The Scottish Government published its Consultation Analysis Report and response to the Heat in Buildings Bill consultation on 29 January 2026, and confirmed that no Heat in Buildings Bill will be introduced during the current parliamentary session1. In a letter to Ariane Burgess MSP, Convener of the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee, Cabinet Secretary for Housing Màiri McAllan said the draft Buildings (Heating and Energy Performance) and Heat Networks (Scotland) Bill would be introduced "as early as possible in the next Parliament, subject to the outcome of the 2026 Scottish Parliament election"1.
The consultation itself was published on 18 November 2025, alongside the draft Bill and accompanying Explanatory Notes1. The Cabinet Secretary wrote that the views gathered through the consultation "have played a vital role in shaping" the draft legislation1.
"While we will not introduce a Heat in Buildings Bill during this Parliamentary session, our commitment to decarbonising heat in buildings by 2045 remains firm."
The letter also states that "the continued delays to the publication of the UK Government's Warm Homes Plan" are "deeply disappointing, particularly for households already facing rising energy bills and financial strain"1. The letter does not set out what the Warm Homes Plan delays consist of, and no date has been reported for its publication.
The letter was copied to Edward Mountain MSP, Convener of the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee1. The Cabinet Secretary offered to discuss the plans further at Committee1.
Why it matters for households
The draft Bill covers building heating and energy performance, and heat networks, which are the shared pipe systems that supply heat to groups of buildings. For a household, the practical effect of the announcement is timing: the legislation that would set standards for how homes are heated and how well they perform will not reach the Scottish Parliament before the election, so any duties or deadlines it would create cannot begin their passage until after that vote1.
The 2045 decarbonisation commitment is unchanged in the letter, but no interim dates, standards or support arrangements for households are given in it1. The consultation analysis and the Government's response to it are now published, which means the responses gathered in late 2025 are on the record, but the letter does not summarise what changed in the draft as a result1.
Scotland's building standards, heat policy and any related grant funding sit with the Scottish Government under devolved powers, which is separate from the UK Government's Warm Homes Plan referenced in the letter1. The interaction between the two has not been set out.
What happens next
The draft Buildings (Heating and Energy Performance) and Heat Networks (Scotland) Bill, published on 18 November 2025, remains a draft1. Introduction is intended as early as possible in the next Parliament, subject to the outcome of the 2026 Scottish Parliament election1. No date has been reported for the UK Government's Warm Homes Plan1.