Warmer Homes Scheme: EIR release

Information requested

To request the information of, in the Scottish Government’s Warmworks/Warmer Homes Scheme, out of those who apply for the grant:

a) How many get turned down out of those who apply?
b) What are the most common reasons for turning an application down?
c) What support is given to those who are turned down?

Looking for the data for after a customer notifies Home Energy Scotland that they would like to take use of the scheme.

Response

I enclose a copy of all of the information that you have requested. This can be found below.

a) How many get turned down out of those who apply?
Between Warmer Homes Scotland starting in September 2015 and referrals for the first phase of the scheme stopping on the 31st March 2023, 22,817 customer requests to apply for Warmer Homes Scotland either did not proceed to a referral to Warmworks, or were found not to be eligible once referred. More than 35,000 customers were supported by the scheme in this period.

Applications to the first phase of Warmer Homes Scotland closed on 31 March 2023 and at this time all households were required to meet all 6 of the high-level qualifying criteria:

• Be a homeowner or tenant of a private sector landlord
• Live in the home as a main residence
• Lived at the property for more than twelve months (unless in receipt of DS1500 or BASRiS certificate)
• Live in a property with a SAP of 72 or lower which is under 230m2 in floor size
• Live in a home that meets the tolerable living standard set out in the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006
• Not received support for energy efficiency measures though WHS funding in the last 5 years

As well as meeting the six high level criteria, customers must be 16 or over and be in receipt of certain benefits. The exception to this is if you are 75 or over with no working heating system, then there is no benefits receipt requirement.

The table below outline the most common areas of eligibility that are not met by households. This information is from the launch of WHS in September 2015 to the close of applications on 31 March 2023.

b) What are the most common reasons for turning an application down?

The most common reasons for an application not qualifying for the scheme were:

Reason given	Number of households
Household does not meet age, children in home (under 16) or benefits criteria	10,168
SAP rating too high	3,953
No suitable measures available under Warmer Homes Scotland	3,032
Has not lived in the property for sufficient time	1,336
Customer not private tenant or owner occupier	1,144

c) What support is given to those who are turned down?

In the instance that an application to Warmer Homes Scotland does not progress beyond the initial phase, the customer is directed to contact Home Energy Scotland to find out what other support could be available to them.

The Home Energy Scotland (HES) advice centre network is the primary channel in Scotland for fuel poverty, energy, and carbon-saving messaging and advice and support to consumers and householders. It is the gateway to Warmer Homes Scotland (WHS) but also provides advice and support to those who are not eligible for WHS, referring customers, where appropriate, to other services. HES supports the most vulnerable customers with the Energycarer service. Through this service, Energycarers can make referrals to the Home Heating Support Fund managed by Advice Direct Scotland.

Home Energy Scotland would explore what other support was available for the customer. They may look at other funding options including Area Based Schemes, ECO and the HES Grant and Loan (and its predecessor schemes). Home Energy Scotland would also offer energy advice tailored to the customer’s circumstances, and any other referrals (such as Priority Service Register or Fuel Bank Foundation) that were appropriate.

All domestic owner occupied households in Scotland can apply to the Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan scheme. The scheme provides grant funding for zero direct emissions heating up to £7,500 and for energy efficiency improvements – up to 75% of the combined cost of the improvements and up to the maximum grant amount of £7,500. The scheme also offers an optional interest free loan on top of these grant amounts.

Support is also available through our Area Based Schemes (ABS), which were launched in 2013 and aim to reduce fuel poverty by supporting local authorities to design and deliver energy efficiency measures in fuel poor areas.

Local schemes are designed and delivered by councils, in conjunction with utility companies and local delivery partners, targeting fuel poor areas to provide energy efficiency measures to a large number of Scottish households and help reduce fuel poverty. ABS funding enables local delivery partners to offer measures at no cost or a reduced cost to owner occupiers and private landlords with fewer than four properties (grant-in-kind).

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.