Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategy (LHEES) pilot programme: synthesis evaluation

5. Next steps

This chapter details activities carried out by the Scottish Government since the LHEES pilot programme that address some of the challenges raised through the evaluation.

The Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategy (LHEES) pilot programme has been a highly successful initiative, engaging all 32 Scottish local authorities in a unique programme to develop and test approaches for LHEES, and build capacity. This report is testament to the significant learning that has been gained by both local and national government in piloting LHEES at this scale.

Guidance and support

We have fed lessons learned through the pilots into the development of the LHEES Methodology, produced on behalf of the Scottish Government by Zero Waste Scotland in collaboration with local authorities and technical consultants. The Methodology was issued to local authorities in late 2021 and addresses many of the challenges raised in this evaluation. It provides a consistent approach through clear step-by-step guidance for each stage of LHEES.

The methodology is data-driven, and clearly sets out how to access and process relevant data to produce Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies and Delivery Plans, as well as highlighting the relevant skills and roles needed to carry out the analysis. It sets out a clear approach to handling and using data relating to LHEES, which collates the datasets required to complete the methodology into a data library, categorising them as core, additional and supplementary datasets.

Stakeholder engagement and strategic positioning

The Methodology provides guidance on the role of stakeholder engagement, and how it should be integrated into the LHEES process. This guidance is designed to support local authorities to develop Strategies and Delivery Plans that reflect the input of key stakeholders and provide a strong basis for action for local communities, government, investors, developers and wider stakeholders, pinpointing areas for targeted intervention and early, low-regrets measures.

The Methodology also provides guidance to support the alignment of national policy landscape alongside the local priorities, policies and strategies relevant for LHEES and to support the strategic positioning of LHEES amongst other local authority plans.

Data sourcing and analysis

An LHEES National Assessment is being carried out, using the LHEES Methodology together with national datasets such as Home Analytics and the Scotland Heat Map to carry out a Scotland-wide assessment of the building stock and identify initial strategic heat decarbonisation zones. As well as informing national decarbonisation planning, the National Assessment will create a central resource that local authorities can draw on to further overcome many of the data access and data sharing challenges faced by local authorities in the pilots.

Legislation and resourcing

This evaluation reinforces the view that placing LHEES on a statutory footing will allow local authorities to prioritise it internally, creating the necessary buy-in, as well as providing the weight for engagement with external stakeholders. The Scottish Government is working in partnership with local authorities and COSLA to introduce legislation to establish LHEES on a statutory basis so that Strategies and Delivery Plans are in place for all local authority areas by the end of 2023.

The evaluation shows that the grant funding provided to local authorities through the pilot programme and beyond has been an essential resource, but that a scaling up is required if we are to deliver effective LHEES by the end of 2023. The Scottish Government remains committed to ensuring appropriate resourcing of LHEES, on a consistent basis.

Conclusion

LHEES has evolved from an initial policy concept to a sophisticated, collaborative, data-driven approach for local heat and energy efficiency planning. A significant amount of time, energy and thought has been put in by local authorities, the Scottish Government and the many other stakeholders involved. This has resulted in clear guidance for producing local Strategies and Delivery Plans that will sit at the heart of a place based, locally-led, tailored approach to the heat transition. LHEES will have a core role in ensuring that by 2045, Scotland’s homes and buildings are cleaner, greener, easy to heat, and are no longer contributing to climate change.