Chamber and committees

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.

This information is not held centrally. Installers are contractually obliged to comply with British and European insulation standards and best practice guidelines.

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.

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.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-38535 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.

All private sector households in Home Insulation Scheme (HIS) areas are eligible to receive free loft insulation top-ups. Households will be offered such insulation if their homes require it and are suitable to take this measure.

Eligibility for virgin loft and cavity wall insulation within HIS areas is determined by the UK Government''s Carbon Emissions Reductions Target (CERT) scheme. Under that scheme, households assessed as priority are generally eligible for free virgin loft and cavity wall insulation. Some households in larger properties may be asked to pay a charge for excess meterage. Households are priority under CERT if they are in receipt of certain benefits or over 70 years of age. Other households are assessed as able to pay and therefore eligible for measures at reduced cost. Households will be offered such insulation if their homes require it and are suitable to take this measure.

Based on analysis of activity in HIS areas supported under Scottish Government 2009-10 budgets, approximately 38% of households in those areas would be assessed as priority under CERT criteria, with the remaining 62% regarded as being able to pay. On a pro-rata basis, this would indicate that approximately 70,000 households in HIS areas would be assessed as a priority case under CERT, with the remaining 110,000 households being classed as able to pay for these measures.

These figures should be regarded as a rough estimate only as it is not known whether or not the profile of households that engaged and is reflected in this analysis is fully representative of the household profile in the area as a whole.

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.