A proposed National Retrofit Programme of Scottish homes will require a major injection of additional public money to have a real impact, according to the Scottish Building Federation (SBF).

An SBF submission to the Scottish government’s public consultation on its Sustainable Housing Strategy said buildings should be "regularly assessed for safety and energy efficiency, under a pilot scheme similar to the annual Ministry of Transport (MOT) test for cars."

SBF has "strongly welcomed" the Scottish Government’s commitment to implement a National Retrofit Programme, which is intended to bring about a "step change" in the energy efficiency of Scottish homes.

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But it has also warned Ministers "not to underestimate the scale of the challenge in putting their plans into practice."

SBF chief executive Michael Levack said: "I applaud the Scottish Government’s commitment to bring forward a National Retrofit Programme, as outlined in its consultation. This is something we in the building industry have been campaigning for long and hard.

"But if that scheme is going to transform our housing stock to make it fit for the 21st Century, it will need serious financial backing."

Under the Climate Change (Scotland) Act, the Scottish economy is required to cut carbon emissions from 1990 levels by 42% by 2020. SBF has warned that current levels of public funding for energy efficiency in homes are likely to meet only 3% of the total estimated £16bn cost of meeting the 2020 target.

Mr. Levack added: "We are suggesting a pilot 'Building MOT' scheme for public sector buildings. That would enable those buildings to be regularly assessed against minimum safety standards. But it would also help identify buildings that could benefit most from cost-effective energy efficiency measures."

(IT)