LOCAL HOUSING STRATEGY 2011-16
ANNUAL UPDATE 2015
STRATEGIC AIM FOUR:
Improving the quality and condition of housing in Argyll & Bute
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LHS OUTCOME 4:
More people in Argyll & Bute live in well repaired and
maintained homes that are affordable to heat.
THE STRATEGY
The council aims to work in partnership to improve housing conditions across all tenures; to tackle fuel poverty; and to enhance energy efficiency in the housing stock. In addition, the housing sector has a key role to play in delivering local and national climate change targets. The primary objectives for this outcome are:
Objective 4.1 Objective 4.2 Objective 4.3 Objective 4.4
To develop partnerships which enable improvements in the energy efficiency of housing.
To maximise compliance with the Scottish Housing Quality Standard.
To develop targeted information advice and assistance to encourage owners to repair & maintain their homes.
To tackle sub-standard housing.
The Scottish Government offers several ways to
help, both by offering assistance to those on low
incomes and by helping make your home more
energy efficient, so it costs less to heat. This also
means fewer emissions into the environment. The
Scottish Government Home Energy Efficiency
Programmes for Scotland: Area Based Schemes
provides support to those most vulnerable to fuel
poverty.
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LHS Outcome 4 - Key Actions, Progress in 2014/15
ACCESS TO EXISTING SERVICES FOR INFORMATION AND ADVICE
STRENGTHEN JOINT PLANNING & PARTNERSHIP WORKING
In 2014/15, the Argyll & Bute Energy Efficiency Forum met on three occasions to consider a number of important issues, including the long-term gas supply in Oban and Campbeltown, and contributing to the effective delivery of the Home Energy Efficiency Programmes Scotland: Area Based Schemes (HEEPS: ABS) initiative. The forum provides a valuable focus for partnership working and the Council aims to support and promote this body, to ensure full engagement across a range of local and national agencies and services.
2012 - Welfare Reform Group established
2013 - Energy Efficiency Forum established
2014 - Area Property Action Groups operational
2015 - Further coordinated strategic partnership working to be
developed
The Council continues to promote access to services which provide tailored information and advice on energy efficiency, fuel poverty, renewable energy and Welfare Rights/benefits.
331134
6222 Fuel poor homes In
depth advice
Benefits Checkscompleted
Recruited EnergyChampions
Trained EnergyChampions
Home Energy Scotland provided information, awareness and general
advice as detailed above during 2014/15.
ALIenergy provided information, awareness and general energy advice to 8,150 individuals in person, during 2014/15, plus those detailed in the
chart on the left.
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LHS Outcome 4 - Key Actions, Progress in 2014/15
MIXED TENURE SCHEMES
The Council continues to promote improvements and better conditions in properties in mixed tenure schemes, by helping to raise awareness of common repairs issues and providing assistance to owners and landlords. The number of owners involved in common repairs last year increased by 38%. One positive approach to improved conditions in mixed tenure blocks, is the use of a factoring service which all local RSLs continue to provide.
WELFARE RIGHTS - INCOME M AXIMISATION
The Council’s Welfare Rights Service continued to exceed targets for client income generation (£2.8m last year). This was the highest output for the last 3 years. They also increased the level of positive outcomes for clients well above the baseline target with 92% achieved, against a target of 80%. ACHA’s Financial Inclusion in Social Housing (FISH) Service and The Argyll Net Works consortium of local RSLs also continue to provide valuable services to help mitigate the impact of welfare reform. Fyne Homes have recently received funding from the Climate Change Fund to launch their ‘Fyne Heat’ programme. This programme will recruit and train a number of Fyne Home Advisors; who will be tasked with providing expert advice to Fyne Home tenants on how they might be able to reduce their energy use.
Number and breakdown of grants awarded for common repairs during 2014/15
In addition 11
grants were
awarded to
tenements for
amenity or small
repair work.
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THE COUNCIL’S SCHEME OF ASSISTANCE TO SUPPORT REGENERATION
LHS Outcome 4 - Key Actions, Progress in 2014/15
COMPLIANCE WITH SCOTTISH HOUSING QUALITY STANDARD (SHQS)
The Scottish Housing
Quality Standard (SHQS)
was introduced by the
Scottish Government in
February 2004 with the
target that all homes rented
from social landlords should
meet this standard by April
2015. The 2015 target has now been effectively delivered
The Council recently reviewed its Scheme of Assistance for the private sector, in relation to enforcement activity; tackling Below Tolerable Standard (BTS) properties; the use of Housing Renewal Areas and other innovative solutions where this could improve stock and enhance wider community regeneration activity. Although some key targets have been met in this area, there is still room for further improvement.
The small number of remaining properties which are defined as technical exemptions will be addressed in the future.
The Historic Scotland Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme (CARS) provides grant funding to tackle property issues in the historic core of towns, bringing old buildings back in to use and repairing others for the benefit of the community and ensuring that town centres are attractive and vibrant places where people want to live, work and visit. This includes residential dwellings. Within Argyll & Bute three areas have been allocated funding; Rothesay, Inveraray and Campbeltown (which has also benefited from the Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI)). Work is currently ongoing in Campbeltown (where 3 flats and 2 residential units have been completed) and Rothesay - and will commence soon in Inveraray.
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LHS Outcome 4 - Key Actions, Progress in 2014/15
In addition to Affordable Warmth projects, the key initiative for funding this outcome was the implementation of Home Energy Efficiency Programme Scotland: Area Based Scheme (HEEPS:ABS) which offers a range of energy efficiency measures to households suffering from fuel poverty. Since its inception, there has been a total investment of £4.6m which has supported the installation of energy efficiency measures to over 1,300 properties in Argyll & Bute. In 2014/15, the areas of Bute, Mid Argyll and Kintyre were targeted, with a small number of measures also being completed in areas previously targeted under HEEPS: ABS. Scottish Government funds for projects delivered directly by Alienergy totalled
£2.1m in 2013/14 and £2.3m in 2014/15.
IMPROVING HOME ENERGY EFFICIENCY
For 2014/15, the Single Outcome Agreement interim target was for 900 properties to receive improved energy efficiency measures. A total of 280 households are estimated to have been improved last year.
A dedicated Housing Officer post was created within Council Housing services to co-ordinate this work in 2014 and as a result, a more robust & rigorous management & monitoring process has been developed.
A ‘before and after’
photo of a property
which now has a
much improved
energy efficiency
rating due to
Council & Scottish
Government
assistance.
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LHS Outcome 4 - Context and remaining challenges
UNDERSTANDING LOCAL STOCK CONDITION & ASSESSING FUEL POVERTY The Council completed a comprehensive Local House Conditions Survey for the Atlantic Islands in 2014. This provides detailed statistical analysis of the key issues and quantifies levels of fuel poverty at a local level.
3.1% of private properties
are Below the Tolerable
Standard (BTS) 3.7% exhibit
serious
disrepair and
12.6% require
urgent repairs
to prevent
further
deterioration
16.3% of occupied
dwellings are in
sub-standard condition
according to Housing
(Scotland) Act 2006
definition
41% of the Argyll & Bute population are
off the gas grid and have to buy more
expensive energy to heat and run their
home
22.1% of single pensioner
households and 10.1% of
older smaller households
live in dwellings which are
in sub-standard condition
29.4% of economically
vulnerable households
live in substandard
dwelling
Despite the extensive range of services, support and local projects which are contributing across Argyll and Bute to help deliver this outcome, and the substantial levels of investment already being targeted on the local housing stock and energy efficiency measures across all tenures, significant challenges remain:
increasing levels of fuel poverty and incidence of extreme fuel poverty
potential obstacles to the RSLs’ ongoing improvement programme due to the difficulties of engaging with private owners in mixed tenure schemes
the introduction of the Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing (EESSH) & the Regulation of Energy Efficiency Standards (REEPS)
constraints on the Private Sector Housing Grant (PSHG)
substantial levels of poor condition in the private rented sector
potential resistance/antipathy to a significant culture shift in the general population.
63% of local residents are in fuel poverty - well in excess of the national
average 22.4% of households
experience difficulties in
heating their home to a
comfortable level in winter
while 36.9% of households
can just afford it
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Key Contacts for Housing Issues:
www.argyll-bute.gov.uk
Head of Community and Culture Mr Donald MacVicar
Tel: 01546 604364
Email: [email protected]
Housing Services Manager Mrs Moira MacVicar
Tel: 01631 572184
Email: [email protected]
LHS Research and Development
Officer
Mr Allan Brandie
Tel: 01369 708679
Email: [email protected]
Team Leader West Mr Bill Halliday
Tel: 01546 604425
Email: [email protected]
Team Leader East Mr Douglas Whyte
Tel: 01546 604785
Email: [email protected]