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The independent Scottish Fuel Poverty Forum meets quarterly. The Minister for Housing and Communities has not met the forum as a collective group but has met with individual member organisations at a number of different events. For example, the minister addressed a stakeholder event on 27 February 2009, chaired by the chair of the forum on the subject of the Energy Assistance Package and CERT delivery was discussed at the CERT Strategy Steering Group, chaired by the minister, on 27 May 2009.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-27669 on 8 October 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Scottish ministers have put in place governance arrangements with Energy Saving Trust for delivery of the Energy Assistance Package and Home Insulation Scheme. EST are responsible for delivering energy efficiency advice, managing the customer journey and referrals under EAP and share responsibility with other delivery partners for successful delivery of the package as a whole.

The terms and conditions under which the Energy Saving Trust is expected to operate in delivering the Home Insulation Scheme, and details of the service to be provided, are outlined in the grant offer letter issued by the Scottish Government.

Scottish ministers have asked the Scottish Fuel Poverty Forum to monitor implementation of the Energy Assistance Package and Home Insulation Scheme.

The applications referred to in the answer to question S3W-26888 were all at different stages of the process, but we would expect most to follow through to successful installation of measures. A minority of applications will be found not to be eligible at survey, or the applicant will decide to withdraw their application before completion. Under previous programmes it usually took an average of around six months from application to successful implementation of measures, though in 2008-09 the average time taken to successfully process applications was reduced to an average of five months.

I refer the member to the answer to the answer to question S3W-27661 on 8 October 2009 which sets out how the total grant funding for the scheme is allocated. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

A minimum of £9.1 million of government funding will be available for those Home Insulation Scheme measures which need to be the subject of a procurement exercise. That exercise will also be how the bulk of additional contributions to the scheme over and above the government''s £15 million contribution are levered.

The Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) advert excludes VAT as required by OJEU procedures, which is why the figure included in the advert differs from that in the grant offer letter.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-27676 on 8 October 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Indicative targets set for Energy Saving Trust were to achieve 75,000 individual contacts from potentially fuel-poor clients for the Energy Assistance Package (EAP) in 2009-10. It was expected that 50,000 referrals would be made under stage 2, 30,000 at stage 3 and 10,000 at stage 4. The indicative targets are for a 12 month period and it was expected that numbers would build over the year in response to colder weather, awareness of the new package and marketing activity.

The Fuel Poverty Forum recommended the Scottish Government replace the Central Heating Programme with an Energy Assistance Package that addresses both the home and the householder, and includes tariff advice, welfare benefit and tax credit advice and energy audit with access to grants and loans to improve energy efficiency. Intended outcomes of the EAP are improved energy efficiency, income maximisation and reduction of fuel bills. Installation of central heating systems is only one of the outputs contributing to these outcomes.

Stage 4 offers eligible households a menu of enhanced physical measures to improve the energy efficiency of the home. Each individual household receives a package of measures tailored to their home and these can include central heating systems, insulation and draught proofing.

Energy Saving Trust has undertaken and is planning a range of activity to market the Energy Assistance Package including a number of different direct mailings. The rising number of callers in each month to date is given in the following table.

	Enquiries to ESSacs about EAP
April	1,967
May	2,071
June	2,347
July	3,147
August	5,101
Total	14,633

 

Yes. The Energy Saving Trust is responsible for the overall management and delivery of the Home Insulation Scheme, under terms and conditions prescribed by Scottish ministers. low

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-27676 on 8 October 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.