Seòmar agus comataidhean

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-04128 on 30 November 2021. 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

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-04373 on 30 November 2021. 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

The £10 million Fuel Insecurity Fund will be made available to households struggling with their energy costs this winter through a range of third sector delivery partners, chiefly the Fuel Bank Foundation, Registered Social Landlords and Advice Direct Scotland, which will be delivering the Home Heating Support Fund. Application processes will be put in place by each delivery organisation and are expected to involve a mix of direct applications and referrals by trusted advice partners.

Support from the £10 million Fuel Insecurity Fund will be delivered by third sector partner organisations and will be available to households across Scotland who are at risk of self-disconnecting, or self-rationing their energy use this winter, regardless of tariff type or fuel type.

Through all of the projects supported by the Fuel Insecurity Fund, we will seek to ensure that those receiving help are not just provided with financial support but that they are also connected with wider advice and support on energy efficiency, income maximisation and how to reduce energy bills.

The Scottish Government is committed to our Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) being operational as soon as practicably possible. We are working hard with Circularity Scotland Ltd and wider industry to agree a final timescale and clear milestones for delivery, and will announce this schedule to Parliament in due course.

The dental sector has been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic and pre-COVID levels of patient volume are not currently achievable with the current infection prevention and control (IPC) guidance. The majority of dental treatments involve the use of aerosol generating procedures which potentially has a higher risk of transmission of the virus. We are working closely with the sector to improve capacity which is why we have provided £5m funding to improve surgery ventilation and a further £7.5m has been allocated to for the purchase of new drills. These measures are intended to increase the productivity of practices, enabling them to see more patients, within the current IPC constraints.

Additionally, funding of £4.7m has been provided to NHS Boards to enable the Public Dental Service (PDS) to improve access to NHS dental care in their area, particularly for people who are unable to register with a dentist at present. Any patients who require dental treatment before they are able to register with a practice should contact the dental helpline in their Board area. Contact details for each Board can be found on the NHS Inform website at: https://www.nhsinform.scot/care-support-and-rights/nhs-services/dental/dental-emergencies .

The Scottish Government has set out the range of technologies that it considers to be low or zero emissions heating systems – and which includes a range of renewable heating systems – at page 16 of the Heat in Buildings Strategy.

The Strategy can be accessed at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/heat-buildings-strategy-achieving-net-zero-emissions-scotlands-buildings/

As set out in the Heat in Buildings Strategy, the Scottish Government will consult in detail on our approach to regulating heat in buildings during 2022, which may include further discussion of those technologies which will, or will not, be compliant with future standards.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-04128 on 30 November 2021. 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

As of August, all councils are offering 1140 hours of funded ELC to all eligible children, making high quality early learning and childcare available to families and saving parents up to £4,900 per year for each eligible child. Up to 130,000 children are expected to benefit this year as new children are enrolled.

This is a fantastic achievement that has been achieved in the face of the pandemic by Scottish Government, Local Government and our local delivery partners.

Data returned by local authorities in September 2021 indicates that 90,890 children were accessing funded ELC as of the end of August 2021. Of these, 88,122 children (97%) were accessing more than 600 hours, and 79,262 children (87%) were accessing 1140 hours funded ELC. Providers in the private and voluntary sectors and childminders provide 32% of all funded provision.

Scotland is the only part of the UK to offer the equivalent of 1140 hours to all eligible children regardless of their parents’ working status, putting children first. That includes all 3 and 4 year olds and around a quarter of 2 year olds.

The Scottish Government has been working with local authorities to promote the expanded entitlement, with the aim of helping parents to make informed choices about what works best for them and their children, and that provision reflects local needs.

As set out in the Heat in Buildings Strategy, published in October 2021, the Scottish Government considers “low and zero emissions heating systems” to be systems that have zero direct greenhouse gas emissions. This includes individual electric heat pumps and connection to heat networks, or electric systems such as storage heaters, and systems that have very low emissions, such as those that use hydrogen.

In line with the recommendation of the Committee on Climate Change, we agree that bioenergy - such as biomass, bio-heating oil and bio-propane - should only be used in those applications where its carbon reduction impact is maximised, where alternative options are not available, and where it comes from sustainable sources.

We recognise that, for a small number of homes, bioenergy might offer the only feasible way to reduce emissions from heating to displacing fossil fuels in off-gas-grid areas, especially where electric heating or heat pumps are unsuitable.

We will therefore consider how such homes may be dealt with under any future regulatory system, including through the potential use of limited exemptions, as part of the consultation on our approach to regulating heat in buildings during 2022.