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The Scottish Government will assist housing associations finance renewable heating schemes through a number of programmes. The district heating and Communities and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) loan schemes both provide housing associations with the opportunity to access funding to develop renewable heating schemes. Our £50 million Warm Homes Fund will also deliver renewable energy and energy efficient homes in those communities worst affected by fuel poverty. The Scottish Government also encourages housing associations to access funding through the UK Government’s Renewable Heat Premium Payment Scheme. £3 million of the £15 million programme has been set aside for registered social landlords to improve their housing stock.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. However, our £2.5 million district heating loan scheme will enable connection of 305 households to renewable district heating networks within the next two years. This funding will also enable project network expansion at a future date to more than double the number of households – to over 600. A further £5 million has been allocated to continue the scheme over the next three years, allowing the potential to at least double these figures again over the next five years.

The Scottish Government does not hold a central comprehensive record of the number of homes supplied by district renewable heating schemes. However, from the information available to us, there are at least 1,876 homes connected to a renewable district heating system in Scotland. This includes some systems which have a low carbon element.

The Scottish Government has established a task group on renewable heat to advise on priority issues in order to increase development of renewable heat. The Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) is represented on the group. We will also shortly establish an Expert Commission to advise on the delivery of district heating in Scotland. Housing associations can also get free independent help by contacting the Energy Saving Trust and will benefit from heat mapping as the roll out of the pilot exercise in the Highland Council area continues.

Housing associations are eligible to apply to the Scottish Government district heating and Communities and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) loan schemes and both schemes will continue as a result of future funding confirmed in the recent Spending Review. We are also encouraging housing associations to access the UK Government’s Renewable Heat Premium Payment Scheme which has £3 million set aside for registered social landlords.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-00370 on 9 June 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/MAQASearch/QAndMSearch.aspx.

The Scottish Government is working with all local authorities and their partners to develop approaches to identifying housing options. This approach is initially focused on preventing homelessness, but will also be extended to looking at the provision of housing health checks.

An independent evaluation of the housing options approach has been commissioned which will influence development of housing health checks. The report is due in early 2012.

Individual social rented landlords are best placed to take housing health checks forward for their tenants. The Scottish Government will work with landlords to enable development of this activity, but will not impose central targets over the next five years.

As set out in Homes Fit for the 21^st Century the Scottish Government will consult on a number of possible changes to tenancies within the socially rented sector including widening the circumstances in which a Short Scottish Secure Tenancy can be used where the tenant has a history of anti-social behaviour and introducing an initial tenancy for all new social housing tenants.

The Scottish Government is working with all local authorities and their partners to help develop approaches to identifying housing options. This approach is initially focused on preventing homelessness, but will also be extended to looking at the provision of housing health checks.

An independent evaluation of the housing options approach has been commissioned which will influence development of housing health checks. The report is due in early 2012.

Individual social rented landlords are best placed to take housing health checks forward for their tenants. The Scottish Government will work with landlords to enable development of this activity, but will not impose timescales for implementation.

The Scottish Government is working with members of the private rented sector strategy group and other key stakeholders to publish a new strategy for the sector in early 2012.

As of 2 September 2010, there were 70,000 empty properties in Scotland of which 24,598 properties recorded as long-term empty, based on council tax records. The overall empty properties include all properties which have registered for a council tax exemption or discount no matter the length of time empty. Long term empty properties are generally properties, liable for council tax, which have been empty for six months or longer although the exact time when a property becomes a long term empty property depends on the initial reason for being declared empty. Data for 2011 will be available by the end of the year.