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The recruitment and appointment of children’s panel members is the statutory responsibility of the National Convener of Children’s Hearings Scotland (CHS). A 2022 recruitment campaign is underway. The 2021 recruitment campaign for panel members won a Scottish Public Services Award for communications.

Scottish Government officials hold regular sponsorship and accountability meetings with CHS. Monitoring information on performance against agreed indicators and finance are routinely provided to the Scottish Government. The Scottish Government has received no information that would indicate that there are significant concerns regarding the recruitment of new volunteers, or regarding any CHS internal processes.

Although Scottish Ministers are not responsible for day to day operational matters of public bodies, and Ministers neither direct nor guide the National Convener in relation to specific statutory functions, I have asked officials to make enquiries with CHS for any further information.

CHS have advised that they are not aware of anyone raising concerns regarding this year’s recruitment process, or any failures of internal processes. CHS reported some minor revision activity on internal policies, which has either been completed or is on schedule.

The Scottish Government has committed to invest at least £1.8 billion in heat and energy efficiency over the course of this parliament. This funding is delivered via a range of support options, which are available to households across Scotland, including those in rural areas.

The priority for our delivery programmes is to reduce fuel poverty and accelerate progress with decarbonisation of heating. Rural areas of Scotland experience higher rates of fuel poverty and already benefit from additional investment in energy efficiency measures. In line with our Heat in Building Strategy, we have expanded our offer to provide more whole house retrofits and a wider range of support for fuel poor households in rural areas.

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 maintained funding at £64 million for our local authority led Area Based Schemes (an additional £9 million compared with 20-21).

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 will consult on a draft Islands Energy Strategy in 2022, setting out its approach to supporting island residents and communities to develop renewable energy solutions that can promote resilience, enhance sustainability, and meet their energy needs now and in the future. As part of this work, we will review the evidence base and options for an "islands uplift" across our delivery programmes as part of our commitment to provide additional support for rural and island homes for heat and energy efficiency.

This information is available here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-202100267407/ .

The Scottish Government’s Home Energy Scotland (HES) loan scheme provides up to £15,000 for energy efficiency improvements plus up to £17,500 for zero emissions heating and micro-renewables and up to £6,000 for battery storage. Cashback grants are available with the loans of up to £7,500 on zero emissions heating systems plus up to £6,000 for energy efficiency measures.

We have committed to replacing the cashback offer in 2022-23 with a grant scheme to support energy efficiency and zero emissions heat improvements.

There is no distinction between objectives and deliverables of the £500 million Just Transition Fund for year one, and the £20 million allocation for year one.

Detailed policy design work and implementation planning, supplemented by a programme of engagement, is underway ahead of the new financial year. This will inform the objectives and deliverables of the Just Transition Fund. Further updates will be shared as this engagement develops. We will work collaboratively, continuing to engage and co-design this Fund with partners in region throughout the lifetime of this ten-year £500 million commitment to the North East and Moray.

The Scottish Government is currently working closely with Building Digital UK (BDUK) to develop our understanding of what Project Gigabit means for Scotland. To date, Project Gigabit has primarily focussed on England with the procurement approach developed for the supplier market there. We want to be sure that any approach works in a Scottish context and is tailored to extend future-proofed digital connectivity across the country.

We hope to publish a Gigabit Open Market Review in the coming weeks which will inform any future gigabit procurement strategy for Scotland. We want to ensure that Scotland receives a fair share of Project Gigabit funding and support – a share commensurate with the scale of the challenge we face.

The Scottish Government recognises the vital importance of 4G for remote rural and island communities. Mobile telephony is however, as with wider Telecommunications policy, a Reserved subject area and the responsibility of the UK Government. The installation of alternative power supplies at mobile sites is a decision made by each operator.

The Scottish Government work closely with the UK government and operators to ensure that increasing resilience of the telecoms network in Scotland is a priority.

The Scottish Government is aware of a small number of people who have raised concerns based on how they see rights requirements pertaining to volunteer roles with Children’s Hearings Scotland.

Officials and Ministers have extensively engaged on this subject with individual correspondents and Members on multiple occasions over the course of the last Parliament. Detailed information and reassurance on the context of relevant legislation, the autonomy of statutory office holders like the National Convener and the appropriate demarcation of roles in relation to the sponsorship of Non Departmental Public Bodies have been covered extensively. Children’s Hearings Scotland have communicated their position. Ministers have no locus in these matters.

Once the new standard comes into force, the Scottish Government will collect data on fire alarms in Scottish homes in future iterations of the Scottish House Condition Survey. Following the Scottish Government’s mass media awareness campaign in 2021, we know there are high levels of awareness and home-owners will have taken steps to fit the necessary alarms.

Information on the number of homes that have interlinked fire alarms is not currently collected as part of the Scottish House Condition Survey. This standard has already applied to private rented homes and new build homes for over a decade. Social landlords also have a programme of works underway to ensure their tenants have the necessary alarms fitted.

The Scottish Government has issued a letter to the Scottish Law Commission on 10 January 2022, commissioning a Law Reform Project to provide a draft Bill that would implement the recommendations of the Scottish Parliamentary Group on Tenement Maintenance.