The Scottish Executive's Central Heating Programme and the Warm Deal - Annual Report 2001/02
Characteristics of properties improved by Eaga Partnership
The key characteristics of properties benefiting from the Warm Deal were gathered by Eaga Partnership: no data are available for properties improved by local authorities. Figure 19 shows the approximate period of construction of properties improved by Eaga Partnership. As with the Central Heating Programme, properties constructed between 1950 and 1963 are the most commonly occurring (38%). Similarly, there are proportionately fewer properties of more recent construction.
When the period of construction is compared against tenure, there are some significant differences, with privately rented properties tending to be older and housing association properties more modern. For example, two- thirds of privately rented properties (66%) were constructed before 1930. In the case of owner-occupiers only 18% were constructed prior to 1930, for housing associations 12%, and for local authorities 4%.
Figure 20 shows the built form of properties improved by Eaga Partnership. As with the Central Heating Programme, flats form the biggest single type of property. Comparing built form against tenure shows significant differences between private sector properties (owner-occupied and privately rented) and public sector properties (housing association and local authority), as well as between individual tenure categories. Private sector properties are much more likely to be detached houses. They account for 12% of owner-occupiers and 19% of privately rented homes, whereas only 1% of both housing association and local authority properties fall into this category. Owner-occupiers are much less likely to live in flats than those living in rented accommodation, whether rented from a private or public sector landlord.
Differences between urban and rural areas
Table 3 shows the number of installations completed in urban and rural locations based on the property postcodes. Proportionately there were more Warm Deal installations in rural areas than under the Central Heating programme: 23% compared with 11%.
Table 3
Area | Number of installations | Percentage |
Urban | 17,209 | 76% |
Rural | 5,281 | 24% |
Figure 21 shows the change in NHER for properties improved by Eaga Partnership in each of the location categories.
As Figure 22 shows rural properties have the biggest reduction in the predicted annual expenditure on fuel (76 a year).
Central Heating Programme: Benefit Entitlement Check
Background
An estimated 15% to 30% of those entitled to one or more state benefit, fail to claim. Around 30% of them are thought to be aged 60 and over. The Central Heating Programme offers participants a check to see if they are receiving their full entitlement to state benefit.
Purpose
The Central Heating Programme benefit entitlement check has two purposes:
- it forms part of government's efforts to ensure that those who are entitled to state benefit claim it; and
- it forms part of The Scottish Executive's attack on fuel poverty.
The measures provided under the Central Heating Programme will themselves take many households out of fuel poverty or lessen their degree of fuel poverty. If low-income households can also benefit from increased income through benefit take-up the effect on fuel poverty will be greater still.
Entitlement check offered in all sectors
The Central Heating Programme provides a benefit entitlement check across all sectors of the stock. Local authorities and housing associations will offer it to their tenants. Eaga Partnership offer it to owner-occupiers and private renters. Local authorities and housing associations are not asked to provide returns on benefit entitlement checks to the Scottish Executive. Eaga Partnership are required to do so. The following report of the benefit entitlement check therefore relates to Eaga Partnership only but the procedure described will be broadly similar across all sectors. However take-up rates and outcomes may differ between sectors.
Benefit entitlement check: the procedure
Offering the benefit entitlement check
After the central heating has been installed Eaga Partnership write to the main householder and offer a benefit entitlement check. The offer extends to all members of the household. Householders who wish to have an entitlement check, are given the choice of:
- completing and returning a questionnaire; or
- answering the questionnaire over the phone; or
- answering the questionnaire in a face-to-face interview in the home.
If the householder does not return the questionnaire within one month, Eaga Partnership phone and offer the benefit entitlement check again or write, if the householder is not on the phone. If the householder accepts, they are given the options set out in paragraph 3 above. If the householder is out when Eaga Partnership phone they will be phoned again the following week, and if still out, phoned again the week after that. If there is no answer after 3 calls, or if there is no response to the letter, the case is closed.
All the Eaga Partnership staff who give benefit advice are fully trained and training is updated regularly. Many of the staff concerned have experience in working for the Benefits Agency and in Citizens Advice Bureaux. Service delivery is regularly monitored and measured against Eaga Partnership's quality management standards (ISO 9001).
Assessing entitlement
The completed questionnaires (or information provided by phone) enable Eaga Partnership to check circumstances and income against the qualifying criteria for a range of state benefits. Householders who are not claiming their full entitlement are told the benefit(s) to which they may be eligible and told how to apply for them.
Results for 2001/02
All 3559 households benefiting from the Central Heating Programme in 2001/ 02 were offered a benefit entitlement check. 1289 households (36% of the total) either declined the offer or could not be contacted after 3 phone calls or a letter. 2270 households (64% of the total) agreed to have an entitlement check.
Of the 2270 households who agreed to have an entitlement check 1673 (74%) were either not eligible for any state benefit or already claiming all the state benefit to which they are entitled. The remaining 597 (26%) were identified as either not claiming a benefit, or benefits, to which they are entitled or were underclaiming.
The main benefits unclaimed, or underclaimed, were Council Tax Benefit (CTB) and Income Support/Job Seeker's Allowance IS/JSA. 61% (of 597 households) appeared to be eligible for CTB and 28% (of 597 households) appeared to be eligible for IS/JSA. Some households appeared to be eligible for both.
Follow-up
Not all of those who have a positive result from a benefit entitlement check go on to make a claim. Eaga Partnership contacted 300 (50%) of the 597 households who appeared to be entitled to additional benefit to find out if they had made a claim and whether it had been successful.
The follow-up survey found that around 46% of the households concerned had made a claim. 48% of them had been successful. Another 34% of households had lodged a claim with the relevant authority and a decision was pending. The total weekly amount of unclaimed benefit that may ultimately be payable was 3,273.32 which translates into an annual unclaimed amount of 170,212.64.
Where a claim was unsuccessful the main reason was that the householder's circumstances were different from those described during the benefit entitlement check. For example, the householder had an occupational pension which was not mentioned to Eaga Partnership.
Around half of the 300 households contacted in the follow-up survey had not made a claim, although some said they would be doing so. Among the non-claimants the main reasons for not claiming were:
- change of circumstances following the benefit entitlement check: such as taking up employment; receipt of or increase in an occupational pension;
- information forgotten/not revealed during the benefit entitlement check: such as savings or occupational pension; and
- the householder didn't 'want the bother' of filling in forms and/or couldn't understand the forms.
Eaga Partnership urged those households who still appeared to be eligible to make a claim and gave information about sources of help in completing the relevant forms.
Case Study 3
Mrs Benson is over 75 and lives in a three bedroomed mid-terraced house in Glasgow. The house is pre-1919 traditional stone-built property with a more recently constructed extension at the rear. Before improvements Before improvements Mrs Benson used a portable electric fire to heat her living room and there were gas fires in the hall, dining room and one bedroom. She said, "The electric bar fire wasn't any good at heating the lounge and was very expensive." The water heating was provided by a gas multi-point heater. There was 50 mm of insulation in the loft. Some of the windows had been replaced with double-glazing, however the remaining original windows and the doors had not been draught-proofed. The pre-improvement energy survey found that the NHER of the house was 2.9. Mrs Benson said she was paying 39 per month for her gas and electricity, although the computer model predicted an annual expenditure of around 557 based on length of time that she had the heating on. Improvements carried out under the Central Heating Programme A gas-fired combi boiler has been installed. The loft insulation was topped up with an additional 150mm of insulation. Draught-proofing has been applied to the original windows and doors. Low energy lightbulbs, a smoke detector and a cold alarm were installed. The effect of improvements "I am beginning to put on the radiator in the bedroom at night as well as the radiators in the living room, hall and bathroom. I can also put on heating in one of the other bedrooms if a member of the my family comes to visit." The NHER of the house has increased to 7.4 and the cost of heating reduced to 474 a year. The relatively modest savings (83 a year) are because Mrs Benson spends a great deal of time out of the house, and therefore does not heat the house for as long as might otherwise be expected. |