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We have regular meetings with a range of stakeholders to discuss the energy company obligation (ECO) and to work closely with delivery partners on the Home Energy Efficiency Programmes for Scotland. Stakeholders with whom we engage regularly include, amongst others: local authorities, registered social landlords, the National Insulation Association, energy companies, the Fuel Poverty Forum and its energy company obligation (ECO) sub-group. We also keep stakeholders up to date on ECO activity through our regular Scottish Government ECO newsletter and we encourage stakeholders to join the newsletter’s mailing list.

These contacts will inform our response to the UK Government’s consultation on their proposed changes to the ECO.

On fuel poverty: the UK Government’s proposed changes to the energy company obligation (ECO) will have implications for the delivery of our Home Energy Efficiency Programme (HEEPS). We are working closely with delivery partners to better understand their likely impact. We will continue to use our HEEPS funding to maximise leverage under ECO and have relaxed the criteria for accessing Scottish Government funding to ensure support for those in fuel poverty continues.

On emissions targets set out in the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009: we expect the policy framework we have developed, as set out in the second Report on Proposals and Policies will allow us to meet our targets. Its flexibility allows us to deliver more where we can and we will continue to seek additional ways in which we can maximise the impact of the investments we make. Scottish households have received a greater than pro-rata share of the measures delivered under ECO.

The Procurement Reform (Scotland) Bill introduced to the Scottish Parliament on 3 October 2013 will establish a national legislative framework for sustainable public procurement that supports Scotland’s economic growth through improved procurement practice. It will help tackle unnecessary inconsistencies for suppliers doing business with the public sector and will help ensure that doing business with the public sector can be simple, transparent and more accessible to suppliers, especially SMEs.

Funding for the area based element of our Home Energy Efficiency Programmes for Scotland (HEEPS) is distributed to local authorities. It is for them to determine the most suitable means of procuring the work. However, as part of the criteria for accessing HEEPS funding we are clear that projects should support the local economy as much as possible. Councils are requested to provide details on how their proposed schemes support local economic activity, small businesses and provide opportunities for apprenticeships. This information is considered as part of our assessment of requests for HEEPS funding.

The Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing is anticipated to be published shortly following constructive discussions and engagement with the representatives of social landlords and local authorities.

The Housing (Scotland) Bill amends the powers of local authorities to require home owners to carry out work on homes that are below tolerable standard, and this includes homes that lack satisfactory thermal insulation. The Bill also includes a provision to enable local authorities to pay missing shares where a majority of home owners agree common works under the Tenement Management Scheme, and this can include works to install insulation.

Some 1,500 households are reported by energy companies to have received installations in the period to end January 2014. Measures installed include: gas boilers, full gas central heating systems, heating controls, loft insulation and cavity wall insulation. The Scottish Government will publish a fuller breakdown by measure once this has been provided by all energy companies participating in the Affordable Warmth scheme.

The Scottish Government provides funding to local councils through area based schemes to support households to undertake enabling works to prepare for energy efficiency. In 2014-15 fifteen per cent (15%) of the £60 million area based scheme budget is available to councils for enabling works. This can cover the costs of loft clearance and other preparatory work in advance of the installation of energy efficiency measures.

The Scottish Government is currently working closely with local authorities, obligated energy companies and other delivery partners to assess the impact of the changes to the energy company obligation (ECO) on the Home Energy Efficiency Programmes for Scotland (HEEPS).

We will continue to use our HEEPS funding to maximise leverage under ECO and have relaxed the criteria for accessing Scottish Government funding to ensure support for those in fuel poverty continues.

Longer term, we have set out our commitment in Scotland’s Future about what we would do in an independent Scotland. We plan to remove certain obligations from energy bills and maintain current funding levels from central resources.

Scottish Government funding for area based fuel poverty schemes is distributed across all councils in Scotland. £42 million of the £60 million available is allocated on the basis of need which takes into account levels of fuel poverty and reflects the different types of properties within rural areas. This ensures that funding is directed to those areas most in need of assistance, including our rural areas.

This year’s funding will support delivery in off-gas grid areas by providing specific funding to be used to deliver heating and insulation improvements for low-income and vulnerable households who meet the affordable warmth eligibility criteria in off-gas grid properties.

We are also considering how we can use our funding programmes to best meet the needs of off-gas grid households.

We are in regular discussion with the delivery partners for the Home Energy Efficiency Programmes for Scotland (HEEPS), including local councils, to assess the likely impact of the UK Government’s proposed changes to the energy company obligation (ECO) on HEEPS and how to mitigate this.

ECO is a UK Government scheme which places legal obligations on energy companies. It operates across England, Scotland and Wales and there is no separate funding allocation for Scotland. Statistics on delivery of ECO over the first nine months of the obligation show that Scotland has received a greater than pro-rata share of the measures funded by energy companies under the obligation across Great Britain.