The 2022 iteration of the PAS 2035 and PAS 2030 retrofit standards was issued in February 2022, carrying the reference names PAS 2030:2019+A1:2022 and PAS 2035:2019+A1:20221. The amendment sits on top of the 2019 base editions, which remain the core documents for retrofit work delivered under the Heat in Buildings Scotland national scheme1.
Within that iteration, the anticipated Scottish Matrix for Retrofit Skills and Competencies is now fully detailed, and the PAS annex document setting it out is fully adopted within the scheme's technical specification1. PAS documents are copyright protected and require a licence to access and use1. The specification states that PAS 2030 and PAS 2035 are scheduled for annual reviews and amendment, and that the purchaser reserves the right to amend the contract where the standards or their updated equivalents are amended, updated or replaced1.
The same document records that a Business, Energy and Industry Strategy (BEIS) Scottish Working Group has been created, with the potential to seek a Scottish Supplement to the PAS documents1. That work is expected to focus on three areas: Scotland's climate, climate derived construction details, and an integrated approach to skills awareness and training provision matched against the supply chain's ability to meet demand for retrofit skills1. Scottish PAS 2030/2035 standards will be adopted into delivery of the scheme once created, and the service provider is expected to join the working group set up to deliver them1. BEIS itself existed until 2023, when it was split to form the Department for Business and Trade, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology1.
The specification also sets out how the standards interact with other certification routes. Where measures not included in PAS are included in the specification, their required quality standards and installation process are governed by MCS1. The UK Government transferred MCS to the MCS Charitable Foundation and MCS Service Company in 20181. All relevant PAS 2030/2035 retrofit work under the contract must be undertaken by suppliers registered with TrustMark1.
"The 2022 iteration of PAS 2030 and 2035 was issued in February 2022 and has the following reference names: PAS 2030:2019+A1:2022 and PAS 2035:2019+A1:2022"
Why it matters for households
PAS 2030 and PAS 2035 are the standards that sit behind retrofit work carried out under government-backed energy efficiency schemes, covering how measures are specified, installed and signed off. A household having insulation, heating or glazing work done through such a scheme is, in practice, relying on these documents even though they are unlikely to see them. The 2022 amendment matters because it fixes the skills and competency requirements for the people doing that work in Scotland, and because the specification states that the 2019 editions remain the base documents on which the scheme progresses1.
For a home's energy independence, the practical effect is on the quality and traceability of the work rather than on what a household can generate or store itself. The specification requires an Energy Performance Certificate before any measures are installed, recorded on the Scottish EPC Register, and a post-work EPC on completion of the finalised set of measures, also recorded there1. It also sets out the purchaser's ambition for all fuel poor households to reach an energy efficiency rating equivalent to EPC C by 2030 and EPC B by 20401. The same document notes that evolving carbon reduction mechanisms and innovative technologies creating inter-dependent use of specific measures cannot be represented in improved SAP, RdSAP and EPC ratings under the current methodology1.
What happens next
The specification states that PAS 2030 and PAS 2035 are scheduled for annual reviews and amendment1. A Scottish Supplement to the PAS documents is anticipated, focused on Scotland's climate, climate derived construction details and retrofit skills and training provision, and Scottish PAS 2030/2035 standards will be adopted into the scheme once created1. No date for the creation of those standards has been reported. The specification also states that when EPC reform is delivered during the lifetime of the contract, the purchaser may introduce changes to scheme delivery to align with updated requirements1.