Chamber and committees

None. Five thousand five hundred applicants were waiting for a system at 31 March 2009. These applicants have all been assessed as being in one of the priority groups at the time of application, subject to a home survey.

The central heating programme did not start until 2001 and was completed for local authorities by March 2004.

The number of central heating systems installed under the central heating programme, in local authority properties, is shown in the following table:

Year	No. Systems Installed in the Public Sector
2001-02	4,007
2002-03	4,085
2003-04	3,878
Total	11,970

 

The powers to designate housing renewal areas (HRAs) under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 were commenced on 1 April 2009. Supporting advisory guidance was issued in early March.

We are not aware of any local authority that has taken formal steps to use the new powers. An authority is not obliged to notify Scottish ministers until after local consultation on a proposed HRA designation. However, all local authorities have a new duty under the 2006 act to set out in their local housing strategy their policy for identifying parts of their area for designation as an HRA.

The number of private sector central heating installations, in each year since the programme began, is shown in the following table:

Period	Private Sector Installations
2001-02	3,560
2002-03	5,500
2003-04	10,200
2004-05	13,022
2005-06	14,053
2006-07	10,238
2007-08	14,369
2008-09	14,430
Total	85,372

 

The number of public sector central heating installations, in each year since the programme began, is shown in the following table:

Period	Public Sector Installations
2001-02	4,948
2002-03	5,715
2003-04	6,588
2004-05	2,720
2005-06	1,949
2006-07	4,156
Total	26,076

Note: The programme to install heating systems to public sector homes was completed in 2006-07.

No new legislation will be required to deliver the activity set out in the Scottish Community Empowerment Action Plan to support communities to own assets. The Plan recognises that communities owning their own land and buildings can have a huge impact on their empowerment, but that asset ownership won''t be the answer for all communities and that it is complex issue. It commits to putting in place a range of practical support which will help communities to overcome barriers to asset ownership and these are currently under development.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-22176 on 1 April 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-22176 on 1 April 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.

The package was launched by ministers on 30 March 2009, and will be open for applications, mainly over the telephone, from 6 April 2009 on the freephone number 0800 512012. Information about the package is being distributed to a range of stakeholders dealing with likely clients, such as advice and voluntary sector support agencies; 10,000 leaflets have been prepared for this purpose. Further bespoke marketing will be developed during the coming months as required depending on the response of potential client groups.

The criteria used to identify stock bought from the private sector through the Accelerated Affordable Housing Investment Programme (AAHIP) are:

Whether the properties are of the right type and size and in the right place, based on Local Housing Strategies and agreed with the local authority in each case;

Whether the properties provide value for money, and

Whether properties which do not meet Housing for Varying Needs or 2007 Building Regulations can nevertheless be justified on their merit.

Housing stock owned by Registered Social Landlords will require to meet Scottish Housing Quality Standards by 2015. Newly built properties should exceed Scottish Housing Quality standards as a consequence of compliance with normal building regulations.