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The Scottish Government have committed to publishing a Waste Route Map to achieving our waste and recycling targets.

Dr Church, the independent Chair of the Review, has stated his aim is to submit the report by Easter 2022 and we will publish it as soon as possible after this.

We intend to publish our consultation for a new Circular Economy Bill and a route map with new measures to achieve our waste and recycling targets to 2025 and beyond, in May. Outputs from the review of the role of incineration in the waste hierarchy will inform the development of the final Route Map.

As independent Chair of the review of the role of incineration in the waste hierarchy in Scotland, Dr Colin Church has determined the scope, process and timelines of the Review.

In December 2020, Dr Church set out in a Call for Evidence his intention to commission a further piece of work, since he believes an assessment of the options to decarbonise the existing residual waste treatment infrastructure in Scotland may take longer than the intended timescale for the review.

This further work will not impact on the delivery date of the Review Report or Scottish Government’s ability to respond to the Report. Dr Church has stated his aim is to submit the report by Easter 2022 and we will publish it as soon as possible after this.

Zero Waste Scotland have shared the draft of the Operational Assessment of Alternative Residual Waste Treatment Technologies report with the Review. It is for Dr Church, as independent Chair, to determine if and how this is incorporated into the Review.

Dr Church, the independent Chair of the Review, has stated his aim is to submit the report by Easter 2022 and we will publish it as soon as possible after this.

Capital and running costs of heat pumps vary depending on building type and characteristics. Over the last year, the Scottish Government has commissioned and published via ClimateXChange two research projects into the costs and performance of heat pumps:

1. Costs of zero emissions heating in new buildings (climatexchange.org.uk) (April 2021)

2. Heat pump use in Scotland: an evidence review (climatexchange.org.uk) (October 2021)

In addition, Scottish Government analysts draw on a range of modelling and real-world data, including analysis produced by the UK Committee on Climate Change, and the National Household Model. This informed the analytical annex to the Fuel Poverty Strategy published in December 2021, available at: fuel-poverty-strategy-analytical-annex.pdf (www.gov.scot)

The Scottish House Condition Survey (SHCS) is the source of National Statistics on fuel poverty in Scotland. These statistics are normally published annually. Due to the Covid 19 pandemic data collection for the 2020 SHCS survey was suspended as internal inspections of households were not possible. Due to this the key findings from the 2020 SHCS were not published.

Fuel poverty statistics will next be published in the key findings from the 2021 SHCS at the end of 2022 or early 2023.

Energy policy and markets remain reserved to Westminster, as do the majority of tax levers. We have called repeatedly on the UK Government to consider all options to help those affected by increased utility bills, including a temporary cut in VAT on energy bills, but to no avail. However, we will continue to push for four-nations discussions to develop an effective response to energy bill increases and press for changes to help those in need, as well as calling for the devolution of the powers to make those changes ourselves if the UK Government refuses to act.

The Scottish Government operates a water and sewerage charges exemption scheme for eligible small charities. The charity must be registered with the Scottish Charity Regulator and have an income below £300,000. Charities should contact their licensed provider in order to apply for the scheme. Additionally, Business Energy Scotland will be delivered by Energy Saving Trust (EST) from 1 April, as part of EST’s extensive advice and support offerings delivered on behalf of the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government has committed to provide at least £465 million of funding over this parliamentary session to support fuel poor households. This figure was set with the aim to provide - at a minimum – a funding level for those in fuel poverty and least able to pay which at least maintains previous levels, with the flexibility to be responsive to the needs of those in fuel poverty so we can mitigate any detrimental impacts of the heat transition on fuel poverty and ensure no-one is left behind.

Our long-standing fuel poverty programmes have already supported over 150,000 households in or at risk of fuel poverty. In 2021-22, we allocated a considerably increased level of funding (£50m) for our Warmer Homes Scotland fuel poverty programme and in 2022-23 will further increase this to £55m. In 2022-23 we will also increase the level of funding individual fuel poor households could benefit from through the £64m local authority-led Area Based Schemes.

The Scottish Government’s investment has also helped to secure Energy Company Obligation (ECO) funding and we would hope to continue to do so. ECO is a UK Government scheme that delivers energy efficiency measures to fuel poor households and is funded by energy suppliers through a levy on energy bills.

Scotland has benefitted from approximately £691 million since the scheme began in 2013. If Scotland maintains its current share of ECO delivery (9%), then we would expect to benefit from a further £360 million over the lifetime of the new ECO4 scheme (from April 2022 to March 2026).

We have not yet calculated the impact of the April 2022 rise of the fuel price cap on the cost of raising households to EPC C.

The Fuel Poverty Strategy Technical Annex ( Supporting documents - Tackling fuel poverty in Scotland: a strategic approach - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) )published in December 2021 sets outs the estimated cost of retrofitting fuel poor households to meet EPC C under different scenarios.

Scottish Government analysis of the impact of the rise in the fuel price cap suggests that the proportion of households in fuel poverty in Scotland could increase to between 807,000 (32.3%) and 831,000 households (33.3%). The higher number of households in fuel poverty would therefore lead to an overall increase in the total cost for these households to reach EPC C.

Scottish Government is in the process of commissioning work which will consider revision to the EPC metrics and which in part will estimate the total cost of raising dwellings’ energy efficiency rating to meet energy efficiency targets.

Our Fuel Poverty Strategy contains a comprehensive range of actions addressing all four drivers of fuel poverty, We will keep progress towards the fuel poverty targets under review and will report every 3 years. If we consider that we need to change our approach to ensure that the targets are met, we will revise the Strategy.

To ensure that we meet our ambitious targets, we will continue to monitor rates of fuel poverty and, working with the independent Scottish Fuel Poverty Advisory Panel, we will develop an outcomes framework to assess the impact of our work.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all people living in Scotland with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) are able to access the best possible care and support, and benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and person-centred.

While the NHS Recovery Plan is not condition specific, the aim is to effect whole system recovery and support prioritisation and planning. In that respect we would expect this to directly affect neurology services and the experience and outcomes for people with neurological condition, including MS.

There is a commitment to update on the progress of the plan on an annual basis and to review the strategic plan. Work on the first annual review will commence shortly and is expected to be published in the summer of 2022.

In 2019, we published a Neurological Care and Support – National Framework for Action . The aims include improving the provision of co-ordinated health and social care services, developing sustainable workforce models and ensuring high standards of person-centred care for people with neurological conditions.

Through implementation of the framework, we have awarded £1.4m since October 2020 to fund innovative projects working to achieve better outcomes for people living with neurological conditions. Over £300,000 of this has been committed to projects which improve the health and wellbeing of people with MS in Scotland.