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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-23668

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-22651 by Patrick Harvie on 16 November 2023, whether it can provide a breakdown of the information in the table by local authority area.

The following table sets out the total number of rural uplift applications approved, and the total number paid through the HES Grant and Loan Scheme between September 2022 and October 2023, broken down by local authority area.

Applicants have 9 months to complete works and claim their funding from the date that their funding application is approved. This means that payments to applicants are often made in the months following their application approval, which is why the numbers paid will not be equal to the numbers approved.

Local Authority	Rural Uplift Approved	Rural Uplift Paid
Aberdeen City	6	4
Aberdeenshire	239	143
Angus	53	36
Argyll and Bute	207	146
City of Edinburgh	11	9
Clackmannanshire	4	2
Dumfries and Galloway	127	75
Dundee City	1	1
East Ayrshire	30	18
East Dunbartonshire	2	1
East Lothian	30	18
East Renfrewshire	4	4
Falkirk	14	12
Fife	47	27
Glasgow City	0	0
Highland	291	154
Inverclyde	2	1
Midlothian	16	10
Moray	93	55
Na h-Eileanan Siar	41	18
North Ayrshire	24	10
North Lanarkshire	7	6
Orkney Islands	62	20
Perth and Kinross	144	98
Renfrewshire	4	4
Scottish Borders	118	75
Shetland Islands	47	27
South Ayrshire	23	15
South Lanarkshire	68	44
Stirling	47	26
West Dunbartonshire	5	3
West Lothian	15	10

Question reference: S6W-23673

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-22663 by Patrick Harvie on 16 November 2023, whether it will provide the information requested regarding whether it is undertaking any targeted marketing to those aged over 55, and, if so, what specific forms these marketing activities take.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-23652 on 21 December 2023 regarding targeted marketing at the over 55 age group. I further refer the member to my answer to question S6W-23657 on 21 December 2021 regarding the part of his question regarding specific forms of marketing activities.

The Home Energy Scotland ‘Warmer Homes Scotland’ campaign includes a specific target audience of the over 60s. This campaign includes a digital advertising strand targeted at this age category who live in the 20% most deprived postcodes in Scotland. In addition, press is included to help target those who are not digitally engaged, alongside TV advertising on daytime STV and C4 Scotland.

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 .

Question reference: S6W-23654

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.

Question reference: S6W-23659

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 how much it anticipates that it will spend on any revisions to the current marketing plans for the Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan scheme.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-23653 on 21 December 2023. Marketing plans for Home Energy Scotland grants are currently in development. As such there are no plans requiring revision. 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 .

Question reference: S6W-23680

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-22672 by Patrick Harvie on 16 November 2023, what plans it has to “evolve and adapt” these schemes, in light of reports from the industry that current funding for energy efficiency retrofit projects needs to be more flexible and distributed from fewer sources.

Question reference: S6W-23667

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-22651 by Patrick Harvie on 16 November 2023, for what reasons an approved application including rural uplift would not be paid.

As outlined in the response to question S6W-22651, applicants have 9 months to complete works and claim their funding from the date that their funding application is approved. This means that payments to applicants are often made in the months following their application approval.

Approved funding applications will not be paid if the applicant fails to submit a valid claim for the approved amount of their application.

Question reference: S6W-23653

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, whether it is considering making any changes to its marketing strategy to further raise awareness of the Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan scheme.

Question reference: S6W-23661

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 how many entities have been named as installers on Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan scheme applications, broken down by (a) local authority area, (b) type of low-carbon heat technology and (c) type of energy efficiency measure.

From the launch of the Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan Scheme in December 2022 to September 2023, 1013 unique installers were listed on applications to the scheme.

The following table shows the number of unique installers that have been listed on applications to the scheme in each local authority area:

Local Authority	Unique Installers
Aberdeen City	71
Aberdeenshire	123
Angus	69
Argyll and Bute	82
City of Edinburgh	189
Clackmannanshire	35
Dumfries and Galloway	100
Dundee City	58
East Ayrshire	50
East Dunbartonshire	63
East Lothian	91
East Renfrewshire	52
Falkirk	66
Fife	149
Glasgow City	119
Highland	123
Inverclyde	32
Midlothian	60
Moray	53
Na h-Eileanan Siar	18
North Ayrshire	56
North Lanarkshire	80
Orkney Islands	15
Perth and Kinross	114
Renfrewshire	60
Scottish Borders	120
Shetland Islands	17
South Ayrshire	48
South Lanarkshire	120
Stirling	93
West Dunbartonshire	28
West Lothian	97

Where an installer has been listed on applications to the scheme in several different local authority areas, they have been counted as a unique installer under each area.

The information requested for type of low-carbon heat technology and type of energy efficiency measures could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

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.