Seòmar agus comataidhean

As stated in response to S6W-19919 and S6W-19920 on 9 August 2023, the 2021 Heat in Buildings Strategy estimates the cost of decarbonising Scotland’s buildings at £33 billion.

The cost of decarbonising the NHS will vary amongst individual Health Boards and types of property as there is significant variety in the size of individual buildings across the Estate. It is anticipated that many of the interventions required will result in long term savings and we will work with NHS Boards to estimate the high-level costs of key initiatives that are of national significance.

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 2021 Heat in Buildings Strategy estimates the cost of decarbonising Scotland’s buildings at £33 billion.

Costs will be dependent on the route taken to decarbonising buildings, including whether they connect to a heat network or install individual heating solutions, and the depth of energy efficiency retrofit required.

The first step is planning at a strategic level for decarbonisation pathways. Local Authorities are currently preparing Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies (LHEES) which will set out decarbonisation pathways for local areas. These will be published later this year and will inform decisions around retrofitting across the public sector estate.

In partnership with the wider public sector we will build on LHEES to fully understand the costs associated with transitioning to zero direct emission heating systems across the public estate.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-20107 on 8 August 2023. 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 following table details the number of hate crimes that included a religion aggravator in Scotland, by police division.

Table 1: Religious hate crimes by police division: 2016-17 to 2021-22

The Scottish Government does not hold the information requested, however, my letter to the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee of 28 June 2023 provided an update on the health of the tourism sector drawn from indications taken from a number of reliable sources. This points to the outlook for Scotland’s tourism sector continuing to improve, with overseas visitor numbers almost recovering to pre-pandemic levels and accommodation occupancy rates increasing over the last year. While the macroeconomic environment is challenging, with the tourism sector being more greatly impacted than other sectors by staff shortages and the cost crisis that is reducing business confidence, there are also promising indications for recovery.

We want to see a thriving short-term let and self-catering sector in Scotland. I am therefore sorry to note that 766 self-catering businesses (around 4% of those registered to pay non-domestic rates) responded to the ASSC 48-hour poll in June indicating they were considering whether to leave the sector rather than apply for a short-term let licence. This regulation is leading the way in the UK, providing assurance to guests and visitors coming to Scotland that all short-term lets must now meet safety standards to operate. Responsible businesses are likely to already comply with the licensing conditions, many of which are existing legal requirements, and therefore a combination of wider factors are probably influencing numbers deciding to leave as well as invest in this sector. We will continue to work with stakeholders and monitor trends, as part of actions linked to our Scotland’s Outlook 2030 Strategy. We’ve also separately committed to provide implementation updates on licensing and, in 2024, will update the short-term let regulation business regulatory impact assessment.

Scottish Government is consulting Bòrd na Gidhlig in support of developing the Addressing Depopulation Action Plan, building on previous engagement to understand better the linkages between Gaelic language and culture, and population retention, undertaken during the Islands Bond consultation.

We have commissioned multiple projects to explore issues that may impact on population retention and growth, including the impact on Gaelic. We have also supported Argyll and Bute Council to deliver a project across Bute, Coll, and Tiree about supporting the growth and normalisation of Gaelic usage in the islands to improve employment, economic development and social cohesion.

Scottish Government engages with local authorities about depopulation across multiple fronts including: the SG/COSLA population roundtable; the Convention of the Highlands and Islands population working group; learning from Community Settlement Officers based in local authorities. This ensures we understand local-level population challenges, to enable development of a place-based approach to tackling them. Engagement will continue prior to publication and into the first phase of delivery.

We also engaged extensively through the Islands Bond consultation with the six local authorities with islands. Lessons from this led to a range of community-based projects to inform the Action Plan’s development.

As noted in the response on 28 March 2023 to the Chair of the Just Transition Commission from the then Minister for Just Transition, Employment and Fair Work, the Supply Chain Development Programme (SCDP) seeks to maximise the economic benefit from Scotland’s annual public sector procurement (£14.5 billion in FY 20/21). It works alongside portfolio policy teams and focusses on the manufacturing opportunities that will arise in the Net Zero transition.

Its current priorities remain as set out in the letter:

• Increasing Scottish manufacturing of heat pumps and other low carbon heating;
• Maximising Scottish manufactured components in new green and blue Hydrogen supply infrastructure and the products and vehicles that will use it; and
• Increasing value-added from Scottish timber in (largely offsite) construction.

The SCDP has not set specific job creation targets for these priorities. Its purpose is to make sure that procurement opportunities are made visible to Scottish supply chains, including manufacturers in Scotland with the skills, capacity and capability to bid for, win and deliver contracts.

Fair Work continues to be a key focus for the Scottish Government in delivering sustainable and inclusive economic growth and the SCDP operates within the context of Scotland’s existing sustainable public procurement legislation. The Scottish Government’s approach to sustainable public procurement is encapsulated in national legislation which includes a sustainable duty on contracting authorities to consider in their procurements, access for SMEs, Third Sector and Supported Businesses; delivery of economic, social and environmental impact; and promoting innovation. Legislation also includes explicit requirements on public bodies to consider how they can use procurement to drive wider community benefits including jobs and training. The legislation is underpinned by national policy and tools to encourage procurement to make the best use of public money.

The Scottish Government will provide general advice to support homeowners, but it cannot provide legal advice and it cannot become involved in disputes between parties.

All registered property factors must adhere to the conditions set out in the statutory Code of Conduct (the Code) which sets minimum standards of practice. The Scottish Government prepared a revised Code in August 2021, which was designed to be clearer, to drive up standards, and to help homeowners to understand what they should reasonably expect from their property factor and how to hold them to account.

A homeowner who is dissatisfied with their property factor should make a complaint to their property factor. If the issue remains unresolved, the complaint can be taken to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber) which can issue a legally binding property factor enforcement order, if appropriate. There is no fee to make an application to the Tribunal.

The Code highlights that homeowners have a choice in who they appoint and, ultimately, they can change their property factor if they remain dissatisfied with the service they are receiving.

We remain committed to bringing forward housing legislation to deliver the new deal for tenants and homelessness prevention duties. The majority of the measures being considered for inclusion in the legislation have already been subject to consultation, and we continue to engage directly with stakeholders as more detailed work progresses.

The Government’s legislative programme for the coming parliamentary year will be announced in the autumn Programme for Government in the normal way.

Specifically on the regulatory regime for property factors, the Code of Conduct (the Code) is key to encouraging transparency and setting minimum standards of practice for registered property factors to comply with. Following a full public consultation, a revised Code was introduced in August 2021. The changes ensured that the Code remains up to date and responds to concerns raised by homeowners.