strategic aim four: improving the quality and condition of ... · understanding local stock...

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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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


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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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


LHS Research and Development

Officer

Mr Allan Brandie

Tel: 01369 708679


Team Leader West Mr Bill Halliday

Tel: 01546 604425


Team Leader East Mr Douglas Whyte

Tel: 01546 604785


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