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As advised at the recent Scottish Parliament debate on Essential Road Improvements held on 02 November 2022, the first part of the review, a report on the Public Consultation and the Initial Appraisal: The Case for Change will be published by the end of the year.

It is too early to provide a definitive timetable as future progress is partly dependent on the outcomes of the ongoing A96 Corridor Review.

In relation to the A96 Dualling Inverness to Nairn (including Nairn Bypass) scheme, we continue to progress the preparation stages of the scheme with a view to completing the statutory process. This includes the significant work required to prepare for publication of made Orders, including the Compulsory Purchase Order, in the coming weeks. Subject to no legal challenge being received, the Scottish Ministers will then have the relevant powers to acquire the land necessary to construct the scheme.

Delivery can only commence if approved under the relevant statutory procedures and thereafter a timetable for progress can be set in line with available budgets.

The Scottish Government remains committed to the north and north east of Scotland. This includes taking forward an enhancements programme on the A96 corridor that improves connectivity between surrounding towns, tackles congestion and addresses safety and environmental issues.

The current plan is to fully dual the A96 route between Inverness and Aberdeen; however, we are conducting a transparent, evidence-based review of the programme which is well underway. The recent public consultation received an unprecedented level of engagement with nearly 4,600 responses, generating more than 11,000 suggestions and potential opportunities for the route. Rightly, it has taken more time than originally anticipated to consider and to appraise all of those options, however, the report on the Public Consultation and the Initial Appraisal: The Case for Change will be published by the end of the year. This is a sensible good governance for major investment of this kind.

We continue to carefully consider the report and recommendations made by the previous Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee as regards regional marine planning in the context of the emergency budget review and the recently announced development of a new Scottish National Marine Plan. We are working to finalise our formal response, which will be published early next year.

It is currently the intention to regulate to prohibit direct emissions heating (DEH) systems being installed in new buildings applying for a building warrant from 1 April 2024 through amendments to the Building Regulations. Therefore, enforcement/penalties would be through the existing legislative framework.

As all new buildings require a building warrant prior to construction, the absence of a direct emission heating system will be demonstrated to the local authority verifier as part of that process and also confirmed on completion of building works.

Enforcement of any subsequent non-compliance with building regulations is the responsibility of the local authority in the area the building is sited.

The Scottish Government already provides funding to support energy efficiency works which contribute to our net zero target. Between 2018 and 2021, £7 million was made available to Local Authority and registered social landlords through the Energy Efficient Scotland Transition Programme’s Decarbonisation Fund to assist in compliance with the Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing.

The Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund, which launched in August 2020, has been designed to accelerate the delivery of energy efficiency measures and zero emissions heating systems in social housing across Scotland. It will make at least £200 million available to registered social landlords until 2026.

Acknowledging that the public sector alone cannot bear the long-term cost of converting homes, the Green Heat Finance Taskforce has been established to assess and recommend ways the public sector, communities and private finance can collaborate to scale up investment. A dedicated sub-group has been established to consider the best routes to financing and funding the retrofit of the existing social housing stock.

The New Build Heat Standard (NBHS) is our proposed new standard that will prohibit the use of direct emissions heating systems (DEH) in new builds warranted from 1 April 2024.

Independent analysis of the responses received to the recently closed Part II New Build Heat Standard consultation is currently underway.

As part of this consultation process, the Scottish Government sought evidence on whether there any limited, specific situations where the use of direct emissions heating systems would be required in new buildings.

We will publish our report into the consultation prior to bringing forward the regulations.

The Scottish Government intends the New Build Heat Standard to apply to all new buildings, applying for a building warrant, from 1 April 2024 onwards.

This is in direct response to the recommendation of the Committee on Climate Change on how to meet the net zero legal obligations legislated for by the Scottish Parliament.

The timescale reflects the need to act to reduce the emissions associated with heating our homes and businesses, and the introduction of the New Build Heat Standard will ensure that these buildings are future-proofed - avoiding any potentially disruptive retrofit works as we progress towards the decarbonisation of our remaining building stock in line with our Heat in Buildings Strategy.

On behalf of the Scottish Government, Element Energy conducted analysis of the technical suitability of low-carbon heating technologies in Scottish domestic buildings, which included Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHPs) in off-gas areas. A copy of this report is available below.

Scottish Government (2020). Technical Feasibility of Low Carbon Heating in Domestic Buildings. URL: https://www.gov.scot/publications/technical-feasibility-low-carbon-heating-domestic-buildings-report-scottish-governments-directorate-energy-climate-change/

The research concluded that, where homes were able to adopt the energy efficiency improvements required to reach EPC C, the number technically unsuitable for an ASHP would sit around 39,500 and 40,400. This is out of a total of around 170,000 off-gas-grid homes using high-emissions fuels. The underlying data is not published. For the minority of properties where ASHPs may not be viable, alternative options under current technology include air-to-air heat pumps, other electric heating or bioenergy from sustainable sources. We continue to review which technologies may be considered as zero direct emissions.

I reaffirm the answer to S6W-11746, and in my letter of 26 October 2022 to the convener of the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee in which I updated on progress with establishing the virtual energy agency and the dedicated National Public Energy Agency. I indicated that the virtual Agency - Heat and Energy Efficiency Scotland - which was launched on 26 October, is the first step in transitioning to a dedicated body by 2025. In addition I stated that the virtual agency and the transition to a dedicated body will be supported by an independent Strategic Board, chaired by Professor Lorne Crerar. The Board met for the first time on 11 October 2022, and will next meet on 13 December.

The costs associated with the Agency to date are £14,468.

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