Chamber and committees

The future of the Supporting Sustainability budget is dependent on the passage of the 2011-12 budget.

As I announced on 19 January 2011, we plan to spend £5 million in 2011-12 on the New Supply Shared Equity with Developers scheme. We also plan to spend up to £2 million on the Open Market Shared Equity scheme, which is demand-led. The open market scheme will be targeted at priority groups such as social renters to help free up social rented housing for those who need it most. In addition, further new funding will be made available for the New Supply Shared Equity scheme, the level of which will depend on the bids received under the planned £50 million competitive funding arrangement.

There will also be expenditure in 2011-12 on projects being funded through the Low-cost Initiative for First Time Buyers (LIFT) schemes, which have been approved before or during 2010-11. The Scottish Government will be able to confirm the funding associated with these committed projects at the end of April 2011.

All homes provided under the National Housing Trust initiative (NHT) will be classed as private sector lets and will be available for rent at intermediate (mid-market) levels which makes them affordable to households on lower incomes, including those on housing benefit. That means that none of the NHT homes will be (a) offered for social rent through a Scottish secure tenancy or (b) made available for owner-occupiers. However, when the sale of homes is triggered between years five and 10 of the initiative, existing tenants will be given the option to buy their home before it is sold on the open market. Following exit from the initiative, homes could therefore be owner-occupied or available for continued letting.

The Scottish Government described its plans for maximising income in Scotland''s Spending Plans and Draft Budget 2011-12 and the supporting documentation.

This includes the proposal to use our powers to help increase resources in 2011-12 by increasing business rates paid by the largest retail properties, including supermarkets and out-of-town retail parks. We will seek parliamentary support for our proposal shortly.

In addition, we are maximising receipts from the sale of surplus land and buildings.

Further roll-out of the Home Insulation Scheme will depend on the financial support for the scheme from future administrations.

This information is not held centrally.

The Scottish House Condition Survey measures the impact of all energy efficiency measures installed in the housing stock each year.

In order to tackle fuel poverty, the Home Insulation Scheme provides intensive promotion of a range of energy efficiency programmes and related support to householders on the door-step in specific areas. In addition to insulation measures, HIS ensures that households that are likely to be fuel poor in targeted areas are systematically offered support from the Scottish Government''s fuel poverty programme, the Energy Assistance Package. In respect of HIS areas supported by 2009-10 budgets, this has provided:

- 4,503 referrals to benefits checks to increase incomes

- 10,419 referrals for tariff checks to reduce fuel costs

- 4,226 referrals for heating systems and other measures.

As well as contributing to the UK Government''s Housing Benefit impact study for the UK, we have carried out a Scotland specific assessment. The findings are set out in the paper entitled Housing Benefit changes: Scottish Impact Assessment, which is available at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/Housing/supply-demand/chma/marketcontextmaterials/hbchangesscottishimpact/.

The Scottish Government has carried out an assessment in our paper Housing Benefit changes: Scottish Impact Assessment which estimates that, as a result of the initial tranche of reforms to be introduced this April, 55,000 households claiming Local Housing Allowance in the private rental sector could be directly adversely affected losing an average of £10 per week. This represents around 2.4% of all households in Scotland and 97% of households claiming Local Housing Allowance.

The impact of all the Department for Work and Pensions measures, including changes to be introduced later that impact on other tenures and which may adversely affect many more households, is assessed in the paper, which is available at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/Housing/supply-demand/chma/marketcontextmaterials/hbchangesscottishimpact/.

Home energy advisers had visited 72,453 properties at least once by 31 December 2009 and completed 19,285 home energy checks. Reports providing an overview of all Home Insulation Scheme activity are published monthly on the Energy Saving Trust website: http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk.

The appointment of Home Insulation Scheme contractors followed a competitive procurement process “ as required under EU rules given the scale of the scheme “ to source the best deal possible for customers. The Energy Saving Trust, as managing agent, which conducted the procurement process, divided the contract into lots to allow organisations to tender to be the delivery partner for individual HIS areas. This provided opportunities for smaller installers, who could not bid for multiple areas, to bid for their local area if they wished.

As a result, locally-based contractors were appointed as the sole nominated installers in Orkney and Glasgow.

The most recent round of procurement also built in a requirement that bidders provide evidence of local knowledge and an ability to deliver in local areas.

Other delivery partners are by definition local, including local authorities and the network of Energy Saving Scotland advice centres across Scotland and the doorstep energy assessors who are based in the areas where they work.