We are currently in Recess at Holyrood, which means I am out and about in the Highlands and Islands for a couple of weeks, where the cost of living remains high on the agenda for many folk I have spoken to.

Issues around poverty are always on my radar, so I was pleased to get assurances, just before recess, that the revised Heat in Buildings Bill will take into consideration the need for households in places like Orkney to rely on alternative heating methods. This is something I have flagged up previously, and which I feel needs to be recognised, regardless of the high fuel poverty rates in Orkney and across the region.

It is fortunate that we have, in Alasdair Allan, an Acting Climate Minister that represents an island constituency – Na h-Eileanan an Iar. He understands the situation, and I was pleased to hear him recognise that the best clean heating solutions for island and rural areas might vary from what is best for our towns and cities.

His pledge that the Scottish Government will take ‘a technology-neutral approach’, which will enable building owners in all areas to choose technologies that are right for them and their homes, will surely be welcomed in Orkney and elsewhere in the region.

Alasdair said he was clear that the Scottish Government needs to recognise the differences that exist across the country and the particular problem of fuel poverty, which the Scottish Government in no way wishes to exacerbate through this process.

He was speaking after his statement to the Holyrood chamber confirming that the Scottish Government will introduce a Heat in Buildings Bill before the end of this parliamentary session – which will in turn signal the 2026 Scottish Parliament elections.

The bill will create a target for decarbonising heating systems across Scotland by 2045. It will send a signal to homeowners, landlords and other building owners about the need to prepare for change, while outlining collective actions to help make that happen.

However, while the Scottish Government will do all it can in this area, there are several vital actions that the UK Labour government could take to accelerate building decarbonisation and support the legislation.

Given the message I constantly hear about the price of electricity in this region that is full of renewable generation, it is long past the time for the UK Labour government to clarify its intentions on issues such as rebalancing policy costs from electricity to gas bills to incentivise the installation of clean heating in a way that alleviates fuel poverty, and on reform of the Great Britain energy markets to support a reduction in the cost of electricity more generally.

Without those and other changes, the Scottish Government continues to be severely hampered as it attempts to deliver what will be a significant change across the country.

It is yet another example of having the energy but needing the powers over it so we can make it work for the people of Scotland.

This is a regular column by SNP MSP Emma Roddick. All Highlands and Islands MSPs have been offered the same space in The Orkney News to share their personal views.