Chamber and committees

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.

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.

The Energy Saving Trust, as managing agent, is currently carrying out a procurement exercise to appoint the supplier offering the best deal for Home Insulation Scheme customers in a given area. This will be an open and competitive process in order to obtain value for money and to reflect EU procedures and regulations. It will be the responsibility of each supplier, when appointed, to enter into contracts as they see fit to ensure that the required skills are available to ensure installation of appropriate insulation measures in each area.

The first insulation installations under the Home Insulation Scheme are expected to be carried out in early December 2009.

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.

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.

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.

The bulk of publicity and promotion costs under the Home Insulation Scheme will be delivered by the managing agent and funded by the Scottish Government. However, in some cases, local agencies are providing complementary support for publicity and promotion.

The areas in which the Home Insulation Scheme will be deployed in 2010-11 have not yet been selected.

Home Insulation Scheme (HIS) assessors are due to begin visits to every house in a HIS area in early November, with the exception of those households who have previously responded by other means such as in response to a direct mailing. It is not possible at this stage to accurately estimate the number of visits which will be made by the end of 2009. Our planning and funding framework is based on financial years, i.e. 2009-10 for the first phase. When HIS is underway and data is collected for monitoring and evaluation purposes it will be possible to provide more informed estimates.