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Twenty seven organisations applied for funding from the Ayrshire Rural and Islands Ambition (ARIA) Fund. There were no direct applications from the Local Authorities.

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.

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 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.

The Scottish Government has engaged with a wide range of drinks businesses throughout the policy development and implementation stages for our Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), including through two stages of consultation (running from 25 June 2018 – 25 September 2018 and 10 September 2019 – 10 December 2019) which any business could participate in. We have not carried out any engagement relating to DRS specifically directed at retailers selling hampers, parcels, or gift sets, but many such retailers would have been captured by this wider engagement.

We are continuing to engage with industry in order to ensure a successful launch of Scotland's DRS in August next year.

The Scottish Government will consult on a draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan (ESJTP) in the coming months.

The ESJTP will outline a co-ordinated vision for Scotland’s future energy system setting out a route map of steps required to deliver the vision and highlighting the energy sector’s role in achieving our emissions reduction targets.

The Scottish Government is clear that unlimited extraction of fossil fuels is not consistent with our climate obligations and is not the right solution to the real cost of living crisis families are facing. We support the fastest possible just transition for the sector and the oil and gas workforce, the communities in which they live and work, and the regional economies that have greatly benefited from oil and gas activities and have much to gain from the transition to net zero.

Official statistics on trends in the number of properties in the rented sectors over time can help to track the net effect of additions and removals of stock. These include survey based estimates of the number of households living in the private rented sector each year available from Scottish Household Survey publications . Although the latest published figures for 2020 are not directly comparable to results for previous years due to the change to a telephone survey based approach during the pandemic period. The Scottish Household Survey based estimates also feed into annual Scottish Government annual Dwelling Stock by Tenure figures , which provide annual estimates of the number of dwellings which are either privately rented or where the household is living rent-free. In addition, the Dwelling Stock by Tenure figures include the number of local authority and housing association dwellings each year to 2020, based on annual social landlord stock data. These figures include Local Authority stock data collected by Scottish Government and Housing Association stock data collected by the Scottish Housing Regulator. More recent figures for the year 2021 available as part of the latest Housing Statistics Annual Key Trends publication .

The Annual Key Trends publication also includes figures on demolitions and closures of housing stock, although there are data quality caveats associated with these figures, and in addition whilst the figures are presented with a local authority housing category separately identified there is no split available into private rented or for the total social sector component. In terms of new supply of social housing, quarterly affordable housing supply figures published as part of Quarterly Housing Statistics updates on the Housing Statistics webpages include information on the number of completions for social rent each quarter.

Alongside these sets of annual official statistics, the Scottish Government receives monthly aggregate information extracted from the Private Rented Sector Landlord Register system. This include figures on the total number of active registrations each month and the total number of properties that these relate to, although it does not contain a breakdown of the number of properties added to or removed from the system. Local authorities are responsible for the administration and enforcement of landlord registration, and are the data controllers of the information on the landlord registration IT system for landlords in their area. It should be noted that the Landlord Registration System is an administrative system used primarily to manage the registration of landlords and rental properties, and has not been designed to produce robust statistical figures on the sector. Figures from this system should therefore be considered in the context of data quality issues which include impacts from changes to IT systems over time, a risk of duplicated data and double counting of rental properties in certain instances for joint owners, as well as data issues stemming from any potential lags in the provision of information by landlords on changes to circumstances to existing registrations. The Scottish Government set out ways to improve data from the Private Rented Sector Landlord Registration system within the ‘New Deal for Tenants’ Consultation Paper.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-11821 on 11 November 2022, work is currently ongoing with local authorities and COSLA to determine how best to allocate funding in light of the emergency budget review. 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 .

The General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) is the independent regulatory body for teachers and, as such, Scottish Ministers have no locus to intervene in their procedures. The GTCS fitness to teach policy sets out key principles and acts as a mechanism for dealing with a teacher who presents a risk of harm. The fitness to teach process also aims to ensure that we have a teaching profession in Scotland that is and remains fit to teach so that public trust and confidence in teachers is maintained and the learning of our children and young people is protected.

The Scottish Government Child Protection Unit engages with GTCS on a regular basis on child and public protection and safeguarding issues, and to clarify the role of the bodies that are responsible for dealing with teachers who present a risk of harm to children.

The Scottish Government has also recently established an internal forum on the implementation of the child protection guidance in schools, and will continue to facilitate discussions on reporting and investigation processes of child protection issues within schools.