Hansard

The Convener Green

The next item is an evidence session on the draft Energy Performance of Buildings (Scotland) Regulations 2025. We are joined by Màiri McAllan MSP, the Cabine...

The Cabinet Secretary for Housing (Màiri McAllan) SNP

Good morning. I am pleased to join the committee today to speak to the draft Energy Performance of Buildings (Scotland) Regulations 2025, which will legislat...

The Convener Green

I will open up the questions by asking about EPC metrics and the assessment methodology. When you joined us in a previous evidence-taking session, you talked...

Màiri McAllan SNP

The home energy model is a foundational part of the proposed changes. I will point to a few things in answering your question. First, UK and Scottish officia...

The Convener Green

What are those agreed timelines?

Màiri McAllan SNP

Ross Loveridge will keep me right on this. Is it to go live on the 31st October next year?

Ross Loveridge (Scottish Government)

Yes. We are working to the same timetable, convener, because, as the cabinet secretary said, the UK Government is planning to make similar reforms in England...

The Convener Green

The next theme is the reduction in EPC validity periods, which Meghan Gallacher will cover.

Meghan Gallacher (Central Scotland) (Con) Con

The Scottish Association of Landlords is in favour of retaining the 10-year period, arguing that increased regulation incurs costs, which can then be passed ...

Màiri McAllan SNP

I will give my view on that, and then I will let my team come in with anything else that they would like to add. First, the whole thrust of our proposed chan...

Meghan Gallacher Con

That is helpful. Convener, I do not have any further questions on that.

The Convener Green

It is interesting that the majority of people have one property, but others have more than that. Do you have the data on that?

Màiri McAllan SNP

Yes. In my scribbled handwritten notes it says that, in June 2024, 76 per cent of all registrations were for one property. I will check the source of that an...

The Convener Green

That would be great—thank you very much. The possibility of going back to a 10-year validity period once people reach an EPC C rating is interesting. The ot...

Evelyn Tweed (Stirling) (SNP) SNP

Cabinet secretary, will you outline what the Government’s plans are for the training and availability of assessors to undertake the proposed new assessments?...

Màiri McAllan SNP

My colleague Ross Loveridge has already mentioned that the assessment and the pool of assessors is a UK-wide matter, so it is another part of the process on ...

Ross Loveridge

I am happy to do that. The market has been through previous changes—EPCs have been updated over time—so the assessor market is used to dealing with changes t...

Evelyn Tweed SNP

When might the training start, given that it is not too long before the regulations come into force?

Màiri McAllan SNP

I think that it has already started, to a great extent, has it not?

Ross Loveridge

Yes, it has. We are already discussing that with organisations. Versions of the home energy model are now available for approved organisations and assessor o...

Patrick Mason (Scottish Government)

As the cabinet secretary set out, the role of the assessor will not be significantly different. They will be doing much the same job, but they will need to b...

The Convener Green

Could you give us an indication of your plans for updating the auditing and assurance requirements?

Màiri McAllan SNP

Forgive me, convener, but I might turn straight to Ross Loveridge to answer that. We had a conversation about it this morning and he explained it to me very ...

Ross Loveridge

We have known for a long time—indeed, such matters were raised when the committee discussed EPCs back in January—that there have been long-standing concerns ...

The Convener Green

Will you say a little more about smart auditing, Ross? That sounds interesting.

Ross Loveridge

Patrick Mason can explain this as well. We have a system that flags errors. For example, if an assessor submitted or lodged multiple certificates—a number th...

Patrick Mason

That is exactly right. In essence, our approach involves risk-based auditing. It looks at an unlikely set of circumstances, puts rules in place around it and...

Màiri McAllan SNP

The other side of the auditing process involves the carrying out of local authorities’ enforcement obligations. Again, we are conscious of monitoring that. W...

The Convener Green

Alexander, you had questions in that area. Do you want to pursue those?

Alexander Stewart (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Con

Yes, thank you, convener. Thank you, cabinet secretary, for that insight. As you have identified, the problem is that, under the existing regulations, some c...