Image source, PA/Scottish Parliament

That ends our coverage of the Scottish Parliament for Tuesday 6 June.

We'll be back tomorrow morning with the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee at 10am.

Nicola Sturgeon will then be quizzed by opposition MSPs at 1:30pm in an unusual Wednesday edition of first minister's questions.

This will be followed by general questions and portfolio questions before the Scottish Parliament is suspended for the general election.

Have a lovely evening.

Image source, bbc

Housing Minister Kevin Stewart says the government has written to the current and previous UK secretary of state calling for the issue to be resolved urgently.

Mr Stewart says the government has also written to the Green Deal Ombudsman.

He says the Energy Savings Trust, external has been asked to provide support to those affected.

The minister says UK government must act on and resolve the situation and ensure it never happens again.

He says he hopes there will be satisfactory outcomes for those concerned.

Housing Minister Kevin Stewart says this matter has seen many constituents being let down by the Green Deal.

Mr Stewart says the problems have been highlighted to the UK government.

The housing minister says the "failure of this defective scheme" fully rests with the UK government.

He says the Scottish government has made every effort to try and support those affected by the scheme.

Image source, bbc

Conservative MSP John Scott says the Green Deal was launched in 2013 and strived to achieve the right balance, but it turned out it did not provide value for money.

He says a strict code of practice was put in place, but some companies ignored that.

Mr Scott cites the example of Home Energy Lifestyle Management.

He says the Green Deal Ombudsman can make companies wave charges and provide up to £25,000 in compensation.

The Tory MSP says nobody should get a raw deal when they are trying to improve their home.

Image source, bbc

In 2015, a green energy company was issued with a record fine for making nuisance sales calls.

Home Energy and Lifestyle Management (Helms), based in Cambuslang, South Lanarkshire, was fined £200,000 for breaking marketing call regulations.

An Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) investigation found it made over six million automated calls as part of a marketing campaign for solar panels.

The company blamed another firm it had hired to make calls.

The watchdog received 242 complaints between October and December 2014.

Read more here and see a video story on the issue.

Green MSP Mark Ruskell says "they say there is few things more stressful than moving house" but that this issue has left people unable to sell their houses.

Mr Ruskell says many home owners have been unable to get building warrants as a result of this.

The Green MSP says there was concerns before the Green Deal scheme was actually put in place and there was a failure to address them.

"It wasn't much of a deal and it turned out to be not very green at all," he says.

Image source, bbc

SNP MSP Clare Haughey says 60 people attended a meeting for disgruntled people who took the Green Deal in her constituency.

Ms Haughey says solar panels were fitted to rooves in "Blantyre, which is not exactly the Costa del Sol".

She says home owners were not only charged for energy used but also energy produced.

This resulted in "huge energy bills and huge debt".

Image source, Ombudsman Services

From the Ombudsman Services website, external:

"Our job is to help resolve complaints if a Green Deal Provider is unable or unwilling to help when something goes wrong with a Green Deal Plan.

"This includes complaints which have been considered by the Green Deal Provider and not resolved to the satisfaction of the customer, or, where the customer has been unable to register a complaint with the Green Deal Provider.

"We can also accept complaints where the seller or landlord of a house fails to disclose key information about a Green Deal Plan, which they should do by giving the new bill payer a copy of an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)."

Tory MSP Alexander Burnett says the green deal was set-up with the best intentions at heart and that strict processes were in place for regulating the deal.

Mr Burnett says that rogue organisations have been issued with sanctions.

SNP MSP Clare Haughey intervenes to ask what will be done about those who have already fallen foul of these organisations.

Mr Burnett says the Green Deal Ombudsman can give compensation to consumers of up to £25,000.

He says that even if a rogue organisation has gone into liquidation then consumers can still be helped.

Mr Burnett says it is right that we should aspire for all homes to meet band C or better.

The SNP MSP welcomes many of the affected constituents to the parliament.

He says the UK government must be held responsible and must compensate those affected adversely by the Green Deal.

Mr McKee says the "Green Deal mis-selling scandal" has affected may across Scotland.

He says: "We must ensure such a state of affairs must never happen again."

Mr McKee says the approval of contractors was the responsibility of the UK government and the Scottish government had no say over who is approved.

The SNP MSP says in worst case scenarios some home owners have had to have work redone.

He says he has raised awareness of the issues and encouraged home owners to come forward.

Mr McKee says many of the so-called guarantors have point-blank refused to recognise the concerns of home owners.

Image source, CENTRICA/BRITISH GAS

In 2015 the BBC reported that the government had announced it was to cease funding for the Green Deal, spelling the end for its flagship energy household efficiency programme.

The scheme offered cashbacks and incentives on such things as double-glazing, insulation and boilers.

The Department for Energy and Climate Change said it took the decision to protect taxpayers, citing low take-up and concerns about industry standards.

Labour said ministers' approach to energy efficiency had been a "failure".

Read more here.

Image source, bbc

SNP MSP Ivan McKee says: "The Green Deal scheme is a tail of good intentions badly gone wrong."

Mr McKee says householders have saught his help in his constituency due to Green Deal misselling.

He says shoddy workmanship showed people had become victim to unsrcrupulous contractors.

The SNP MSP says the scheme was poorly managed from the start.

Image source, bbc

SNP MSP Ivan McKee uses his motion to say the UK government’s Green Deal scheme was intended to help households reduce their energy bills.

Mr McKee says the public engaged with this initiative, confident that, in using contractors from the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change’s approved list of installers, they would be guaranteed good quality work.

However he says much of the work was substandard and of no economic or environmental benefit to consumers and industry-backed guarantees have proven to be worth very little.

He says the UK government needs to strengthen its consumer protection processes, and further notes calls for it to compensate the affected householders across Scotland.

Image source, Getty Images

The Green Deal - the government's flagship energy-saving programme - cost taxpayers £17,000 for each home that was improved, a watchdog found.

The National Audit Office (NAO) concluded that "the Green Deal has not therefore been value for money".

Under the scheme, householders were encouraged to take out loans to pay for measures such as insulation or double-glazing.

But only 14,000 households took up the offer, well below expectations.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) spent £240m on the programme, which ran between 2013 and July 2015.

But it did not test it with consumers beforehand, said the NAO, and the scheme saved "negligible" amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2).

Savings

The NAO report , externalsaid the parallel Energy Company Obligation (ECO) programme also increased costs for energy suppliers, and so put up household bills.

Read more here.

SNP MSP Ivan McKee will now lead a debate entitled 'UK Green Deal, Supporting Aggrieved Householders'.

Image source, bbc

Justice Committee deputy convener Rona Mackay says she agrees with Claire Baker when she says all rape should be dealt with in criminal courts.

Ms Mackay says the Victims and Witnesses Scotland Act enshrined certain rights, for example allowing some witnesses to give evidence via video link.

She says she would welcome child witnesses being able to give recorded evidence, recorded well in advance of the trial.

Justice Committee deputy convener Rona Mackay says she hopes that that this debate has got to the core of the issue.

Ms Mackay says there are highs and lows in the report.

The SNP MSP says there has been a very "gloomy view" from the committee convener Margaret Mitchell and Tory MSP Douglas Ross.

Tory MSP Oliver Mundell intervenes to say it is not just about the targets but how victims are treated and how far they have to travel.

Ms Mackay says she accepts that view but that there is no evidence that travel has an adverse affect on victim's view of the service.

Mr Wolffe says: "Without for a moment being complacent, and without failing to recognise the challenges highlighted by the committee, I'm confident in the staff and in the expertise and skill of the staff of the fiscal service."

Labour MSP Mary Fee says one concern was the loss of local knowledge.

The Lord Advocate says the national marking system can accommodate local knowledge.

Mr Wolffe says he is committed to working with others in order to secure reform.

He says he is responsible for COPFS not the justice secretary.