Warm Homes Scheme
Social Development
Northern Ireland Assembly debates, 13 October 2009, 3:00 pm
David Hilditch (DUP)
2. asked the Minister for Social Development for her assessment of the services delivered by the new service provider for the warm homes scheme. (AQO 217/10)
Gregory Campbell (DUP)
10. asked the Minister for Social Development what progress is being made to ensure that the revised warm homes scheme has the maximum impact and that landlords, and tenants who are currently in receipt of benefits, are aware of the advantages of the scheme. (AQO 225/10)
With your permission, Mr speaker is in charge of proceedings of the House of Commons in..." class="glossary">Deputy Speaker, I will answer questions 2 and 10 together.
The warm homes scheme is the Executive and the Department for Social Development’s (DSD) main weapon in tackling fuel poverty. I remain committed to alleviating fuel poverty in Northern Ireland. Following a competitive tendering process, the new contract for the scheme was awarded on 1 July 2009. H&A Mechanical Services and the Bryson Charitable Group are the new managers. It is expected that that competitive process will yield the maximum value for money in the delivery of the scheme. In other words, we should get more done with the resources that are available.
The Member will be aware that we have stringent monitoring arrangements in place with the Housing Executive, which is responsible for administering the scheme, and with the scheme managers. Monthly monitoring meetings are in place at which scheme managers provide detailed reports on progress to date against targets. Inevitably, as with the award of any new contract, there is a settling-in period. However, I am pleased with the progress that both scheme managers have made to date. At the end of September, over 2,500 eligible referrals had already been received. The scheme managers recently submitted a joint marketing plan, and extensive activities are planned over the coming months.
I suggest that all Members should encourage eligible constituents to make contact with the scheme managers to avail themselves of the range of energy efficiency measures that are on offer under the warm homes scheme. Furthermore, the scheme is being promoted through information and advice material in the jobs and benefits network. It also forms part of the overall approach that is being taken to increase benefit uptake. There is a joint approach to tackling fuel poverty with those who are in receipt of low incomes and with those who urgently need their homes heated to keep warm this winter.
David Hilditch (DUP)
I thank the Minister for her answer. I have met one of the contractors, and I appreciate the work that has been carried out to date. However, I am concerned that people who have oil heating systems have been removed from the criteria. What are the Minister’s thoughts on that matter, particularly as it impacts on many of those who are in fuel poverty and live in areas of social deprivation? Many of those heating systems are probably pushing 20 years of age.
As the Deputy Chairperson of the Committee for Social Development, the Member will recall that the Public Accounts Committee advised the Department to refocus the scheme to target those who were in receipt of low incomes. That approach was endorsed by the Committee for Social Development.
I am well aware that there are many people who require replacement heating systems. Currently, however, I want to focus on the most vulnerable people and ensure that all those who are in receipt of low incomes, and who are eligible, get the appropriate heating in place in their homes so that we can tackle the issue of fuel poverty in a fulsome and holistic way. The Member will be well aware that over 71,000 households are now warmer since 2001 as a result of the successful warm homes scheme.
Gregory Campbell (DUP)
The Minister outlined some of the benefits of the new scheme. I think that people will warmly — pardon the pun — welcome the scheme. In that respect, does she agree that public meetings, such as the meeting that I am organising on Thursday night in Coleraine town hall, in which the contractor speaks to landlords and tenants who have received invitations from active public representatives are a good way to publicise the scheme and ensure that the contractor gets the message out to a targeted audience so that the best benefit is reaped by those at whom the scheme is targeted?
I am sure that there is always a benefit in advertising. I agree with the Member that that is a good way to publicise the scheme. My colleague from Mid Ulster Patsy McGlone is organising such a meeting in Cookstown. All Members should inform their constituents of the potential benefits of such a scheme so that they can see quite clearly what is on offer.
Mickey Brady (Sinn Féin)
Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. In the Minister’s answer to question 1, I wonder whether she was suggesting that she should not be let out on her own. Will the Minister give us some idea of when the backlog for the warm homes scheme will be dealt with? In particular, I am thinking about pensioners in my constituency who have been waiting since July 2007.
I will deal with the second part of the question first. The details of those on the waiting list have been passed to the new scheme managers, both of which are contacting individuals on the waiting list to advise them of the new eligibility criteria. I expect that process to be completed by the end of November, but I have indicated that I want the task dealt with as expeditiously as possible: in other words, much more quickly.
In relation to the first part of his question, as a public representative the Member will know that we go to many places on our own to examine the needs of our constituents.
Danny Kennedy (UUP)
I am grateful to the Minister for her earlier replies on this important matter. Will she assure the House that the proactive promotion of the warm homes scheme will ensure that people in all parts of Northern Ireland, particularly in the Newry and Armagh constituency, will be made aware of the details of the scheme: how to apply, when to apply and what they can expect?
The Member is probably aware that for the scheme’s purpose, Northern Ireland has been separated in two; the northern part is managed by H&A Mechanical Services and the southern part, which includes Newry and Mourne, by the Bryson Charitable Group. To my best knowledge, all of that information has been communicated through all available media. However, if the Member knows of any “chinks in the armour”, he should let me know so that I can rectify them.
Can the Minister tell us what contribution the warm homes scheme has made to the alleviation of fuel poverty in Northern Ireland?
The three factors that impact on fuel poverty are income, fuel prices and energy efficiency. The warm homes scheme has been hugely popular and very successful since its introduction in 2001. More than £118 million has been spent on making more than 71,000 households warmer.
In addition to heating and insulation measures, householders have received advice on maximising household income through ensuring that vulnerable people claimed all of the benefits to which they were entitled. We estimate that, since introducing benefit checks as part of the warm homes scheme, an additional £4 million a year is now being paid in benefits. We also estimate that £200 million of indirect benefits have accrued in the form of health, education, employment and the environment.
However, energy efficiency is but one element in the alleviation of fuel poverty. Energy prices and incomes are the other key variables, and the best that we can do in relation to them is to build a strong, prosperous economy that raises current incomes and, above all, lifts people out of fuel poverty.