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In the Scottish Government''s draft budget for 2010-11, published on 7 September, £15 million has been allocated to the Home Insulation Scheme in 2010-11.

Households living in hard-to-treat properties will be assisted under the Home Insulation Scheme (HIS) through the provision of energy audits, benefits advice and social tariff checks. Figures for the number of such properties assisted will not be available until HIS delivery has begun and monitoring and evaluation has taken place. However, HIS will focus on the delivery of insulation measures such as loft and cavity wall insulation and for this reason we have selected areas which offer greater potential for these measures.

All households within Home Insulation Scheme (HIS) areas are eligible to receive insulation measures either free, or at a reduced cost compared to the normal market cost of installation, providing that their house is suitable for the relevant measure. While able-to-pay households will receive insulation at reduced cost, they will be required to make a financial contribution to the costs of installation, if they wish to receive the measures.

At this stage, it is not possible to estimate how many households will be eligible to receive reduced-cost insulation measures under HIS in the areas selected for 2009-10, as opposed to those eligible for free measures, and what proportion of households in those areas each group represents. Eligibility for free measures is determined both by ability of a property to take HIS measures and the socio-economic status of the householder. When HIS is fully underway and data is being collected for monitoring and evaluation purposes it will be possible to provide more informed estimates.

Our target date for completion of door-step assessments of all eligible homes under the first phase of the Home Insulation Scheme (HIS) is 31 March 2010 with delivery of insulation in all suitable homes where owners want it by that date, or shortly thereafter. The Energy Saving Trust, as managing agent, will work with delivery partners to ensure that these measures are installed to a high standard. Monitoring of the quality of the measures installed will be a feature of HIS.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-27375 on 24 September 2009. 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.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-27367 on 24 September 2009. 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.

Door-step assessments in Home Insulation Scheme (HIS) areas will seek to identify households vulnerable to fuel poverty to enable them to be referred to appropriate services such as provision of benefit advice, social tariff checks and insulation measures. Information on the number of households identified as vulnerable to fuel poverty and those referred to, and subsequently receiving services will be available when HIS is underway and data is collected for monitoring purposes. The evaluation process for HIS will then be able to use this information to assess the impact of the scheme on fuel poverty.

If the tenant of a private landlord is within a priority group under the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target scheme then no client contribution is required. 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.

The Scottish Government has made an initial estimate that the Home Insulation Scheme could save in the region of 24,250 tCO2e in 2009-10. The actual emission savings achieved will depend on a range of factors including levels of uptake by householders. The implementation of the first phase of the Home Insulation Scheme will be evaluated with a view to informing its development in subsequent years. The emission savings achieved will be calculated within the framework for standard carbon assessment being developed by the Scottish Government.

At this stage, it is not possible to estimate how many households will have insulation measures installed under the Home Insulation Scheme (HIS) that will be fully paid for. When HIS is fully underway and data is being collected for monitoring and evaluation purposes it will be possible to provide more informed estimates.