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Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S6W-24063

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 22 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 12 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Scottish House Condition Survey not taking account of low carbon heating technologies in domestic buildings, such as heat pumps and solar, what consideration it has given to including such types of heating systems in the Scottish House Condition Survey in the future.

The Scottish House Conditions survey already accounts for and records the presence of low carbon heating technologies including heat pumps and solar panels.

The Scottish House Condition Survey (SHCS) consists of an interview with householders and a physical inspection of the dwelling they occupy, which provides a picture of Scotland's occupied housing stock. It covers all types of households and dwellings across the country - whether owned or rented, flats or houses. The physical data about the dwelling is recorded by surveyors trained to collect detailed information on housing characteristics.

The presence of a heat pump is collected in the survey through question M2 in the SHCS physical survey form , which records the main form of heating in the dwelling. This question will also record the presence of other low carbon heating technologies including other electric heating sources, and community heating. The type of heat pump (if present) is then recorded in question M11.

The SHCS also collects data on if a dwelling is suitable for solar panels or solar photovoltaics (PV), and if they have been installed through question D7 of the survey SHCS physical survey form , with questions D8 and D9 recording the percentage of the roof which is covered by solar PV and/ or solar panels respectively.

The SHCS key findings report has not previously included figures on the number of dwellings with heat pumps or solar panels / PV, due to their limited prevalence in the dwelling stock, but this can be added to future reports. Both are accounted for in our measurements of EPC’s, modelled energy use, energy costs, and fuel poverty calculations. Additionally, this data is included in the SHCS dataset on the UK Data Archive . We have included the estimated number of dwellings and percentage of all dwellings with a heat pump in table 1, and solar panels, solar PV, or both installed in table 2.

As the 2020 SHCS was suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic and results from the 2021 External+ SHCS were published as experimental statistics the 2019 SHCS provides the most recent official statistics on heating systems and solar panels / PV. Results from the 2022 SHCS have been pre-announced for publication in February 2024.

Table 1: Estimated number of dwellings and percentage of all dwellings with a heat pump (2019).

Total Dwellings with a heat pump	% of all dwellings
21,000	0.8%

Table 2: Estimate number of and percentage of all dwellings with solar panels, solar PV, or both installed (2019).

Total Dwellings with solar panels and/ or PV	% of all dwellings
74,000	3.0%

Notes

1. Source Scottish House Condition Survey 2019

2. The SHCS is a sample survey and therefore all figures are estimates which lie at the midpoint of a confidence interval which depends primarily on sample size.

Question reference: S6W-24062

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 12 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when the Scottish House Condition Survey 2022 will be published.

Question reference: S6W-24059

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 11 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to present Scotland as an attractive location to open businesses within the renewable tourism sector.

Question reference: S6O-02973

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 January 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how its fiscal policies support the development and growth of the rural economy.

Question reference: S6W-24080

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 10 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has undertaken regarding any impact of an aging ferry fleet on the levels of freight weight capacity on each route.

Question reference: S6W-23656

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 21 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-22629 by Patrick Harvie on 16 November 2023, what criteria it uses to assess whether a household is "able to consider installing a heat pump".

Our Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan scheme is open to all domestic owner occupiers in Scotland. Our Home Energy Scotland Advice Service provide free, tailored advice on the suitability of a heat pump for a property and advise on what support is available.

We run targeted marketing campaigns. As stated in the answer to S6W-22629, we are planning to run a campaign which will target early adopters alongside other strands of awareness raising activity. Evidence shows that this group tend to be owner occupiers, environmentally minded and aged over 40. Advice on the suitability of individual homes for heat pumps will continued to be provided to those responding to the campaign by Home Energy Scotland. We also run an annual campaign targeting those in or at risk of being in fuel poverty to encourage households to contact Home Energy Scotland for support via our Warmer Homes Scotland scheme which continues to provide free heating and energy efficiency upgrades for those most in need.

Question reference: S6W-23683

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 21 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-22666 by Patrick Harvie on 16 November 2023, what economic modelling has been completed to understand the ability of the current supply chain for heat pump maintenance to meet future demand.

No economic modelling has been undertaken. As we continue to engage with the sector, if a need for economic modelling emerges then we will consider it. Future demand for heat pump maintenance will be influenced by a range of different factors related to business needs and future local demands, including our recent regulatory proposals. We will continue to work with the sector to understand the impact of our proposals and the wider package of support we currently have in place. A key ask of the supply chain has been clarity about scope and timing of regulation which is central to their planning for investment in capacity and skills needed for manufacture, installation and maintenance. This is why we set out our draft proposals on regulation on 28 November.

Question reference: S6W-23655

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 21 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-22629 by Patrick Harvie on 16 November 2023, what demographic data it is using to target its marketing campaign for the Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan scheme towards households that are able to consider installing a heat pump, and from what source this data was gathered.

Question reference: S6W-23669

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 21 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-22659 by Patrick Harvie on 16 November 2023, what support is available for homeowners who are seeking to install renewable heating systems to meet net zero and heat in buildings targets, but for which current renewable solutions that are technically feasible would increase the running costs of the home.

Our technology-neutral approach to decarbonising homes across Scotland will enable home owners to choose the technology which is right for them, which may in many instances be a heat pump.

Although heat pumps are much more efficient than gas boilers, their running costs depend upon the price of electricity as well as the efficiency of the heat pump. This is why we continue to call for urgent action by the UK Government to use its reserved powers to rebalance energy prices and ensure that the running costs of clean heating systems are comparable to gas and other polluting systems.

We are proposing that homes across Scotland, where technically feasible and cost effective, will need to meet an energy efficiency standard by the end of 2033. Cost-effective energy efficiency measures will keep homes warmer and reduce the running costs of the home’s heating system.

We have a broad range of delivery programmes to provide advice and support for property owners. Through Home Energy Scotland, households can now claim grant funding of up to £18,000 (in rural homes) or £15,000 (in non-rural areas) to install clean heating and improve the energy efficiency of their homes.

Our fuel poverty programme, Warmer Homes Scotland, offers households clean heating systems where doing so would not increase running costs. Where clean heating systems are not appropriate, the assessor will recommend a suitable package of insulation and/or other heating options.

Our consultation on proposals for a Heat in Buildings Bill includes a commitment to ensure that the right protections are in place to enable a transition which is just, fair and effective.

Question reference: S6W-23674

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 21 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on the actions outlined in the Heat in Buildings Supply Chains Delivery Plan to date.

We continue to make progress against the actions outlined within the Heat in Buildings Supply Chains Delivery Plan. In November 2022 we launched the Green Heat Innovation Support Programme and the Green Heat Installer Engagement Programme . More recently we fulfilled our commitment to launch a new Mobile Heat Pump Training centre .

Proposals have progressed for a Green Heat Manufacturing Hub following the call issued by Scottish Enterprise in December 2022. A full and final proposal is now in development and is expected in early 2024.

In addition, we continue to explore options for a supplier-led funding scheme, which has the potential to support supply chain growth. We are currently engaging with the clean heat sector to understand appetite for such a scheme and the associated potential barriers and opportunities.