- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 21 January 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 27 January 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made an assessment of the impact on households in Scotland of the changes made by the UK Government to the housing benefit system.
Answer
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/.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 December 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 27 January 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-27374 by Alex Neil on 24 September 2009, whether it has a date by which it expects the Home Insulation Scheme to be rolled out to all areas of Scotland.
Answer
Further roll-out of the Home Insulation Scheme will depend on the financial support for the scheme from future administrations.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 December 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 27 January 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-27365 by Alex Neil on 24 September 2009, how many households the Home Insulation Scheme took out of fuel poverty in 2009-10 and what proportion of households in fuel poverty in each selected area this represented.
Answer
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.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 December 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 26 January 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-27361 by Alex Neil on 24 September 2009, what contributions have been made to the Home Insulation Scheme by (a) external bodies, including local authorities, power companies through the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target or other means and (b) housing associations, broken down by value.
Answer
Details are as follows:
| External Body | Amount |
| Local councils | £1,234,8781 |
| Energy companies (through Carbon Emissions Reduction Target) | £1,700,0002 |
| Housing Associations | £0 |
| Scottish Government “loans | £1,000,0003 |
| Scottish Government “ Energy Assistance Package Social Sector for insulation works | £87,000 |
Notes:
1. Based on returns from local councils. Includes cash estimates of in-kind contributions.
2. Energy suppliers consider the amount of their spending to achieve their obligations under the CERT to be commercially confidential. Based on the assumptions on costs for measures provided by DECC, it is estimated that energy suppliers provided in the region of £1.7 million investment through CERT towards the cost of measures provided under the 2009-10 HIS programme.
3. Scottish Government allocated £1 million for loan funding in HIS areas which is being promoted as part of the HIS offer. This is additional to the HIS 2009-10 budget.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 December 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 26 January 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of materials used to insulate homes through the Home Insulation Scheme in 2009-10 was (a) ethically sourced, (b) low carbon in production and supply and (c) reclaimed, reused or recycled and what these were.
Answer
This information is not held centrally.
The Home Insulation Scheme tendering process includes a requirement for installers to detail their policy and procedures relating to sustainability. In this section installers have provided confirmation of ISO14000 Environmental Management accreditation and in some cases Ethical Trading and Human Rights policies covering ethical trading and environmental impact. Installers are also contractually obliged to comply with British and European insulation standards and best practice guidelines.
For example, Miller Pattison, the installer in four out of the 10 local council areas covered by the 2009-10 HIS programme, highlighted that 90% of their insulation is sourced from Superglass, based in Stirling. Superglass has stated that their blowing wool and loft quilt is made from at least 80% British sourced recycled glass.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 December 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 26 January 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-38092 by Roseanna Cunningham on 21 December 2010, whether Scottish Natural Heritage considers the contribution that development proposals would make to increasing or decreasing greenhouse gas emissions when advising the Scottish Ministers on applications for planning consent.
Answer
The Scottish Government currently seeks advice from Scottish Environment Protection Agency on the carbon impacts calculated by developers for applications for consent under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989. Scottish Natural Heritage considers the broader implications of climate change and the need to generate renewable electricity when responding to consultations but does not routinely consider the effect that particular developments would have on greenhouse gas emissions.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 December 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 26 January 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of materials used to insulate homes under the Home Insulation Scheme in 2009-10 was sourced from Scottish or Scotland-based manufacturers or suppliers and what these were.
Answer
This information is not held centrally. Installers are contractually obliged to comply with British and European insulation standards and best practice guidelines.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 December 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 26 January 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive how many new jobs were generated as a result of the Home Insulation Scheme in 2009-10 and how that number was calculated.
Answer
The Home Insulation Scheme programme funded by 2009-10 Budgets supported an estimated 228 jobs. It is not feasible to distinguish between existing jobs which would no longer have been supported without the scheme and new jobs created. It should be noted that this figure is in terms of direct employment only. The figure does not account for additional indirect employment due to the extra money in the local economy from wages nor job displacement due to the diversion of government investment from other sectors.
The figure is derived from the number of people within the Energy Saving Trust directly employed to manage the project, together with full time equivalent jobs based within the Energy Saving Scotland Advice Centre network working specifically to deliver the HIS programme. This is taken together with an estimate of the number of jobs derived from installing measures based on delivery of insulation measures supported by activity under the 2009-10 Home Insulation Scheme budget, as achieved by 5 December 2010, including householder and Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) contributions. This is an estimate based on assumed costs because the actual costs are commercially confidential. The number of jobs linked to installations is derived from Energy Efficiency Partnership for Homes calculations which suggest that a market value of around £46,000 supports one job.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 December 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 26 January 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-27363 by Alex Neil on 24 September 2009, what the estimated carbon emissions reduction was of the operation of the Home Insulation Scheme in 2009-10 and how that reduction was calculated.
Answer
Reports providing an overview of all Home Insulation Scheme activity, including in regard to estimates of emission reductions are published monthly on the Energy Saving Trust website
http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk.
It is estimated that measures installed as a result of installations arising from 2009-10 budgets will achieve a reduction in carbon dioxide of 160,763 tonnes over the lifetime of the measures. Carbon dioxide savings are calculated using the OfGem Carbon Emission Reduction Targets scheme submission calculator. The lifetime of measures is assumed to be 40 years.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 December 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 26 January 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive whether measures and safeguards were put in place to ensure that the external partners selected to help deliver the Home Insulation Scheme in 2009-10 were based close to the area in which the insulation work was undertaken and, if so, what those were.
Answer
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.
