The Scottish Government

HECA GOOD PRACTICE

THE PARTNERSHIP PROJECT

Partners: Renfrew Council and the Wise Group

Funding support: Social Inclusion Partnership, New Deal, Warm Deal, Energy Action Grants Agency, European Social Fund and Training for Work

Initiative managed by Renfrew Council

The objectives of the project are to insulate homes, provide energy advice to households, and offer training to New Deal trainees within Social Inclusion Partnership (SIP) areas. Funding for 2000/2001 totalled £0.518 million. Contributions from each source are detailed below.

Since October 1999:

• 1,275 homes have had insulation installed
• 1,330 households have benefited from energy advice on cost-effective use of heating systems
• over 10,000 low-energy light bulbs have been installed.

The Council is keen to sponsor a further project within Social Inclusion Partnership areas, which would concentrate on approximately 5,000 owner-occupied and private-rented households in SIP areas.

Funding for 2000/2001 was as follows:

Social Inclusion Partnership:

£130,000

New Deal:

£80,000

Warm Deal

£100,000

Energy Action Grants Agency

£60,000

European Social Fund

£120,000

Training for Work

£28,381

Total

£518,000

HECA GOOD PRACTICE

HEALTHY WARM HOMES PILOT

Partners: South Ayrshire Council, South Ayrshire Energy Efficiency Advice Agency, and Energy Action Scotland

Funding support: Energy Action Scotland

Initiative managed by the South Ayrshire Energy Efficiency Advice Agency

The project involves a partnership with Ayrshire and Arran Primary Care NHS Trust to provide grants for insulation works to private householders suffering from respiratory and heart diseases. Home-owners are referred on to the scheme by a health professional through the network of local health care co-operatives run by the NHS Trust. The owners are asked to pay a contribution of £70 for cavity wall insulation, £35 for loft insulation and £30 for draughtproofing unless they are eligible to have the works carried out for free under the Warm Deal Scheme. Council tenants referred by the health professionals will have the work carried out by the local authority.

This successful pilot, which received support of £25,000 from Energy Action Scotland, was submitted as a HECAction bid in consortium with North and East Ayrshire Councils. It was one of only three successful Scottish bids for funding in this last round of HECAction. Funding received for the main project totals £100,000, with the total value of the project estimated to be £500,000 in the first year.

HECA GOOD PRACTICE

HEATCARE SCHEME

Partners: Glasgow City Council and Strathclyde and Central Energy Efficiency Advice Centre

Funding support: EST's HECAction

Initiative managed by Strathclyde and Central EEAC

In March 1999 Glasgow City Council received £55,000 form the HECAction programme to fund a grant and loan scheme aimed exclusively at the same section of the community as served by the Care and Repair scheme. The scheme involves offering grants, interest free loans and discounts for energy efficiency measures to the target group served by Care and Repair. It was anticipated that those who took advantage of the offer would benefit not only from lower fuel bills but also from improved health. In addition to the grants and loans for specific measures each successful applicant receives at no cost a report on the energy Efficiency State of their property together with recommendations for improvements and details of the savings that can be made on fuel bills.

The marketing involved direct mailing starting in December 1999 specifically targeted at those households that had accessed the Care and Repair scheme over the preceding two years. The response was so overwhelming that within 6 weeks the funding was exhausted. The Energy Savings Trust made a further £50,000 available. Again within weeks the funds were exhausted. By March 2001, some 59 loans had been issued amounting to a total sum of £136,402.

HECA GOOD PRACTICE

REWARM II

Partners: Edinburgh City Council, Lothian Energy Environmental Partnership (LEEP) Energy Saving Trust, Edinburgh University and
Heriot-Watt University

Funding support: EST's HECAction

Initiative managed by LEEP.

ReWarm was reported as an example of Good Practice in the First HECA Progress Report. It is not intended to repeat examples of good practice in subsequent progress reports. An exception has been made here given the success of ReWarm II and in recognition that historically the private rented sector is one of the most difficult to target for energy efficiency improvements.

In 1999-2000 Edinburgh City Council received £190,000 through HECAction to expand the original ReWarm scheme which provides grants and loans to private landlords for highly efficient gas central heating systems. ReWarm II was extended to include insulation as well as efficient heating. The £190,000 HECAction funding was effective in levering in a further £187,000 in investment by landlords themselves. A total of 372 privately-rented properties benefited from this initiative during 1999-2001.

Re-warm has been replicated by at least 18 other local authorities, including ones in Northern Ireland and Greater London.

HECA GOOD PRACTICE

HEALTH AND ENERGY LINK PROGRAMME (HELP)

Partners: Fife Housing Partnership, Energy Action Scotland, NHS Fife, Care and Repair Fife, Clyde Insulation, and Fife Council

Funding: Energy Action Scotland, Scottish Power's Warmth for the Millennium Fund, Fife Council, and Exxon/Mobil

Initiative managed by the Fife Housing Partnership

The Health and Energy Link Programme (HELP) is an innovative partnership project with the sole aim of demonstrating significant improvements in the health of vulnerable elderly people whose health is at risk due to poor housing conditions.

Community health workers in Fife were given energy awareness training, which enabled them to identify energy inefficient homes that posed a potential risk to the health of elderly households (over 75s). Care and Repair staff provided referrals through a system managed by Fife Council's Housing Energy Management Service. A package of measures, mainly central heating and insulation, were installed in homes that lacked these measures.

HECA GOOD PRACTICE

ORKNEY CARE AND REPAIR

Partners: Orkney Islands Property Development Ltd (OIPDL), Orkney Islands Council, Communities Scotland, and Eaga Partnership

Funding: Orkney Islands Council, Community Scotland, Scottish and Southern Energy plc EESOP, EST's HECAction programme, and EAGA Partnership
Initiative managed by Orkney Islands Property Development Ltd

The Orkney Care and Repair Project offers assistance to the elderly, disabled and low-income groups for a wide range of measures from whole house improvement grants to assistance for small repairs, and the installation of basic amenities for those suffering from ill health or disability.

A partnership approach was adopted using a variety of grants for energy efficiency (including the Warm Deal Scheme, ESSOP and Orkney's Action for Warmer Homes HECAction scheme) wherever appropriate. Orkney Care and Repair is a named partner in the HECAction Scheme and established a referral system for clients through the project co-ordinator.

The HECAction scheme (Orkney Action for Warmer Homes) has encouraged owner-occupiers to install insulation and replace inefficient heating boilers, storage heaters, and install glass fronted fires. Successful applicants receive a free low-energy light bulb while the scheme also provides training for Orkney Care and Repair Staff as well as staff from Keep Orkney Warm and Council's Housing Department.

Orkney Care and Repair has also acted as the delivery agent on behalf of managing agents Eaga Partnership to allocate 200 energy efficient kettles to applicants in receipt of qualifying benefits to eligible households in Orkney. This scheme was over subscribed with over three times as many applicants as appliances available.

HECA GOOD PRACTICE

CARSTAIRS ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMME - PARTNERSHIPS AT WORK

Partners: South Lanarkshire Council, ScottishPower, Lanarkshire Health Board, and Transco

Funding: Warm Deal, South Lanarkshire Council, Transco, European Social Fund, and Eaga Partnership

South Lanarkshire Council pursued this initiative to demonstrate the effectiveness of its HECA strategy within a small rural community. The overall objective of this pilot was to demonstrate that, through close partnership working, investment in energy efficiency measures and employment would be maximised. The project was intended to not only alleviate fuel poverty and reduce fuel use but also provide lasting environmental and social improvements.

The Warm Deal, Scottish Power and Eaga Partnership provided funding for insulation and energy efficiency measures. The European Social Fund and South Lanarkshire Council provided funding to train and employ previously unemployed people as energy advisors. Funding to train and employ previously unemployed people as insulation installers was provided by New Deal, Everwarm Services, and Warm Deal. Resources to teach primary school children were provided by ScottishPower. ScottishPower also provided low-energy light bulbs through its Lightsavers Scheme.

HECA GOOD PRACTICE

ABERDEEN AFFORDABLE WARMTH SCHEME

Partners: Aberdeen City Council, Castlehill Housing Association and Communities Scotland

Funding: Aberdeen City Council and Communities Scotland

Initiative led by Castlehill Housing Association

The Council established the Aberdeen Affordable Warmth Scheme in partnership with Castlehill Housing Association and Communities Scotland. This scheme is targeted at owner-occupiers with low-fixed incomes, little or no capital, and who live in difficult to heat homes. Priority is given to pensioners and younger people with long-term health problems or disabilities.

For each householder, the energy efficiency measures required to achieve affordable warmth for the individual are assessed. Assistance is then given to access grant aid and any charitable funding with any balance of costs provided by a loan.

Over the 2 years between April 1999 and March 2001, 256 referrals and179 jobs were completed. This resulted in 125 new central heating systems and 72 repairs, upgrades and boiler replacements. A further 65 clients were referred for Warm Deal grants and 56 received advice only. 71 clients were given assistance to obtain additional benefits to a value of £134,463.

HECA GOOD PRACTICE

EDUCATION FOR PRIMARY SCHOOLS

Partners: East Lothian Council, Lothian Environmental Energy Partnership (LEEP), and ScottishPower

Funding: ScottishPower

Initiative managed by LEEP

Energy efficiency is a topic covered in various subjects across the school curriculum. East Lothian Council has had some success in promoting school projects linked to HECA initiatives. ScottishPower funded an initiative in conjunction with LEEP, which prepared energy efficiency project material and carried out energy efficiency presentations to 26 East Lothian primary schools. Part of the project work involved students being encouraged to fill in specially designed energy efficiency questionnaires and return them to the local energy efficiency advice centre. Information packs on energy efficiency measures and grants tailored to the answers to the questionnaires were then posted to respondents.