Heat networks target 2035 consultation: child rights and wellbeing screening

5. Is a Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment required?

Please state if a CRWIA will be carried out or not. Please explain your reasons.

No. As well as the screening exercise conducted for the Bill, a CRWIA was conducted for the Heat in Buildings Strategy, which is the overarching framework within which the HNDP and subsequent 2035 target has been produced. Further assessment at this time would not yield any additional insights.

The relevant potential negative impacts found in this assessment are noted above – these are all expected to be short term and mitigations are being/will be put in place:

• Quality assurance and skills – working to ensure delivery programmes do not unfairly disadvantage household with disabled children, seeking to minimise any negative impact on access/space/layout requirements – to be achieved through adoption of PAS 2035/30 standards, which includes pre install inspections covering access requirements.
• Cost and delivery – delivery programmes will consider additional costs which may be incurred to meet additional needs of disabled families.
• Guiding principles – underpinning the commitment that no one is left behind in the heat transition, ensuring actions will only be taken forward here they are found to have no detrimental impact on fuel poverty rates, unless additional mitigating actions can be put in place.