§ Mr. PickthallTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many homes have benefited from completed warm front scheme installations; how many homes are in the process of being assessed; how many people have been turned down for upgrading of their heating; what the average wait is between application and installation; what has been the cost thus far to the public purse; and what assessment he has made of the efficiency of the EAGA partnership in delivering the scheme. [24951]
§ Mr. Meacher[holding answer 9 January 2002]: The Home Energy Efficiency Scheme (HEES), now marketed as The Warm Front Team, is administered by two scheme managers, TXU Warm Front Ltd. (responsible for the Eastern, East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber) and Eaga Partnership Ltd. (responsible for the rest of England).
HEES provides households with packages of heating and insulation measures tailored to their circumstances and property type. Where the householder is eligible and the property requires heating; then it is provided. The precise package is discussed and agreed between the householder and HEES surveyor.
- Number of homes completed or orders placed with the contractor (June 2000 to December 2001): 274,000
- Number of homes awaiting assessment: 56,000
- Number of homes where insulation-only measures provided or currently being assessed: 285,000
- Current average waiting time between application and installation: 71 days1
- Total cost of the scheme (June 2000 to December 2001): £193 million
1 Measured from date of call with respect of telephone applications, from date of receipt in case of postal applications or from date of e-mail. There is usually a period of 1–8 weeks between the date of actual installation and the receipt of the invoice from installers.471WThe introduction of the radically improved Home Energy Efficiency Scheme in June 2000 represented a difficult challenge for both scheme managers. The national shortage of gas heating engineers has led to severe delays in some areas in the installation and repair of central heating systems. Both scheme managers have worked hard to recruit installers and to improve the quality of service provided to householders. The Department continues to maintain a close watch on their performance.
§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what provision there is within the warm front schemes to allow the most vulnerable households who are in immediate danger of risking their health because of lack of heating to queue jump the waiting list for grants during the winter months; how many households were allowed to queue jump in each month since April 2000; and what plans she has to review the first-come, first-served system of Warm Front grants during the present review of the grants. [25355]
§ Mr. Meacher[holding answer 9 January 2002]: The Government's main programme for tackling fuel poverty in the private sector in England is the Home Energy Efficiency Scheme (HEES). HEES is marketed as the Warm Front Team. Two scheme managers, Eaga Partnership Ltd. and TXU Warm Front Ltd. administer the scheme.
HEES has been developed to help tackle the problem of fuel poverty, those who spend 10 per cent. or more of their income staying warm. Fuel poverty is caused by a combination of energy inefficient housing and low incomes. Certain people are particularly vulnerable to cold-related ill health—the old, families with children, the disabled and the long term sick. HEES is targeted at these priority households and all applicants are therefore treated equally.
We have no intention of removing the current first-come approach. Any prioritising system would be complex to administer and likely to dissuade households from the scheme. Instead, we believe it is better to concentrate resources on reducing the time taken to install measures on all households.