Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S3W-28731

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfries, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 November 2009
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 19 November 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has changed the eligibility criteria for Stage Four of the Energy Assistance Package on the basis that the programme has been too restrictive.

The Energy Assistance Package was introduced further to the recommendations of the independent Scottish Fuel Poverty Forum. The forum is responsible for monitoring the EAP. Further to their meeting on 27 October 2009 at which a six month progress report was considered, the forum commented on the success of the programme to date and recommended that access to stage 4 be widened to include those living in dwellings with an E energy efficiency rating.

Question reference: S3W-28698

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfries, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 November 2009
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 19 November 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-28055 by Alex Neil on 29 October 2009, for what reason the average waiting period from application to installation under Stage Four of the Energy Assistance Package cannot be provided at local authority level.

The managing agent is responsible for delivery of stage 4 of the Energy Assistance Package and is contractually required to provide certain information to the Scottish Government. We are reviewing the information about customer journey times including the formatting of information geographically.

A procurement exercise to appoint a managing agent from 2010-2011 is currently underway. The revised contract will reflect the monitoring requirements of the Energy Assistance Package.

Question reference: S3W-28692

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfries, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 November 2009
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 19 November 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what the budget is and what the spend has been since April 2009 for the installation of enhanced measures under Stage Four of the Energy Assistance Package.

The Energy Assistance Package is a holistic approach to tackling fuel poverty that addresses both the home and the householder, and includes services to maximise income, reduce fuel bills and improve energy efficiency. Stage 4 of the package offers a menu of enhanced physical measures to groups most likely to be fuel poor, including central heating.

The Energy Assistance Package is supported by a budget of over £60 million in 2009-10. Fuel poverty budget spend to date is £15.728 million. This is in line with the expected profile as spend on installation measures is traditionally weighted towards the last two quarters of the financial year.

Question reference: S3W-28694

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfries, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 November 2009
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 19 November 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) applications and (b) eligible applications for the installation of enhanced measures under Stage Four of the Energy Assistance Package had been received by 30 September 2009, broken down by local authority area.

The Energy Assistance Package (EAP) is a holistic approach to tackling fuel poverty that addresses both the home and the householder, and includes services to maximise income, reduce fuel bills and improve energy efficiency. Stage 4 of the package offers a menu of enhanced physical measures to groups most likely to be fuel poor, including central heating.

Our fuel poverty programme is helping thousands of households in Scotland to heat their homes more cheaply and efficiently. By 31 October:

Over 22,500 have taken up help under EAP,

Benefits checks have achieved nearly £687,000 in extra income,

Over 900 households have moved on to a social tariff due to referrals under EAP,

Over 2,700 insulation measures have been delivered,

Four thousand, seven hundred and one central heating systems have been installed.

The number of households taking up the Energy Assistance Package to end September, broken down by local authority area, is given in the following table. The table also shows the figure for the end of October.

Eligibility for Stage 4 is determined by the managing agent by means of a survey process. The number of households accepted by the managing agent as eligible for Stage 4 to end October, by local authority area, is given in the following table.

The second table shows installations that include central heating to 31 October, broken down by postcode area.

Local Authority	Households Taking Up EAP, At End September 2009	Households Taking Up EAP, At End October 2009	Households Accepted At EAP Stage 4 Survey, At End October 2009
Aberdeen City	314	529	52
Aberdeenshire	506	851	85
Angus	322	487	56
Argyll and Bute	282	453	57
Clackmannanshire	148	204	13
Dumfries and Galloway	641	857	180
Dundee City	362	523	84
East Ayrshire	470	588	48
East Dunbartonshire	365	550	40
East Lothian	284	383	30
East Renfrewshire	419	519	29
Edinburgh, City of	1,115	1,598	112
Eilean Siar	103	177	20
Falkirk	615	749	55
Fife	1,474	1,979	113
Glasgow City	1,359	1,776	163
Highland	819	1,320	105
Inverclyde	321	453	36
Midlothian	261	343	21
Moray	239	386	47
North Ayrshire	484	750	56
North Lanarkshire	998	1,270	113
Orkney Islands	94	124	16
Perth and Kinross	422	691	74
Renfrewshire	586	713	65
Scottish Borders	381	542	54
Shetland Islands	26	40	7
South Ayrshire	489	698	64
South Lanarkshire	1,096	1,467	135
Stirling	371	538	31
West Dunbartonshire	245	303	23
West Lothian	494	635	23
Local authority Not Identified	8	11
Total	16,113	22,507	2,007

Total Number of Installations That Include Central Heating, to 31 October 2009

Postcode Area	Total
AB	306
DD	237
DG	188
EH	610
FK	233
G	1,154
HS	18
IV	219
KA	411
KW	55
KY	273
ML	397
PA	391
PH	142
TD	60
ZE	7
All Scotland	4,701

Question reference: S3W-28733

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfries, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 November 2009
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 19 November 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how the managing agent will handle any increase in demand resulting from wider eligibility for Stage Four of the Energy Assistance Package to ensure that waiting periods do not increase beyond the current average of 77 days.

Question reference: S3W-28696

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfries, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 November 2009
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 19 November 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that Stage Four of the Energy Assistance Package is (a) working as intended and (b) successful.

Yes. The EAP is helping thousands of households in Scotland to heat their homes more cheaply and efficiently. To end September:

Over 16,000 have taken up help,

Benefits checks have achieved nearly £454,000 in extra income,

400 households have moved on to a social tariff,

Over 2,100 insulation measures have been delivered and

4,683 central heating systems have been installed.

The independent Scottish Fuel Poverty Forum is responsible for monitoring the Energy Assistance Package (EAP) and considered the operation of the first six months of the package at their meeting on 27 October 2009. The forum considered that EAP is already delivering real benefits to people in fuel poverty “ increased income through benefit reviews, reduced prices through access to social tariffs, and more efficient heating through better insulation and new heating systems and recommended specific changes to further improve its operation and widen access to stage 4.

The Scottish Government announced on 4 November 2009 changes to operating procedures to speed up delivery of stage 4 and amendment to regulations to broaden the definition of an energy inefficient home.

Question reference: S3W-28693

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfries, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 November 2009
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 19 November 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) budget and (b) spend was for installations under the Central Heating Programme in each of the last three years.

Question reference: S3W-28699

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfries, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 November 2009
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 19 November 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-28049 by Alex Neil on 29 October 2009, whether the seven contractors in Dumfries and Galloway are the same as those previously involved with the Central Heating Programme.

The seven contractors working in Dumfries and Galloway were all previously involved with the Central Heating Programme. The managing agent has advised that, wherever possible, Central Heating Programme contractors are used to carry out work under the Energy Assistance Package, with additional contractors being taken on to carry out work for the range of additional measures now available at Stage 4, for example air source heat pumps.

Question reference: S3W-28723

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfries, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 November 2009
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 16 November 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-28095 by Stewart Stevenson on 4 November 2009, whether it intends to declare properties and smallholdings purchased by the Scottish Office prior to the upgrade of the M74 in Dumfries and Galloway and now owned by the Scottish Ministers as surplus to requirements and, if so, (a) which properties and smallholdings will be so declared and (b) when they will become surplus to requirements.

It is our intention to declare the remaining properties owned by the Scottish Ministers which were acquired for the upgrade on the A74 in Dumfries and Galloway surplus to requirements. Raecleugh and Longbedholm Cottage have already been declared surplus and Transport Scotland''s appointed agent is preparing schedules with a view to advertising the properties on the open market in the spring.

Cauldwellknowe Farm will be declared surplus once the access road serving the property has been upgraded and adopted by Dumfries and Galloway Council. Milagro will be declared surplus once the issues regarding access rights are resolved.

Question reference: S3W-28722

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfries, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 November 2009
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 16 November 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-28094 by Stewart Stevenson on 4 November 2009, which properties and smallholdings purchased by the Scottish Office prior to the upgrade of the M74 in Dumfries and Galloway and now owned by the Scottish Ministers are tenanted.

Central Heating Programme	(a) Budget	(b) Spend
2008-09	£51.57 million	£49.46 million
2007-08	£52.3 million	£48.9 million
2006-07	£58.19 million	£45.8 million