Seòmar agus comataidhean

The estimated number and percentage of domestic properties by Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) energy efficiency rating band are published in the ‘Scottish House Condition Survey (SHCS): Key Findings’ report.

The latest published data are available at: Scottish house condition survey: 2019 key findings , which show that around 1.4 million dwellings, representing 55% of the housing stock had an EPC rating lower than Band C (based on the latest SAP 2012 EPC methodology).

The latest estimates are for 2019. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the fieldwork for the 2020 SHCS was suspended in March 2020 and did not resume. The 2021 SHCS was also impacted and was undertaken using a non-contact external plus approach. The results are not directly comparable to those from previous years and will be published as experimental statistics on 30 May 2023.

The Scottish Government’s Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund aims to leverage £60m of public and private investment to double the size of Scotland’s public electric vehicle charging network to 6,000 charge points by 2026. This alone will be over and above the commercial investment in public charge points now taking place in Scotland.

The Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund is focused upon growing the public charging network across Scotland where private investment on its own will be unviable. At present, the Scottish Government is supporting local authorities to develop public electric vehicle charging strategies and infrastructure expansion plans; these are identifying local and regional charge point needs, the investment requirements, as well as the best approaches to delivering collaborative investments with commercial Charge Point Operators. The exact type of public charge points including their charging power capabilities and demand on the electricity grid will be determined through this approach.

It is anticipated that the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund investment will be delivered across Scotland through local authority and private Charge Point Operator partnership models. The arrangements and responsibilities for supply and maintenance of charge points will be determined through contractual arrangements between the parties involved.

We are aware that there are ongoing challenges around staff recruitment and retention in the social work sector. These issues have been exacerbated by the effects of COVID-19, which has had a significant impact on capacity over the last few years.

The Scottish Government provides funding to local authorities for both children and families, and adult social work through the general local government financial settlement. Local authorities should determine how much resource is given to supporting the delivery of social work and social care services, plan their workforce and ensure appropriate levels of staff are in place to provide social services for their residents.

Funding for justice social work services, including community sentences, bail services, diversion from prosecution, and other community interventions, is provided by the Scottish Government through an annual ring-fenced grant to local authorities. Local authorities have considerable autonomy to direct this funding to meet local priorities. The Scottish Government has continued to protect the community justice budget, and in 2023-24 we will invest a total of £134m in community justice services. This includes £123m to local authority justice social work services.

The Health Board's interim plan to transfer the three ICU beds to University Hospital Crosshouse is to ensure adequate consultant medical cover. Patient safety remains of paramount concern.

NHS Ayrshire and Arran has provided assurances that all feasible options will continue to be explored to maintain the ICU beds at University Hospital Ayr; and that local communities and their representatives will be kept fully updated as this work progresses.

As set out in our Heat in Buildings Strategy (published in October 2021), the vast majority of the 170,000 off-gas homes and at least 1 million homes currently using mains gas, must convert to zero emissions heating by 2030 in order to meet our interim climate targets. We will therefore consult during 2023 on a Heat in Buildings Bill to phase out fossil fuel boilers in Scotland’s homes and buildings and move to clean heating systems.

The Scottish House Condition Survey (SHCS) is the main source for the number of domestic properties with low or zero emissions heating systems. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, fieldwork for the 2020 SHCS was suspended and the methodology for the 2021 SHCS was also impacted. Future SHCS publications will provide more information to measure progress towards the heat transition.

The Scottish Government is committed to delivering a Net Zero, Wellbeing economy and a highly skilled workforce is critical to this ambition. Our National Strategy for Economic Transformation is clear that we must adapt our education and skills system to become more responsive and agile so that it can deliver on our key priorities.

Published in 2020, the Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan (CESAP) provides a framework for green skills planning and investment across priority sectors directly affected in the transition to net zero: Energy, Construction, Transport, Manufacturing and Agriculture and land-use.

Since 2019, Transport Scotland has been commissioning reports in each of the highest emitting transport sectors to identify the skills gaps and skills shortages. A number of these reports have already been published, and others are due to be published in Spring 2023. The findings will become the foundation for skills activity, delivered by partners across Scotland to support the decarbonisation of the transport sector.

Transport Scotland works closely with colleges across Scotland and the Energy Skills Partnership. Targeted investment has supported training equipment for battery and hydrogen vehicles and has been utilised by colleges across Scotland, including in more rural and remote communities. This support has led to over 120 college lecturers being up-skilled to deliver training, and over 350 technicians receiving training to date, with that number growing annually with Scottish colleges delivering courses to new students. This work will support the development of a Just Transition Plan for the Transport Sector.

The Blue Flag beach award is an international programme administered by the Foundation for Environmental Education. The main themes are; water quality; safety and information provision; environmental education; and land based facilities. Keep Scotland Beautiful coordinated the Blue Flag awards in Scotland until 2016. The following table shows how many beaches were granted Blue Flag status in Scotland from 2007 until the final award in 2015.

Short-term let licensing and powers to designate control areas allow local authorities to strike a balance between the economic benefits of short-term lets and the needs and concerns of communities in their areas. It is for local authorities to use the powers available to them to achieve the right balance in their areas recognising the need for a thriving tourist economy, as well as having sufficient homes for people to live in.

The short-term let licensing scheme will ensure that all short-term lets in Scotland comply with basic safety standards. Many hosts will already be following these standards as a matter of compliance with existing law or best practice. We do not consider them to be onerous. Whether someone is sharing their own home or letting a portfolio of properties, in rural Skye or in central Edinburgh, safety matters.

The Scottish Government recognises that all recorded information relating to its business is subject to Freedom of Information (FOI) law, irrespective of its format or the platform on which it is held. This includes any information held in or originally generated in WhatsApp or similar messaging apps. This responsibility is discharged through the relevant business units who have the responsibility for capturing this information as set out in the Scottish Government Records Management Policy.

The Scottish Government has released such messaging exchanges in response to Freedom of Information requests. However, to ascertain the number of responses which have included such exchanges since 2019, would require officials to individually check every FOI response the Scottish Government has issued since the beginning of 2019. For that reason, this information could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.

Scottish Government officials work closely with the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC), which provides leadership and advice to Scottish Ministers, local authorities, and the wider libraries sector.

In 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23, we provided funding of £665,000 to SLIC as recognition of the importance of our public libraries, and as an expression of our support for the excellent services they provide. This is on top of the Scottish Government’s general revenue funding to local authorities and includes the Public Library Improvement Fund that supports creative, sustainable and innovative public library projects throughout Scotland.