- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 December 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 21 December 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the #12 million allocated to the New Warm Deal this year comes from: (a) money transferred from the home energy efficiency scheme; (b) New Deal and (c) capital receipts to local authorities.
Answer
The budget for improving home energy efficiency for low-income households in Scotland is £12 million for 1999-2000. £1.475 million of the total came from the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) to meet the cost of the Home Energy Efficiency Scheme (HEES) in Scotland between 1 April and 30m June. The rest is for the Warm Deal which was introduced on 1 July. It includes £4.525 million received from DETR as Scotland's share of the HEES budget for GB for the period from 1 July to 31 March 2000. None of the resources for the Warm Deal come from the budget for the New Deal or from capital receipts by local authorities.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 December 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 21 December 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will review the New Warm Deal so that cross subsidy of eligible flats within a given tenemental project can be considered providing that the average grant per flat does not exceed the maximum available.
Answer
There are no present plans for a review of this kind.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 December 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 21 December 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make representations to Her Majesty's Government through the Inter-Departmental Group on Older People to change the law to reduce the housing benefit taper which requires pensioners to pay 65p in every pound earned from their occupation or private pension over the income support level towards their rent and what assessment it has made or plans to make of the effect on poverty levels such a change may have.
Answer
The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with United Kingdom Government Ministers and Departments on a wide range of issues, including housing benefit.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 December 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 21 December 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to produce centrally statistical data as currently gathered by local authorities, to monitor the take-up rate of pensioners claiming council tax and housing benefits for the purposes of assessing poverty levels.
Answer
Statistics on the take-up of income-related benefits are published annually by the Department for Social Security. The recently published report Social Justice...a Scotland where everyone matters set out our five key milestones for elderly people, including one relating to income poverty. Take-up rates of benefits depend on many factors, and are not necessarily a good guide to poverty.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 December 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 21 December 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the maximum grant of #500 available under the Warm Deal in Scotland programme will be index linked against inflation.
Answer
There are no present plans to review the grant maximum.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 December 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 21 December 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will review the New Warm Deal to allow greater flexibility in the 70%/30% private/public sector split.
Answer
I expect that around 50% of the budget for the Warm Deal this year will be spent on local authority housing.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 06 December 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 20 December 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of people who died from cold-related illnesses in the last years for which figures are available were males over 65 and females over 60.
Answer
I refer Mr Gibson to the answer to his question S1W-3003.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 06 December 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 20 December 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in Scotland it estimates are at risk from cold-related illness this winter.
Answer
There is no recognised and quantifiable grouping or selection of cold-related illnesses. Many illnesses, including illnesses such as coronary heart disease, may be exacerbated by cold conditions, but it is impossible to say in what proportion of these cold had an impact on the final outcome. There are therefore no figures collected centrally which would provide a simple count of those who may die of cold related illness, or on which basis any estimates of risk of illness or death, or subsequent cost to the NHS could reliably be calculated.
Whatever the issues surrounding such calculation, it is clear that cold can exacerbate poor health and that many people on low incomes can have difficulty in heating their homes adequately. In order to address this issue, a new grant scheme, called the Warm Deal, was introduced in Scotland on 1 July this year. The purpose of the scheme is to provide a package of home insulation measures up to a value of £500 for low income families. The Warm Deal can lead to savings on current fuel bills of up to £170. People can reinvest this amount to provide the extra warmth they need when they need it.The UK government has also taken a number of other measures to address these issues.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 06 December 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 20 December 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive what is the estimated cost of ending excess winter deaths in Scotland.
Answer
I refer Mr Gibson to the answer to his question S1W-3003.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 06 December 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 20 December 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive what is the estimated cost to the NHS this year of treating cold-related illnesses.
Answer
I refer Mr Gibson to the answer to his question S1W-3003.
