Passivhaus energy efficiency standards correspondence: FOI release

Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.


Information requested

All correspondence held about Passivhaus energy efficiency standards and how much they will cost including correspondence sent and received (including internal), briefings, minutes/notes from meetings, analysis from the last three months.

On 17 April 2025, Scottish Government officials asked if you could clarify your reference to ‘Passivhaus energy efficiency standards’ and in this regard if you were referring to the Passivhaus standard itself or to the ongoing review of energy standards within buildings regulations to deliver a Scottish equivalent to the Passivhaus standard. By reply (dated 17 April 2025) you confirmed that you were looking for information related to the ongoing review of energy standards within building regulations to deliver a Scottish equivalent to the Passivhaus standard.

Response

In response to your request, we have identified all correspondence (dated between 14 January 2025 and 14 April 2025) relating to the potential cost implications of the proposed Scottish equivalent to the Passivhaus Standard.

I enclose a copy of most of the information you requested. An exemption under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA (personal information) applies to some of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party, i.e. the names and contact details of individuals, and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles in Schedule 1 to the Data Protection Act 1998. This exemption is not subject to the ‘public interest test’, so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.

Additionally, out of scope information identified in some of the documents has been redacted accordingly.

Please note that the ongoing review of energy standards is yet to conclude and we will be consulting on the detail in Summer 2025 including a cost impact assessment at that point.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

FOI 202500462000 - Information released - Annex

Contact

Please quote the FOI reference
Central Correspondence Unit
Email: contactus@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000

The Scottish Government
St Andrew's House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG

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