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No households have had their replacement oil or LPG boilers or heating systems cancelled as a result of the Scottish Government and Scottish Green Party shared policy programme commitment to immediately end public subsidy for oil and LPG boilers.

All Warmer Homes Scotland and Home Energy Scotland Loan applications with committed offers signed prior to 6 September 2021, for either replacement oil/LPG boilers or heating systems, will have these honoured and receive their installations/loans. No local council has reported plans to install an oil/LPG boiler or heating measure as part of their Area Based Scheme.

Home Energy Scotland ended recommendations and referrals to Scottish Government schemes for the replacement of oil and LPG boilers from 6 September 2021. From this date, customers will receive advice on lower-carbon alternatives to oil and LPG that are suitable for their homes.

Warmer Homes Scotland surveys ended the recommendation of oil and LPG systems on 6 September 2021. As a result, no further letters offering either replacement oil or LPG boilers or heating systems were sent from 6 September 2021.

Warmer Homes Scotland is a demand led scheme, and as such does not set regional intervention targets for future delivery. The following table shows the completed applications under Warmer Homes Scotland by KPI region for 2020-21:

The next round of allocations will be confirmed and dispersed to local authority areas this Autumn.

The Scottish Government acknowledges that publication of this report has been delayed due to our pandemic response efforts. We will be publishing the Independent Expert Working Group report on 6 October 2021.

By the end of 2021, we will have allocated over £1 billion since 2009 to tackling fuel poverty and improving energy efficiency, including £114 million this year alone.

We continue to invest in our Warmer Homes Scotland and Area-Based Schemes (ABS). This year we have increased funding for both schemes to a record £50 million for Warmer Homes Scotland (an increase from £32 million in 2020-21) and £64 million for our local authority led Area Based Schemes (an increase of £9m compared with 20-21).

Area Based Schemes (ABS) are designed and delivered by local councils targeting areas with higher levels of fuel poverty. Since starting in 2013 our ABS programme has primarily funded insulation improvements to over 100,000 harder to treat properties (complex cavity and solid wall construction). Since April 2021 our Area Based Schemes have included additional funding to provide low carbon and micro-generation measures as part of a whole house approach.

Our national fuel poverty scheme, Warmer Homes Scotland, is designed to help those living in, or at risk of, fuel poverty through installing insulation and heating measures to individual homes. The scheme recommends low-carbon measures first, alongside a package of fabric measures, to increase the energy efficiency of the property and decrease carbon emissions. The scheme is being delivered on a regional basis by Warmworks (including a separate Islands region) to ensure that all households in Scotland receive the same level of service. Grant levels within the scheme have been increased to encourage the installation of air source heat pumps and external wall insulation together to cover the cost of these high cost measures.

We also continue to fund Home Energy Scotland to provide free and impartial advice on how to reduce bills and make homes warmer and cheaper to heat.

Home Energy Scotland Loans are available to homeowners who live in the property they own and to self-builders.. Loans are available for both energy efficiency measures and renewables measures with up to 40% and 75% cashback grants respectively.

The Scottish Government ran two rounds of the Scottish Ultra Low Emission Bus scheme in 2020/21, awarding a total of £39.6 million to support operators acquire new zero-emission buses, and £11 million to support operators install the necessary depot charging infrastructure. Phase one of the Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund, has a total of £50 million available and is currently open for bids. The funding is to support the cost of both zero-emission buses and the associated charging infrastructure. Bidders can request up to 75% of the cost of battery-electric charging infrastructure, and up to 85% of the cost of hydrogen fuel-cell charging infrastructure.

New regulations require that, where applicable, from November 2022 local authorities, along with other public bodies, report a target date for achieving zero direct emissions of greenhouse gases and targets for reducing indirect emissions of greenhouse gases. Overall, around 50% of reported public sector emissions are now covered by a net zero target that aligns with, or is more ambitious than, the 2045 national target.

Since 2015, local authorities, along with other public bodies, have had a duty to report on their compliance with the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009, as well as their annual organisational emissions.

The Scottish Government has established the Bus Decarbonisation Taskforce, comprised of leaders from the bus operating, bus manufacturing, energy and finance sectors, including representation from rural bus operators. The Taskforce has explored energy infrastructure in depth and actions now being undertaken by the Taskforce include production of a “How To” guide for bus operators about working with the electricity sector to plan for and install the necessary charging infrastructure. The Taskforce has also discussed the suitability of hydrogen fuel-cell buses for rural bus services, and the challenges and opportunities associated with hydrogen refuelling stations. The Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund is currently available to bidders and is designed to encourage collaborative and consortium bids, with support of up to 75% of the cost of battery-electric charging infrastructure, and up to 85% of the cost of hydrogen fuel-cell charging infrastructure.

It is an objective of the National Bus Travel Concession Scheme for Young Persons that bus operators are reimbursed for the costs of carrying concessionary passengers so as to leave them no better and no worse off through their participation in the Scheme. This objective should mean that there are not subsequent fare pressures on fare paying passengers as a result of the scheme.

We have worked with the Confederation of Passenger Transport to arrive at the reimbursement rates for the Scheme which seek to deliver this objective.

The new Scheme will be monitored closely in order to identify any significant adverse financial impacts, generally or for individual operators or groups of bus operators.

The proposed National Bus Travel Concession Scheme for Young Persons is expected to increase patronage and cause modal shift but the precise impact of these changes is uncertain. The Scottish Government will monitor the scheme to assess the level of take up and the impact it has on people’s travel behaviours and on other modes of transport, including active travel.

Evidence from the existing National Bus Travel Concession Scheme for Older and Disabled Persons indicates that people who benefit from free public transport tend to be more active as a result. These journeys can be used to access outdoor activities and most will involve an active component, for instance to get to or from the bus stop.