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I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-06258 on 15 February 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at /chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-06258 on 15 February 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at /chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-06258 on 15 February 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at /chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

This is a matter for Highlands and Islands Enterprise. The information requested is not held centrally. I have asked Stuart Black, Chief Executive for Highlands and Islands Enterprise, to respond to the member directly.

The Scottish Government does not collect or publish information about prices to install external wall insulation per meter squared. The cost of installing external cavity wall insulation will vary significantly to reflect different sizes of property, construction type, materials and overhead costs.

We obtain independent technical advice in tendering public contracts for these type of works as part of our Warmer Home Scotland service. Similarly we request and take account of information provided by our delivery partners in designing our fuel poverty and energy efficiency schemes.

The Scottish Government’s national fuel poverty scheme Warmer Homes Scotland offers to install external wall insulation for eligible households, where it is appropriate and technically feasible for the property. Most local councils include projects to deliver external wall insulation as part of their Area Based Schemes targeting fuel poor households. This is typically as provided grant-in-aid but property owners may be asked for a contribution to reflect higher individual costs associated with their home (e.g. additional repairs or for a larger detached property).

Households that are not eligible for help as part of our fuel poverty programmes can apply for a Scottish Government loan via Home Energy Scotland. Help is available with the costs of purchasing and installing energy efficiency measures worth up to £10,000 (£6,000 loan plus £4,000 cashback). Full independent advice and information is available through the website.

Having been delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, our Fuel Poverty Strategy was laid in Parliament on 9th November and subsequently published on the Scottish Government's website on 23rd December.

As required by the Fuel Poverty (Targets, Definition and Strategy) (Scotland) Act 2019, the Strategy sets out the actions we are already taking to tackle fuel poverty, as well as outlining the further measures we believe will be necessary to meet our ambitious targets for reducing fuel poverty. This includes actions to address each of the four drivers of fuel poverty: poor energy efficiency of the home; high energy costs; low household incomes; and how energy is used in the home.

Our Fuel Poverty Strategy recognises the challenges that households in Scotland’s remote rural and island communities face in heating their homes for an affordable price, including the high proportion of properties located off the gas grid. That is why the new fuel poverty definition takes account of the additional costs associated with living in these areas, as well as other unique issues they face like differences in weather and housing stock characteristics.

We are determined to address the higher levels of fuel poverty found in remote rural communities and have already taken action to ensure our energy efficiency schemes spend more per head on installations in such areas, where we know costs are higher.

Through Warmer Homes Scotland we have also made available a number of renewable heat and micro generation measures some of which may be particularly beneficial to rural and remote communities not served by the gas grid. These include: ground source heat pumps, micro-wind and micro-hydro systems.

The Energy Saving Trust publishes information on the typical range of installation costs for heating and micro renewable systems.

Installation costs for these technologies are affected by a variety of factors, including dwelling characteristics, locally available resources (such as proximity to a river) and local availability of suppliers and materials. The fact of a home being on or off the gas network does not in itself affect upfront costs for these technologies. However, the factors that do influence costs tend to be differently distributed between urban and rural areas. For example, the average floor area of rural homes is higher than for urban homes (meaning higher capacity heating systems may be required on average), and transport requirements or weather disruptions can add costs in remote rural and island settings.

We recognise the distinct challenges remote rural and island communities face in the transition to zero emissions heating. Our Heat in Buildings Supply Chain Delivery Plan will include a specific focus on developing local supply chains particularly in our islands and remote communities to help bring costs down. We will set out more details of our approach to decarbonisation in island settings in the forthcoming Islands Energy Strategy.

Through Home Energy Scotland, the Scottish Government funds interest-free loans for homeowners with cashback grants of up to £7,500 for zero emissions heating plus up to £6,000 for energy efficiency measures.

The Energy Saving Trust’s running cost information can be found at:

(a) high heat retention electric heating systems:

(b) air source heat pumps:

(c) ground source heat pumps:

(d1) micro-hydro:

(d2) micro-wind:

The Scottish Government’s national fuel poverty scheme Warmer Homes Scotland offers low-carbon alternatives, where these are technically appropriate for the property. These include High Heat Retention Electric Heating Systems, Air Source Heat Pumps, Ground Source Heat Pumps, Micro-hydro and Micro-wind systems. We have also extended the range of measures we fund through local Area Based Schemes to include zero/low carbon heating and microgeneration measures, as well as targeting hard to treat properties requiring external or complex cavity wall insulation.

Households that are not eligible for help as part of our fuel poverty programmes can apply for a Scottish Government loan via Home Energy Scotland. Help is available with the costs of purchasing and installing a heat pump worth up to £10,000 (this is made up of £2,500 loan and £7,500 cashback). Households can also apply for up to two home renewables systems per home as part of an overall loan package worth up to £17,500. More information about the cashback and loans available from the Scottish Government is published on the Home Energy Scotland website.

£200 million in grant funding is also available over the next five years through the Social Housing Net Zero Fund (SHNZF) to accelerate the delivery of energy efficient, zero emission heating systems to social housing projects across Scotland.