The Scottish Government published an update on progress against its Heat in Buildings Strategy on 31 October 2022, a year after the strategy itself appeared. In the ministerial foreword to that update, it set out a £1.2 million package of support for consumer-facing advice services, described as part of increased support for heat and energy efficiency measures and for those least able to pay1.
The foreword was signed by Patrick Harvie MSP, Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants' Rights. He wrote:
"That's why we have increased our support for heat and energy efficiency measures and to support those least able to pay in recent months, with a £1.2 million package of support for consumer-facing advice services."
The same foreword states the principle behind the funding: "being comfortable at home is something everyone should be able to afford", and says this will guide the transition to zero emissions heating1. The document frames the case for moving away from gas for heating partly in terms of cost, describing gas prices as "the root cause" of recent cost of living and energy cost pressures, and arguing that reducing emissions from buildings will help make energy more affordable and secure1.
The update also covers funding and advice programmes on heat and energy efficiency, support for social housing, decarbonising public buildings, supply chain work, heat networks, and local heat and energy efficiency strategies1. On regulation, it refers to improvements to existing building standards and to "measures to require zero emissions heating in all new buildings from April 2024"1.
The £1.2 million figure is given only as a total for consumer-facing advice services. The update does not break it down by service, by nation or by household, and does not state how it will be allocated or over what period. Those details have not been reported1.
Why it matters for households
Advice services are the route by which many households find out what support exists for insulation, heating systems and bills, and how to apply for it. A funding package aimed at those services is therefore about the capacity of the organisations that answer household questions, rather than a direct payment to homes. The update does not say which services receive the money or what a household can expect to be offered as a result1.
The wider context in the document is regulatory as well as financial. The commitment to require zero emissions heating in all new buildings from April 2024 concerns new build properties, not existing homes, and the update gives no detail on how it will be enforced or what it means for a household buying or building a new home1. For existing homes, the update points to advice and funding programmes rather than new obligations.
For a household considering work on its heating or fabric, the practical relevance is that publicly funded advice remains the stated channel for guidance, and that the Scottish approach is being presented as a move away from gas for heat on both cost and security grounds1. Anyone weighing up a grant-funded measure may also want to understand how public grants interact with supplier obligations, and how to check that an approach about a grant is genuine; both subjects are covered in the site's pages on combining ECO4 with other government grants and on energy grant scams. Scotland's separate social housing standard is set out in the page on EESSH, and the wider grants and schemes hub and nations hub carry the rest.
What happens next
The update states that next year will see a consultation on proposals for a Heat in Buildings Bill, and publication of a Public Engagement Strategy, among other measures1. No dates beyond those have been given, and the update does not set out a timetable for the £1.2 million advice funding1.