§ Mr. WallaceTo ask the Secretary of State for Energy whether he has yet received any recommendations from the Energy Action Grants Agency with regard to the future operation of the home energy efficiency scheme in Scottish area 14; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Heathcoat-AmoryFollowing consultation with interested bodies, the Energy Action Grants Agency—EAGA—made recommendations to me that network installer area 14 in Scotland should be divided into four smaller areas. These are: Highlands, Orkney, Shetland, Western Isles, the boundaries being those of the relevant local authorities. I understand that the present network installer for the area agreed to step down in order that a new bidding process could take place. In September the EAGA placed advertisements inviting bids by 1 November for registration as network installers in these areas. A total of 11 bids were received, and these are currently being assessed with the aim of enabling successful bidders to be registered before the end of December.