Question reference: S6W-06416
- Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 10 February 2022
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Current status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 25 February 2022
Question
To ask the Scottish Government when the proposed National Public Energy Agency will be operational; how many full-time dedicated staff it will employ; what its annual budget will be, and when it anticipates that the virtual agency will move to being a standalone organisation.
Answer
As set out in the Scottish Government's A Fairer, Greener Scotland: Programme for Government 2021-22, published on 7 September 2021, we made a commitment to create a National Public Energy Company. We will work to have a virtual agency established this year, and a dedicated physical agency by September 2025. The virtual agency will be in place throughout the transition period until the standalone Agency is in place.
This is an ongoing area of work, and as a first step we launched a consultation in December 2021 which closed on 8 February to help inform development of the design of the new body. Consultation responses are currently being analysed and further details will be released as the work evolves.