Housing Secretary awaits Westminster clarity
Housing Secretary Màiri McAllan has confirmed the Scottish Government will not introduce a Heat in Buildings Bill in the current session of the Scottish Parliament, following delays to the UK Government’s Warm Homes Plan and lack of clarity on cost of energy bills.
In a statement, Ms McAllan said she would not ask the Scottish Parliament to consider such an important Bill now with little time and without a full understanding of the UK policy context, due to several key policy levers being reserved and decisions delayed.
Ms McAllan reaffirmed the Scottish Government’s commitment to decarbonising buildings in Scotland by 2045 in a way that does not exacerbate fuel poverty, and announced additional grant support for homeowners of up to £7,500 (or up to £9,000 for households in island and remote rural areas) from December to incentivise connections to local heat networks.
The Housing Secretary also said the government intended to bring forward legislation as early as possible in the next parliamentary session, subject to the outcome of the 2026 election and clarity on the UK Government position.
A draft Buildings (Heating and Energy Performance) and Heat Networks (Scotland) Bill has been published to give clarity to households and investors on future plans for legislation.
Màiri McAllan said: “Decarbonising how we heat our homes and buildings is a vital step in our efforts to tackle climate change. We must take action and in a way that does not worsen fuel poverty. The Scottish Government is fully committed to this by 2045, as set out in our draft Climate Change Plan.
“We have always been clear that our plans depend on essential clarity from the UK Government, but repeated delays to their Warm Homes Plan have left key questions unanswered – particularly on how they intend to make the switch to clean heat more affordable by reducing the cost of electricity.
“This is critical in ensuring decarbonising homes does not exacerbate fuel poverty at a time of spiralling energy bills.
“Ultimately, it is perverse that Scottish Ministers should be in the dark about plans related to Scotland’s own energy resources. If we had all the powers of a normal country – including over our own energy resources and market – we would not be in this position.
“In the meantime, we are determined to continue to press ahead with our existing decarbonisation agenda including developing heat networks as a significant investment proposition and viable heating source for households. Therefore, I am pleased to confirm the extension of grant funding for households to connect to local district heat networks, bringing it into line with grants available to install heat pumps.”
Since 2020, the Scottish Government has allocated £1.67 billion of funding through its Heat in Buildings schemes, including over £840 million for energy efficiency and clean heat projects.
Since 2020, the Scottish Government has supported an average of 15,000 households a year to decarbonise, including those in or at risk of fuel poverty and since the launch of Warmer Homes Scotland have helped over 47,000 households across Scotland to live in warmer homes that are more affordable to heat.
The draft Buildings (Heating and Energy Performance) and Heat Networks (Scotland) Bill includes:
- A heat decarbonisation target to replace direct emission heating systems in all Scottish buildings, as far as reasonably practicable, by 2045;
- A regulation-making power to set a Minimum Energy Performance Standard for owner-occupied and non-domestic buildings that use direct emission heating systems; and
- Provisions to encourage the development of heat networks, including a regulation-making power to require qualifying buildings within a heat network zone to connect to the heat network, or decarbonise their heating system
Grant support will be introduced for homeowners to enable connections to heat networks through the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan scheme.
Up to £7,500 of grant funding will now be available to homeowners, in addition to the optional £7,500 interest free loan. For those that qualify for island/remote rural uplift through the scheme, an additional £1,500 of grant funding will be available.
Gillian Campbell, Co-director at the Existing Homes Alliance, said: “This critical legislation has the potential to transform lives and communities across Scotland, cutting fuel poverty and climate emissions, whilst stimulating economic growth and job creation.
“But, creating good legislation requires proper scrutiny. As a result of repeated delays, we’re now at the stage where Parliament doesn’t have sufficient time to properly scrutinise and strengthen the Bill.
“This Bill, as currently drafted, will not drive the scale of activity needed to upgrade Scotland’s homes and meet climate change and fuel poverty targets.
“The next Scottish Government must act quickly to put the right legislation in place, and ensure time for good quality debate. In our manifesto for Holyrood 2026, we’re calling on the next Scottish Government to deliver a clear route map to warm, healthy homes by 2045. We need early sight of effective regulations, along with multi-year funding for fuel poverty and energy efficiency programmes.
“The next government must break down the barriers that prevent households, especially those in or at risk of fuel poverty, from accessing energy efficiency upgrades and clean heating. That means fully funding support for vulnerable households and providing fair financial incentives so that everyone can make the switch to clean heating with confidence
“It’s been over four years since the Heat in Buildings Strategy was published – it’s high time we started seeing action or Scotland is going to be left behind. It’s not too late – if the next Scottish Government moves swiftly to put the right building blocks in place, all of Scotland can benefit from a just transition to energy efficient homes and clean heating that leaves no-one behind and is affordable to all.”
