To ask the Scottish Government what financial impact its proposed heat in buildings bill will have on home owners. (S6O-03771)

This year’s programme for government committed to the introduction of a heat in buildings bill, which will be accompanied by a financial memorandum and all other relevant impact assessments. We intend that to be deliverable and affordable for households and businesses. We continue to offer the most generous package of funding in the United Kingdom for households to transition to clean heating, with various schemes to support those who have difficulty in paying their fuel bills. However, we also need action from the new UK Government to rebalance gas and electricity prices, which is an essential part of making the transition more affordable.

The reality is that for thousands of Victorian tenements in densely populated parts of our cities, such as Leith and Partick, and in cottages and homes across the country, the costs of meeting the standards that are outlined in the bill are not deliverable or affordable; they are of a scale that neither the individual nor the Scottish Government can ever dream of affording. Owners could, in effect, be blocked from selling their homes, which would have a catastrophic impact on the property market and on the lives of those who would be trapped in homes that they cannot sell.

Does the minister accept that the proposal would aggravate Scotland’s housing crisis? Will he commit to introducing an appropriate exemption to the proposed scheme?

I thank the member for the points that she makes. She rightly says that not all costs that are associated with our transition to a clean future can ever be met entirely by Government. However, I would add that the member and her party often come to the Parliament asking what more Scotland, and our Government, can do to meet our ambitious targets on decarbonising the country. A total of 20 per cent of the carbon emissions from Scotland come from houses, so I hope that she will not oppose every measure that is brought to Parliament to try to address the problem.

The proposed heat in buildings bill will be vital in helping us to meet our climate goals, providing energy-efficient insulation solutions and clean, green heat. Can the minister say any more about what assessment the Scottish Government has made of how that will reduce emissions and heating bills?

Our recent consultation highlighted the potential of a switch to clean heating and more energy efficient homes to reduce our exposure to the spikes in fossil fuel prices that have driven the recent surge in energy costs. Any bill that we bring forward will be accompanied by a financial memorandum and all other relevant impact assessments, which will consider those issues and impacts in more detail.