The Scottish Government published its Heat in Buildings progress report 2024 on 10 October 2024, an annual update on progress against its Heat in Buildings Strategy and Monitoring and Evaluation Framework1. The report states that the Scottish Government provided over £210 million of funding through its delivery schemes in the 2023-24 financial year1.
The report gives emissions figures for the period 1990 to 2022. Across all sectors, it records a 50 per cent reduction in estimated net emissions over that period, while emissions from buildings fell by 32 per cent1. On energy efficiency, the share of dwellings achieving an EPC rating of at least C rose between 2019 and 2022 in every tenure3:
| Tenure | 2019 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Owner-occupied | 41% | 48% |
| Private rented | 40% | 50% |
| Social rented | 56% | 65% |
On clean heating, the report estimates 36,000 domestic properties have heat pumps, around 1.4 per cent of all dwellings, with 27,900 connected to a heat network (around 1.1 per cent) and 241,000 using other electric heating (around 9.7 per cent)3. Annual heat pump installations rose from 2,448 in 2019 to 6,388 in 2023, an increase of 24 per cent on 20223. Separate MCS data cited in the report put installations in Scotland at 7,353 between August 2023 and July 2024, against 5,526 in the same period a year earlier3. In 2023, 25 per cent of new domestic buildings are estimated to have clean heating, similar to 24 per cent in 20223.
The report lists the delivery schemes behind that funding. The Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan scheme has offered grants up to £15,000 for heat pumps and energy efficiency measures, with loans available to cover additional costs and a rural uplift of £1,500 applied to both clean heating and energy efficiency grants2. Area Based Schemes enable local authorities to design and deliver energy efficiency programmes in fuel poor areas, focused on insulation for hard to treat properties2. Warmer Homes Scotland is the national fuel poverty programme, and Home Energy Scotland provides free independent advice and referral2. For social housing landlords, the Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund provides capital grant funding for clean heating systems and energy efficiency measures2.
The report also covers the New Build Heat Standard, which it says came into force earlier this year1. Under it, no new buildings constructed under a building warrant applied for from 1 April 2024 will have heating systems such as gas and oil boilers, and will be built instead with alternatives, like heat pumps and heat networks3. The report notes that new buildings based on warrants approved before that date will still be built with polluting heating systems over the next few years3.
"This report provides important information on the progress we have made against our Heat in Buildings Strategy."
Why it matters for households
The report sets out where Scottish homes stand on the two things that determine a household's exposure to fossil fuel prices: how much energy a home uses, and what heats it. On efficiency, the majority of homes in every tenure still fall below EPC C, though the direction of travel is upward in all three3. On heating, heat pumps remain a small share of the housing stock at around 1.4 per cent, with most homes not covered by the clean heating categories the report measures3. The £210 million figure describes public spending through delivery schemes rather than outcomes per household, and the report does not state how many homes were improved with that money1.
For a household considering a change, the report confirms the shape of the support landscape rather than any individual entitlement: grants and loans through Home Energy Scotland, area based programmes, and a fuel poverty programme, each with its own eligibility2. The report does not set out rates per household or waiting times. The New Build Heat Standard changes what heating system a new home will have, but only for buildings whose warrant was applied for from 1 April 2024, so the existing housing stock is unaffected by it3.
What happens next
The report states that the next step will be to set out the long-term direction of travel and provide certainty to homeowners and the supply chain1. It says the Scottish Government consulted recently on proposals for a Heat in Buildings Bill, is completing consideration of the responses, and aims to confirm next steps shortly1. It also says the New Build Heat Standard is being reviewed to ensure it fully reflects the ongoing role of wood burning stoves and bioenergy systems, which it says many rural communities rely on1. No date for the Bill's next steps has been reported1.