The Scottish Conservatives have pledged to create a £1 billion energy efficiency fund for homes across across the country in its manifesto.

In addition, the party have set out plans to build 100,000 new homes over the next five years.

While the Scottish Conservative's leader Ruth Davidson has admitted the manifesto is a programme for opposition and not government, Ms Davidson said warm housing should be a key priority for the Scottish government.

The £1bn of funding would go towards making every home have an energy rating of 'C' or better by the end of the decade.


In addition, the Scottish Conservative's believe constraints on housing allocation that arise from central legislation should be removed.

The party claims this would allow social landlords to consider income, property ownership, age or local connections when deciding who will receive a new home.

Other key pledges include reintroducing Right to Buy in Scotland, investing £300 million in improving mental health treatments and opposing a second referendum on independence.

WWF Scotland Director Lang Banks said: "We've long called for all parties to bring forward policies to improve the energy efficiency of Scotland's homes, so we very much welcome the Scottish Conservatives' pledge to significantly increase funding for this.

"Their commitment to support all homes to reach a minimum ‘C' energy performance standard would help the 1.5million households currently living in a cold home.

"It's good to see proposals to address the emissions that come from heating, but continued support for nuclear and fracking is a distraction when Scotland could be the EU's first renewable electricity nation."

(LM)