heat in buildings programme, giving certainty to all sectors on how we will measure energy performance and any future standards that might be linked to that. My officials and I will be glad to discuss that with the committee.

The home energy model is a foundational part of the proposed changes. I will point to a few things in answering your question. First, UK and Scottish officials have been working closely from its inception through to where we are now. We have complemented that with interministerial engagement. Most recently, in summer, I wrote to my counterpart in the UK Government, seeking assurances that the home energy model would be developed in time to coincide with the regulations coming into force—as we are seeking—next October.

I have no reason to suspect that there will be a delay. UK ministers are also publicly committed to the timeline. To be absolutely sure about that timeline and to acknowledge how important it is for the development of this work, we have agreed a memorandum of understanding with the UK Government that, should any delay emerge at its end, it will give us early sight of that. We should be able to consider mitigations then, if need be. However, as I say, at this point, I have no reason to believe that there will be a delay.

I think that it has already started, to a great extent, has it not?

I agree that we do not want disparity in how the regulations are observed or in the approaches that local authorities take. The changes that we are making now provide an opportune moment to pause and review how local authorities currently operate and to support them to get to the point of having a broad, shared understanding of their obligations and what they need to do.

That is mainly happening in two ways. First, we are considering, and seeking to draw upon, best practice in local authority areas across the UK that are managing the process well. Secondly, we are implementing the toolkit that I mentioned, which will ultimately provide authorities with guidance on how the obligations arise and how to discharge them.

Yes, absolutely. Concisely, they are the foundation of the wider heat in buildings plans. The reform of the EPC has been lengthy and complicated work, and once it is done, it will be the basis on which we seek to drive different standards or legislate for changes.

The EPCs themselves are pretty neutral on all that. They will just reflect the situation as it stands, but they are an up-to-date, well-resourced and well-understood basis on which to do all that.

Yes. In my scribbled handwritten notes it says that, in June 2024, 76 per cent of all registrations were for one property. I will check the source of that and come back to you.

My colleague Ross Loveridge has already mentioned that the assessment and the pool of assessors is a UK-wide matter, so it is another part of the process on which we are working closely with the UK Government to prepare for. The approved organisations that oversee the availability and the training standards have also been part of groups that officials have engaged with. Perhaps the officials can say a little bit more about that.

It is probably worth pointing out that the task for assessors is not materially different: it will still be a case of assessing and inputting data. Our approach to introducing the measure—the regulations will come into force one year from now, then there will be a further transitionary year—should allow for preparedness and readiness to be absolutely where they need to be.

I will come to Ross Loveridge, who can fill you in on what officials have been doing.

Forgive me, convener, but I might turn straight to Ross Loveridge to answer that. We had a conversation about it this morning and he explained it to me very clearly, so it might be helpful for the committee to hear his explanation.

That is right, convener—our proposal is that the regulations will go live on 31 October 2026. That would be the beginning of a one-year transition, when both types of certificate would be valid for both sales and rents.

I add that regulation 25 provides that if all reasonable endeavours have been made to achieve or obtain a new certificate but it has not been possible to do so, that will not get in the way of the property transaction. There is a little bit of flexibility there to reflect people’s reasonable endeavours.

To come back to Ross Loveridge’s point about the substantial peak between 2008 and 2009—I think that about 194,000 more EPCs were required—because of the transitional arrangements that we have put in place, we are expecting only around 56,500 more per annum for the first two years. We have split the peak to make it more manageable. That is really important for consumers. I always have at the forefront of my mind how ordinary people who are just trying to go about their property transaction navigate all of this.

Equally, you are quite right that conveyancers and others who work in the property market need time as well. I think that the regulations provide that time for them, and we are engaged with them on that. Having done conveyancing, I know that conveyancers are completely on top of developments in the property market and are some of the best placed individuals to adapt to and to understand the changes. Nonetheless, we are taking our time to make sure that they have a transition period and that they are engaged on the changes.

As with other negotiations, I and my officials will be doing everything that we can to make sure that it is signed by 31 October. As you can imagine, we are dealing with a number of different developers, all of which have their own legal teams. One way that we have tried to overcome that is by regular communication, which I stress has been positive. Nothing right now would indicate to me that we are going to have trouble.

Equally, we work with Homes for Scotland as the representative body, and it agreed the terms in principle, subject to an exchange of legal views, some time ago. I would not say that I would be happy if it is not signed by 31 October—I would not be happy, and it needs to be done—but nothing right now indicates to me that that will be a problem. Ultimately, we are all moving in the same direction, and it is just about a bookend, which I think is much needed.