³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ

Clean heating system maintenance costs will vary depending on factors including the type of system and usage. We are proposing a technology-neutral approach to decarbonising homes across Scotland, with homeowners able to choose the technology which is right for them. We do not expect the cost to households of maintaining a clean heating system to be significantly different from what they would pay for a polluting heating system. The estimated maintenance costs in existing homes in 2020 used by the Climate Change Committee Sixth Carbon Budget, and developed with latest available evidence and input from a range of industry stakeholders, are the same (£100 per year) for both air source heat pumps and gas boilers. Of course many low income households rent their properties through private or social landlords, and while these maintenance costs will be comparable to those living in owner occupied homes, they will typically sit with the landlord.

As highlighted in the Heat in Buildings Monitoring and Evaluation Framework release from 28 November, existing data on further and higher education enrolments and apprenticeship starts may give an indication of the scale of the skills pipeline for the sector, however since educational groupings can be quite broad, there are data limitations. The Scottish Government will continue to engage with the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), Skills Development Scotland (SDS) and post-school learning and training providers to better understand those who complete courses that are relevant to the framework. Destinations data can then be analysed to better understand outcomes for these students.

Applications to the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan Scheme can be unsuccessful due to the failure of a credit check. Credit checks are only carried out when an applicant is requesting loan funding.

An application may also be declined if the application fails to meet the conditions of the scheme. For example, if the applicant were to apply to use a non-accredited installer or if the measures applied for were not recommended for their property.

As we continue to engage with the sector, if a need to collect this information emerges then we will consider it.

The objective of the Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan Scheme is to support the installation of energy efficiency and clean heating measures amongst owner occupiers.

We use a number of metrics to monitor the scheme with particular focus on the number and value of grants and loans paid against the schemes allocated budget.

Our approach to monitoring our delivery schemes is set out in our recently published .

The Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan scheme is open to all domestic owner-occupied households in Scotland.

The rural uplift to the HES Grant and Loan is available to all island households, as well as households with a rural classification of 7 or 8 within the Scottish Government 8-fold Urban Rural Classification. It is also available to households with a rural classification of 6 if their postcode is registered as off-gas on the Xoserve off-gas list.

The following table sets out the total number of rural uplift applications approved, and the total number paid through the HES Grant and Loan Scheme between September 2022 and October 2023, broken down by local authority area.

Applicants have 9 months to complete works and claim their funding from the date that their funding application is approved. This means that payments to applicants are often made in the months following their application approval, which is why the numbers paid will not be equal to the numbers approved.

From the launch of the Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan Scheme in December 2022 to September 2023, 1013 unique installers were listed on applications to the scheme.

The following table shows the number of unique installers that have been listed on applications to the scheme in each local authority area:

As set out in our consultation on Proposals for a Heat in Buildings Bill, the Scottish Government wants buildings across Scotland to be using clean heating systems by 2045. Clean heating systems are systems which do not produce greenhouse gas emissions at the point of use within a building, and the range of technologies would include individual heat pumps, communal clean heating systems within a building, connection to a heat network, smart storage heaters or other electric heating systems, and may also include heat from renewable hydrogen in some areas. Our technology-neutral approach deliberately avoids prescribing the use of one particular type of clean heating system, and instead gives building owners the option to choose whichever system best suits their needs.

We are aware that a limited number of properties may not have suitable clean heating options available to them immediately – for example, as a result of building fabric, construction type or location. We are seeking views in our consultation on what flexibility to provide these properties, and also considering the development of an assessment tool which would help owners understand what types of clean heating systems would be the most suitable for their property.

Energy Savings Trust administer a number of Scottish Government heat and energy efficiency funding schemes through a competitively procured contract. The fee charged by EST is not broken down into staff and IT categories.

The Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan Scheme was launched in December 2022. The cost to operate the scheme in the 2022-23 grant year (December 2022 – March 2023) was as follows:

Scheme Management and Application Fees paid to EST: £647,044

The cost of Scottish Government Staff time associated with the operating of the scheme was estimated to be around: £60,000.