Question reference: S4W-19828
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 24 February 2014
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Current status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 10 March 2014
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what alternative funding sources it is investigating for the Home Energy Efficiency Programmes for Scotland in the event that funding from the energy company obligation declines.
Answer
The Scottish Government is currently working closely with local authorities, obligated energy companies and other delivery partners to assess the impact of the changes to the energy company obligation (ECO) on the Home Energy Efficiency Programmes for Scotland (HEEPS).
There is a fixed budget within Government and we are unable to compensate for the decline in ECO caused by Westminster policy changes. However, we will attempt to meet the challenge by exploring all possible routes of funding including Green Deal, Scottish Government funding streams for community renewables, European funding and other relevant public and private sources of finance.
Longer term, we have set out our commitment in Scotland’s Future about what we would do in an independent Scotland. We plan to remove certain obligations from energy bills and maintain current funding levels from central resources.