Chamber and committees

The National Housing Trust initiative (NHT) differs from the traditional grant funding approach in that the purchase of homes will be jointly funded by participating councils and developers, with the Scottish Government providing guarantees to councils to ensure they are able to repay any money they borrow to fund the scheme. As such, there is no Scottish Government money allocated to the NHT to build affordable homes in the same sense as monies would be allocated under grant-based schemes.

Information on progress toward reducing carbon emissions arising from operations on the Scottish Government estate is detailed in the Scottish Government’s Environmental Performance Annual Report for 2008-09; copies are available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 50874).

Information in respect of progress during 2009-10 is currently being collated for publication later this year.

Scottish ministers set out their policies and proposals for meeting annual emissions reduction targets for 2010-22, including the interim target of 42% by 2020, in the Report on Proposals and Policies, a statutory requirement of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009. Low Carbon Scotland: Meeting the Emissions Reduction Targets 2010-2022 was laid in draft in Parliament on 17 November 2010, and laid in its final form in Parliament on 14 March 2011.

We do not hold this information. The Energy Assistance Package is a demand led scheme. The volume and location of installations depends on the receipt of eligible applications, along with the available budget. Future funding for EAP will be a matter for the forthcoming Spending Review.

I am happy to confirm that Professor David Sigsworth has agreed to take up the post of Chair of the Scottish Fuel Poverty Forum. He will be ably assisted by Norman Kerr, who has agreed to become Vice Chair.

In 2011-12, a budget of £12.5 million will be available to support the Universal Home Insulation Scheme. Funding beyond 2011-12 will be a matter for the Spending Review, and subsequent reviews.

Invitations to local authorities to bid for funding for UHIS in 2011-12 were issued on 1 July 2011, with a submission deadline of 12 August 2011.

Scottish ministers have expressed their concern over recent price increases announced by Scottish Power, both to the Company itself and the regulator, Ofgem. We estimate that up to a further 170,000 households could be placed into fuel poverty if the increase was replicated across all suppliers. Scottish ministers remain committed to the 2016 target but it is extremely challenging in the light of recent energy price increases.

The Energy Assistance Package started in April 2009. The following table is provided by the Managing Agent (Scottish Gas). Figures for 2010-11 are not yet available.

Based on the returns made to date by the 27 local authorities who participated in the UHIS programme in 2010-11, the estimates for the amount of reduction in carbon emissions are as follows:

12,989.843 kilotonnes (on an annual basis)

519,071.200 kilotonnes (over the lifetime of the measures, assumed to be 40 years).

These figure will be subject to being adjusted upwards, as the final installations taking place under the programme are completed.

Invitations to local authorities to bid for funding for UHIS in 2011-12 were issued on 1 July 2011, with a submission deadline of 12 August 2011.

For 2011-12, the level of reductions in carbon emissions will be determined by the proposals put forward by local authorities and the grant awards made to them through the UHIS bidding and assessment process, currently underway. It is not possible to estimate for subsequent years, as funding beyond 2011-12 will be a matter for the Spending Review, and subsequent reviews.

Ministers have expressed their concern over the recent price increases announced by Scottish Power and its impact on fuel poverty. Our estimate is that up to an additional 170,000 households could be placed into fuel poverty if the increase is replicated across all suppliers.