Chamber and committees

There are early indications that the number of clients in receipt of direct payments will increase from financial year 2007-08 to 2008-09.

Ultimately, self-directed support is a matter of choice for individuals. However, we are developing a strategy with a reference group and funding a number of pieces of work, including three local authority test sites, to improve the uptake of self-directed support across Scotland.

Scottish Government officials are about to undertake visits to each local authority over the next year to fully understand the local circumstances affecting uptake with a view to informing the self-directed support strategy and, if necessary, legislation.

We are however aware through the development of our fuel poverty programmes, and the work we are doing with the energy supply companies through the Scottish Carbon Emission Reduction Target (CERT) Strategy Steering Group that the availability of free home insulation to priority group customers through CERT varies across Scotland.

We have raised this issue with the UK Government on a number of occasions during the development of the CERT programme. The UK Government is currently consulting on increasing the target under the Carbon Emission Reduction Target by 20%. Scottish minister recognise that the design of the CERT programme can disadvantage households in rural areas of Scotland and intend to raise this in our formal response to this consultation.

Scottish households are paying for CERT through their fuel bills, and we must ensure that Scottish communities reap the benefits from CERT and other similar funding programmes, and we need a cast iron guarantee that new energy investment includes Scotland''s rural and island communities.

We have also raised the issue of equal access across Scotland for priority group customers with the energy suppliers through the Scottish CERT Strategy Steering Group, and in the development of the new Energy Assistance Package.

Information on a number of installed energy efficiency measures through a number of Scottish and UK Government programmes is in included in the Home Energy Efficiency Database (HEED).

The Scottish Government funds the Energy Saving Scotland advice network to provide households with information on the most suitable sustainable energy measures for their particular circumstances. This includes advice on the availability of free or subsidised measure, including home insulation.

The Energy Saving Scotland advice network uses the information from the HEED to better target their advice to those areas where energy efficiency measure have not already been undertaken.

The Scottish Climate Change Bill includes a mandatory provision for Scottish ministers to produce an Energy Efficiency Action Plan for Scotland within one year of the bill becoming an act. The availability and cost of a number of energy efficiency measures, including home insulation will be considered during the development and implementation of this action plan.

The UK Government is currently consulting on increasing the target under the Carbon Emission Reduction Target by 20%. Scottish minister recognise that the design of the CERT programme can disadvantage households in rural areas of Scotland and intend to raise this in our formal response to this consultation. Scottish households are paying for this CERT through their fuel bills, and we must ensure that Scottish communities reap the benefits from CERT and other similar funding programmes, and we need a cast iron guarantee that new energy investment includes Scotland''s rural and island communities.

Thousands of homes across Scotland have benefitted from free insulation through our Warm Deal and central heating programmes and our new Energy Assistance Package which commences 6 April will help thousands more through; continuing funding for social sector insulation works; working with CERT providers to provide insulation for thousands of private sector homes, and delivering bespoke energy efficiency measures at stage 4 for Scotland''s most vulnerable fuel poor families and pensioners. We have raised the issue of equal access across Scotland with the energy suppliers through the Scottish CERT Strategy Steering Group, and in the development of the new Energy Assistance Package.

We have also held initial discussion with the energy companies on the recent budget announcement for the first phase of an ambitious area-base home insulation scheme supported by £15 million of new Scottish Government funding plus £15 million from other sources. This scheme is currently being developed and is expected to launch in the autumn.

We are however aware through the development of our fuel poverty programmes, and the work we are doing with the energy supply companies through the Scottish Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) Strategy Steering Group that these costs vary across Scotland.

We have raised the issue of the cost to the energy suppliers of installing home insulation in more remote areas, and the impact that this has on the availability of these measures under CERT in Scotland with the UK Government on a number of occasions during the development of the CERT programme.

The UK Government is currently consulting on increasing the target under the Carbon Emission Reduction Target by 20%. Scottish minister recognise that the design of the CERT programme can disadvantage households in rural areas of Scotland and intend to raise this in our formal response to this consultation.

Scottish households are paying for this CERT through their fuel bills, and we must ensure that Scottish communities reap the benefits from CERT and other similar funding programmes, and we need a cast iron guarantee that new energy investment includes Scotland''s rural and island communities.

We have also raised the issue of equal access across Scotland with the energy suppliers through the Scottish CERT Strategy Steering Group, and in the development of the new Energy Assistance Package.

The Scottish Climate Change Bill includes a mandatory provision for Scottish ministers to produce an Energy Efficiency Action Plan for Scotland within one year of the bill becoming an act. The availability and cost of a number of energy efficiency measures, including home insulation, will be considered during the development and implementation of this action plan.

The new Energy Assistance package [which commences 6 April 2009] will do more to help rural households by including a wider range of measures which will benefit rural homes including air source heat pumps for those off the gas grid and a wider range of insulation measures for homes which cannot take traditional measures such as cavity wall insulation. To ensure that these more expensive measures can be installed the grant maximum has been raised by £500 to £4,000 and the upper grant has been raised by £1,000 to £6,500 for homes which have particularly poor energy efficiency. The measures will be available to private sector households where; the householder or partner is aged over 60 and has no central heating or where the householder lives in a home with poor energy efficiency, and is either aged over 75 or aged over 60 and receiving one of a range of passport benefits or tax credits. For the first time, families in homes with poor energy efficiency who receive one of a range of passport benefits or tax credits and have a child under five or a disabled child under 16 will also be eligible.

In the recent budget we announced proposals for the first phase of an ambitious area-based home insulation scheme supported by £15 million of new Scottish Government funding plus £15 million from other sources. The scheme is currently being developed and is expected to launch in the autumn.

We also intend to bring forward proposals for a significant loan mechanism. This will assist householders wishing to undertake more expensive measures, such as solid wall insulation and installing renewable technologies.

It is the responsibility of each local authority to allocate the total financial resources available to it to achieve agreed outcomes, and the Scottish Government will monitor performance to make sure that our shared national priorities are achieved. It is not for the Scottish Government to intervene in how local authorities organise these services. However, Orkney Islands Council and NHS Orkney are working with the Scottish Government Joint Improvement Team to look into redesigning services to support more integrated working across health and social care.

In addition, the Scottish Government is funding three local authority test sites (Dumfries and Galloway, Glasgow and Highland Councils) to evaluate the effectiveness of three different interventions to increase the uptake of self-directed support, including bridging finance (investing to save).

Household Stream

Community Stream

Under the Community Stream grants are also offered to improve the energy efficiency of the building.

Energy Efficiency Grants