Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 23 February 2021
This has been a really good debate. I again pay tribute to the minister, Paul Wheelhouse, for the way in which he has engaged with other parties across the Parliament. That is the right way to make legislation, as was evidenced by all the amendments to the bill being dealt with in record time. I am grateful to the minister and also to the bill team, whom he rightly thanked for all the work that they have put into this important bill.
I was interested in Mr Wheelhouse’s point about the need to get buy-in, including from communities. I have experienced that. My first experience of a district heating system was many years ago, when I first visited Lerwick and was made aware of the district heating system there. What struck me then was that people there had really bought in to the district heating system. They told people about it and they were quite proud of the fact that they had that system, so I get the point that people would feel a bit concerned about that need for buy-in.
Interestingly, Gordon Lindhurst mentioned cost and looking at how we do cost. There is a district heating system in Dunfermline that is run from the Wellwood tip. It heats not only the Carnegie leisure centre and the multistorey flats, but Tesco and a social enterprise that is next to it. Yesterday, I was contacted by the social enterprise, which told me that Fife Council has three different tariffs for the different providers. Tesco is on a much cheaper tariff than the social enterprise. I will be following up on that, but it was only yesterday that I became aware of the issue. Cost is important; these things have to be affordable. That is important.