Edinburgh lagging behind Glasgow in energy-efficient homes as Capital receives far fewer net zero grants

Edinburgh is lagging behind Glasgow in energy-efficient, green social housing, a Lothian Tory MSP has claimed.

Miles Briggs said in the last two financial years Edinburgh had been awarded a total of 116 grants through the Scottish Government’s Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund, while Glasgow received 7,260. The fund gives grants to social housing landlords across Scotland to install zero-emission heating systems and energy efficiency measures. It has £200 million available up to 2026.

Some 56 grants were made in the Capital in 2021/22 and a further 60 in 2022/23; Glasgow’s 7,260 grants were all made in 2022/23. .

Glasgow has a higher number of social housing landlords than other parts of Scotland, but Mr Briggs said that did not account for the disparity between Glasgow and the rest of Scotland, with Glasgow accounting for 65 per cent of all grants.

He has tabled a question in the Scottish Parliament to ask why Glasgow has awarded a disproportionately high number of grants for retrofitting homes to make them more energy efficient and green.

The figures were disclosed in a parliamentary answer at Holyrood by Patrick Harvie, the Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings. He said the Social Housing Net Zero Heat fund had awarded grants for the retrofit of a total of 11,662 homes since its creation in August 2020 and March 31, 2023.

Several other areas of Scotland, both urban and rural, have also received more grants than Edinburgh under the scheme. Dundee received 466 grants since the scheme was launched, Dumfries & Galloway 824, Falkirk 128, North Lanarkshire 269 and Scottish Borders 177. Edinburgh did not receive any grants in the first year of the fund, so its 116 over 2021/22 and 2022/23 is the the total number of grants in the Capital up to March 31, 2023.

Mr Briggs said: “The massive disparity between Edinburgh and Glasgow in the number of homes which have been retrofitted through the Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund is very concerning.

“Social housing in Glasgow now has a much higher level of energy efficiency than in Edinburgh, who will be lagging behind due to lower levels of funding.

“I understand that Glasgow has a higher number of homes that are eligible for funding, but this does not account for the difference in number of grants awarded.

“I have tabled a question at parliament to discover why Glasgow has received significantly more grants for retrofitting homes than the rest of Scotland.”