This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Free central heating programme
05/12/2001
Private sector householders aged 60 or over throughout
Scotland were today encouraged to apply for free central
heating.
During a visit to the home of Mr and Mrs Henderson in
Clermiston, Edinburgh, who are receiving a central heating
system and insulation, Iain Gray, Minister for Social
Justice said:
"I am delighted to be here to see the many benefits that
our Central Heating Programme can bring. Mr and Mrs
Henderson have benefited from the grant which is worth an
average of £2,500. They are having a free central heating
system installed and insulation which will help them to
heat their home more efficiently. They will also benefit
from a cold alarm, a smoke detector and carbon monoxide
detector. As well as receiving a free benefit entitlement
check, Mr and Mrs Henderson will be given advice on how to
use the system and get the best use of energy.
"I will be relaying what I have seen to a number of MSPs
at a launch I will be co-hosting with Eaga later today in
Edinburgh, as many of their constituents will be able to
similarly benefit from the Programme.
"Together with Eaga, the contractor for the private
sector element of the programme, we are determined to
ensure that many of these households are freed from fuel
poverty. We will tackle cold and damp houses, cold-related
illness and excess winter deaths. I am confident that in a
few years time the lives of Scotland's most vulnerable
households will have been transformed.
"Around 10,000 householders across Scotland will receive
a free central heating system this year. This is further
evidence that the Executive is working to improve people's
lives - Social Justice is at the very heart of Executive
policy."
The Central Heating Programme is open to all households
in the private sector who lack central heating, or who have
a heating system which is broken and beyond repair, and
where the householder or spouse is aged 60 or over. The
programme is also available to all households in local
authorities and housing associations who currently lack
central heating. Tenants should contact their landlord
directly to see whether their house will benefit from works
this year.
The main benefits of the central heating programme will
be warmer houses, lower fuel bills, fewer damp houses and a
reduced threat to health from exposure to cold and
damp.
The aims of the central heating programme is to tackle
fuel poverty; improve comfort; reduce CO
2 emissions; protect health; protect the
condition of the housing stock and provide employment
opportunities for those taking part in the New Deal, who
will help install the insulation measures.
Anyone who is aged over 60 in the private sector who
thinks they might be eligible for a free central heating
system should get in touch with Eaga, the company that
manages the scheme, by phoning them on freephone 0800 316
1653. Any householder on Benefit who wants to find out
about the Warm Deal should phone Eaga on freephone 0800 072
0150
The Executive pledged in its 1999 "Programme for
Government" that it would improve 100,000 houses suffering
from dampness and condensation by 2003. To date over
120,000 houses have been insulated and so has comfortably
met its PFG target ahead of schedule.
Later today the Minister will host a reception for MSP's
at which Eaga will give a presentation on their delivery of
the Central Heating Programme in Scotland.