Chamber and committees

This information is not held centrally.

No client contribution is required for loft insulation top-ups provided under the Home Insulation Scheme. In the case of virgin loft and cavity wall insulation, if the tenant of a private landlord is within a priority group under the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) scheme then no client contribution is required.

Client contributions are required for virgin loft and cavity wall insulation measures where the household is not in a priority group under CERT. These contributions are collected by installers and while a sample of payments is checked for audit purposes information on the extent of client contributions is not systematically collected from installers by the managing agent.

The anticipation is that private landlords will normally pay any financial contribution towards the cost of insulation measures in cases where such a contribution is required. However, the tenant would be given the option to pay this contribution if the landlord refused to do so.

Loft and cavity wall insulation, which is prioritized under the UK Government''s Carbon Emissions Reductions Target scheme is the main focus of insulation measures under the Home Insulation Scheme (HIS) and is not appropriate for many hard-to-treat homes. However, within HIS areas, owners of hard to treat properties have been offered support to install such measures where these are appropriate. For example, properties that are of solid brick or stone walled construction, or those with timber frame cavities, are normally regarded as hard to treat, but may require measures such as loft insulation. On this basis, 32% of HIS insulation measures have been installed in hard to treat properties.

Owners of hard to treat properties in HIS areas have also been assisted in a range of other ways, including through energy efficiency advice, benefits and tariff checks to increase incomes and tackle fuel poverty (through the Energy Assistance Package), heating systems and other measures (through the Energy Assistance Package, where households are eligible) and interest free loans for more expensive energy efficiency measures.

The breakdown is as follows :

Percentage of Home Insulation Scheme (HIS) 2009-10 Budget Allocated

Category
A/B - insulation materials/labour1	35%
C “ publicity and promotion	3%
D “ administration2	7%

Notes:

1. Information is not collected on the breakdown between labour and materials costs. Includes enabling fund to assist in installation costs, e.g. loft clearance, reduction of installation costs in island areas. Does not include funding for insulation measures funded under CERT or from householder contributions.

2. Covers central managing agent staff and IT.

The remainder of the HIS 2009-10 budget has been allocated to support delivery costs (48%) which covers the costs incurred by the Energy Saving Scotland Advice Centres in providing and managing teams of energy assessors to engage with households living in the 180,000 houses in the HIS areas covered by the 2009-10 programme in order to generate uptake of insulation measures and provide services on the door step. This included the delivery of services such as energy efficiency advice, home energy checks and referrals to a range of energy efficiency and fuel poverty programmes. The remaining 7% of the budget is allocated to provision of other energy efficiency measures, including loans.

The £15 million budget for the Home Insulation Scheme was used to support a first phase of activity covering 95,000 houses in 10 local authority areas, together with a second phase of activity covering a further 85,000 houses in additional areas within those 10 local authority districts. Based on information provided by these local authorities, complementary investment of £76,593 was provided by local authorities for publicity and promotion of these schemes. This includes local authorities'' own estimates of the cash value of support that was provided in-kind.

The Home Insulation Scheme (HIS) achieved its target of ensuring that all dwellings in the identified areas were visited and free or discounted loft and cavity wall insulation measures and other services, where appropriate, offered to those households which it was possible to contact after three visits.

Our draft report on proposals and policies sets out a series of milestones for Scottish homes. This includes for every home to have loft and cavity wall insulation, which is cost-effective and technically feasible by 2020.

Installers under the HIS are contractually obliged to comply with British and European insulation standards and best practice guidelines.

The breakdown is as follows :

(a) 10,581 households had at least one insulation measure installed that was fully paid for under the Home Insulation Scheme (HIS).

(b) 3,020 households had at least one insulation measure installed that was partly paid for under HIS.

These figures are based on delivery as at 5 December 2010, within HIS areas funded from 2009-10 budgets. A household may have had both a partly paid and a fully paid measure installed; if so, the household will be counted in both of the above figures.

The Home Insulation Scheme (HIS) provides intensive promotion of a range of energy efficiency programmes and related support to householders on the door-step in specific areas to assist in tackling climate change and fuel poverty and increase Carbon Emissions Reduction Target investment in Scotland. In addition to insulation measures, HIS ensures that households in targeted areas are also systematically offered:

Energy efficiency advice linked to Home Energy Checks;

Benefits and tariff checks to increase incomes and tackle fuel poverty (through the Energy Assistance Package (EAP))

Heating systems and other measures (through EAP, where households are eligible)

Interest free loans for more expensive energy efficiency measures, for example, in hard to treat properties.

There were 14,416 installations of Home Insulation Scheme insulation measures in the period to 5 December 2010. Reports providing an overview of all Home Insulation Scheme activity, including referrals to other programmes and support are published monthly on the Energy Saving Trust website at http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk.

Participating areas were announced on 6 October 2010. Details are as follows:

Local Authority	Properties	Area
Aberdeen City	8,700	Torry, Nigg and Cove
Aberdeenshire	5,590	Fraserburgh
Argyll and Bute	2,345	Milton and Ardenslate, Dunoon
Dundee	727	Watson Street, Wellgate, Crescent Lane, Hilltown West
East Ayrshire	5,500	Rural West Kilmarnock
East Dunbartonshire	3,000	Within East Dunbartonshire (to be targeted via thermal imaging)
East Lothian	6,100	Musselburgh
East Renfrewshire	1,789	Barrhead, Busby, Clarkston, Giffnock, Neilston, Thornliebank
Edinburgh	5,920	Tollcross
Eilean Siar	10,450	Lewis and Harris
Falkirk	3,000	Stenhousemuir, Larbert and Rural North Falkirk
Fife	24,000	Dunfermline
Glasgow	6,740	Dennistoun and Kelvindale
Highland	12,458	Badenoch & Strathspey, East Sutherland and Edderton and Skye
Inverclyde	2,000	Upper Port Glasgow
Midlothian	506	Pathhead
Moray	260	Forres
North Ayrshire	4,443	Stevenston
North Lanarkshire	564	Salsburgh
Renfrewshire	9,462	Paisley (south)
Orkney	25	Westray, Sanday, Stronsay, Eday, Rousay, Shapinsay, Hoy, Ronaldsay
Perth and Kinross	6,000	Highland Perthshire
Scottish Borders	5,967	Tweedale
South Ayrshire	4,963	Annbank, Coylton, Mossblown, Tarbolton, Dundonald, Loans and Symington
South Lanarkshire	4,240	Various “ based on specific property types
Stirling	2,431	Cultenhove, Cowie, Fallin, Raploch
West Dunbartonshire	2,145	Alexandria
Total	139,325

The number of participating properties is around 6% of the Scottish housing stock.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-38532 on 25 January 2011. 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.

Home Insulation Scheme Area	Successful Bidder
Glasgow/ South Lanarkshire	Solas
Edinburgh	EAGA/ Scottish Power
Stirling	EAGA/ Scottish Power
Fife	EAGA/ Scottish Power
Dundee	Miller Pattison
Angus	Miller Pattison
Highland 1	Miller Pattison
Highland 2	Miller Pattison
Western Isles	Miller Pattison
Orkney	Insta Group