Regulatory Review Group minutes: March 2025

Attendees and apologies

• Professor Russel Griggs OBE, Chairman
• Fiona Richardson, Convention of Scottish Local Authorities
• Susan Love, Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
• Ewan MacDonald-Russell, Scottish Retail Consortium
• Craig Brown, Society of Chief Officers of Environmental Health in Scotland (Substitute)
• David MacKenzie, Trading Standards
• Douglas White, Consumer Scotland
• Ross Loveridge, Scottish Government
• Scott Restrick, Scottish Government
• Patrick Mason, Scottish Government
• Lauchlan Hall, Scottish Government
• David Mallon, Scottish Government
• Paul Boyle, Scottish Government
• Craig Robertson, Scottish Government
• Alex Kidd, Scottish Government (Secretariat)
• Alan Caldwell, Scottish Government (Secretariat)
• Euan Reid, Scottish Government (Secretariat)

Apologies:

• Brian Lawrie, Society of Chief Officers of Environmental Health in Scotland
• James Fowlie, Convention of Scottish Local Authorities
• Wendy McCutcheon, Scottish Government

Items and actions

Welcome, Introductions and Approval of Minutes

Professor Russel Griggs OBE welcomed and thanked attendees for participating in this virtual Regulatory Review Group (RRG) meeting. Minutes from the previous meeting of 6 February were agreed.

Approval of Deposit and Return Scheme (DRS) letter

The DRS Letter was approved, with agreement that future approval of letters would take place before meetings.

Heat in Buildings update – letter to the Cabinet Secretary

An update was provided, with recognition that the RRG letter may have helped as part of the process, and members agreed that this had been a good example of how the RRG adds value in the development of policy/regulation.

There was recognition of the importance of Net Zero, with a caveat that the policy proposals needed to be workable and that targets should not drive poorly-designed legislation.

Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) presentation

Scottish Government (SG) Officials introduced a presentation on EPC reform, explaining what EPCs were and what changes were proposed. EPCs were explained as a source of information for owners and tenants on energy performance of a property, and that the EPC was part of the Home Report. It was outlined that changes had been proposed to EPCs in response to stakeholder feedback because it was believed that they no longer delivered what was demanded, and that at present the energy efficiency rating was on cost of fuel, with no information on insulation or wider efficiency measurements. It was advised that SG consulted in 2022 and 2023 on reform, and that there was a response to the 2023 consultation in mid-January 2025. It was set out that Ministers would outline new regulations for Parliament in autumn 2025, to come into force in autumn 2026. It was explained that the register of inspections would be brought in-house for SG to manage directly with UK Government and that the onsite auding and inspection team would sit within SG for at least 2 years.

A facilitated discussion then took place where the following key points were raised:

• members raised that thought should be given to how these changes would interact with the review of the Home Report. Members were advised that work was ongoing with the working group on this
• on working with local authorities and the inspection regime, it was outlined that constructive engagement had taken place with CoSLA and Trading Standards and that further guidance would be issued. A new team in SG would be created to continue this work
• concerns were raised about the capacity of SG to manage the on-site inspection regime. Assurances were given that additional qualified inspectors would be recruited. 
• questions were raised about integration and alignment with the UK and EU, and members heard that there was a joint commitment with the UK Government on cross working, and that there was no likely barrier due to the UK single market
• on consumer impact, concerns were raised about consumer understanding of changes. There was a commitment from SG officials that engagement would take place, with SG communications colleagues, with stakeholders, including in the mortgage and letting agency sectors
• members expressed the view that this was complex, and timescales with regard to the transition phase were challenging. There was a desire for changes not to be rushed to avoid future issues, with the suggestion that phasing should be considered

Carbon Budget paper

SG policy officials provided an overview on the Carbon Budget paper, detailing that this would be secondary legislation in the Scottish Parliament. It was advised that there was an intention to consult on a draft Climate Change Plan at the end of this stage, as one step. It was outlined that 5-year carbon budgets were a replacement for annual targets, which were repealed in 2024 and that, working with the Climate Change Committee, the SSIs would set out what the overall ceiling should be. It was hoped that the Scottish Parliament would approve carbon budgets by autumn 2025. The commitment is that net zero would be achieved by 2045.

Members asked what this meant for the RRG and it was advised that the purpose of the discussion was to highlight what carbon budgets were and to outline the commitment to conducting impact assessments on the changes, and also on the Climate Change Plan. Members advised support of moving to 5 year budgets but also expressed concern at the timescales and the ability to practically achieve the proposed changes within the timeframe.

SG officials were invited to return to the RRG when the plan was at a more advanced stage to update members on progress.

UK Government Action Plan

After discussion on the UK Government Action Plan, there was a consensus of members that there was no need for the RRG to respond, but that they should note the plan and watch as it progresses.

Next steps/AOB

• Russel is meeting with the Deputy First Minister on Tuesday 1 April. Ahead of this, members were asked to provide Russel with good one word answers on how regulation wins votes.
• Russel is meeting with BSI/UKAS virtually on 17 April
• a meeting is being arranged with the Chair of the Regulatory Policy Committee (RPC)
• Craig Robertson informed members that the final New Deal for Business Group (NDBG) meeting was taking place on 26 March, with the final report due in April. Members were advised that the work of the NDBG would continue, and that structures were being designed to continue progress and support the RRG. He also advised that the SG policy team would look at ways to improve existing the stock of regulation over coming months

The next meeting will take place in person on Tuesday 29 April 2025.