Executive exceeds pledge to provide better heating for vulnerable people

The Scottish executive’s pledge to deliver warmer and
cheaper heating for Scotland’s most vulnerable citizens is
running ahead of schedule, according to a new report.

The executive’s ‘Programme for Government’, published two years
ago, promised to improve 100,000 houses suffering from dampness by
2003, and create 400 New Deal places each year to tackle poverty
and insulation.

Jackie Baillie, social justice minister, said: “I am delighted
to report that to date over 120,000 houses have been insulated, and
we have therefore comfortably met our PFG target well ahead of
schedule.”

Publishing the new report, ‘Quantifying the Benefits of
the Warm Deal,’ she added: “This is in large due to the
commitment of local authorities and Eaga Partnership to make
progress in tackling fuel poverty.”

Eaga Partnership Ltd was established 10 years ago to run the
home energy efficiency programme across the United Kingdom.

The central heating programme will continue providing heating
and insulation to 30,000 households in local authority and housing
association homes, and 40,000 older people households in the
private sector.