The Home Energy Efficiency Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2006

PART 1 General

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Home Energy Efficiency Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2006 and shall come into force on 1st January 2007.

Interpretation

2.  In these Regulations–

“the 1992 Act” means the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992(1);

“administering agency” means a person or a body of persons appointed under regulation 3(1);

“dwelling” does not include a caravan, mobile home or houseboat;

“energy advice” means advice on reducing or preventing the wastage of energy in a dwelling;

“partner” means a spouse or civil partner or any person who lives with the applicant as husband or wife or in a relationship which has the characteristics of the relationship between husband and wife except that the persons are of the same sex;

“registered installer” means a person or body of persons appointed under paragraph 8 of Schedule 1;

“roof space” means space between the roof of a dwelling and the ceiling of any room used or available for use for the purpose of living accommodation, that space not being wholly separated from the roof by any other room; and

“service occupant” means a tenant who occupies a dwelling in terms of a contract of employment.

Administering agencies

3.  –

(1) The Scottish Ministers shall appoint a person or body of persons, known as an administering agency, to perform such functions as they may determine for the purpose of, or otherwise in connection with, the making of grants towards the cost of works specified in regulations 8 and 13.

(2) Schedule 1 shall have effect with respect to each administering agency.

Conditions of grant

4.  –

(1) Works for which a grant is made shall only be carried out by persons appointed by the administering agency.

(2) If access is not made available to the dwelling or the applicant for a grant fails to co-operate with the administering agency or its agents to allow works to be carried out, a grant may be withdrawn.

(3) If the applicant occupies a dwelling as a tenant the grant shall only be made if the landlord consents to the work.

Applications for grant

5.  An application for a grant shall be made to the administering agency.

Revocations and transitional provisions

6.  –

(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the Regulations listed in Schedule 2 in so far as they apply to Scotland are hereby revoked.

(2) Those Regulations shall continue to apply in any case where an application for a grant was made and approved under those Regulations on or before 31st December 2006.

(3) These Regulations shall apply to applications for a grant made, but not approved, on or before 31st December 2006.

PART 2 Insulation and Energy Efficiency Works

Persons who may apply for a grant under this Part

7.  –

(1) An application for a grant towards the cost of the works specified in regulation 8 may be entertained from a person who is the owner or tenant of the dwelling, either alone or jointly with others, who lives in the dwelling as an only or main residence and either–

(a) has attained, or lives with a partner who has attained, the age of 60; or

(b) satisfies one of the conditions in paragraph (2).

(2) The conditions are that the applicant must–

(a) be, or live with a partner who is, in receipt of a benefit to which paragraph (3) applies;

(b) be, or live with a partner who is, in receipt of a guarantee credit as mentioned in section 1 of the State Pension Credit Act 2002(2);

(c) be, or live with a partner who is, in receipt of child tax credit or working tax credit under the Tax Credits Act 2002(3) and have a relevant income of less than £15,460 and for these purposes “relevant income” has the same meaning as in Part 1 of that Act; or

(d) have a child living in the dwelling, or live with a partner who has a child living in the dwelling, who has been awarded a disability living allowance under section 71 of the 1992 Act(4).

(3) This paragraph applies to–

(a) an attendance allowance, that is to say–

(i) an attendance allowance under section 64 of the 1992 Act(5);

(ii) an increase of an allowance which is payable in respect of constant attendance under a scheme under, or having effect under, paragraph 4 of Part 1 of Schedule 8 to the 1992 Act(6);

(iii) a payment made under article 14, 15, 16, 43 or 44 of the Personal Injuries (Civilians) Scheme 1983(7) or any analogous payment;

(iv) any payment based on need for attendance which is paid with a war disablement pension; or

(v) any payment intended to compensate for the non-payment of a payment, allowance or pension mentioned in any of sub-paragraphs (i) to (iv);

(b) a disability living allowance (under section 71 of the 1992 Act)(8), council tax benefit, housing benefit and income support (each as provided for in Part VII of the 1992 Act)(9), industrial injuries disablement benefit under sections 103 to 105 of the 1992 Act (where it includes constant attendance allowance) and an income-based jobseeker`s allowance (within the meaning of the Jobseekers Act 1995(10)); and

(c) a war disablement pension within the meaning of section 139(11) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992(11) or under article 10 of the Naval, Military and Air Forces etc. (Disablement and Death) Service Pensions Order 1983(12), so far as that Order is made otherwise than under the Air Force (Constitution) Act 1917(13), together with–

(i) a mobility supplement under article 20 of the Naval, Military and Air Forces etc. (Disablement and Death) Service Pensions Order 2006(14) (including such a supplement payable by virtue of the application of that article by any other scheme or order) or under article 25A of the Personal Injuries (Civilians) Scheme 1983 (including that article as applied by article 48A of that Scheme)(15), or a payment intended to compensate for the non-payment of such a supplement; or

(ii) a payment under regulations made under paragraph 7(2)(b) of Schedule 8 to the 1992 Act (constant attendance allowance).

(4) For the purposes of this regulation–

“owner” includes any person who under the Lands Clauses Acts(16) would be enabled to sell and convey land to the promoters of an undertaking; and

“tenant” includes a person who–

(i)

is a service occupant;

(ii)

has a licence to occupy a dwelling; or

(iii)

is a cottar within the meaning of section 12(5) of the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993(17),

and, in any case, a sub-tenant.

Works for which a grant may be made

8.  –

(1) A grant may be made for one or more of the following types of work–

(a) to provide insulation in any accessible roof space in the dwelling, including the insulation of any cold water tank and any water supply, overflow and expansion pipes in such a space;

(b) to provide insulation between the internal and external leaves of cavity walls of the dwelling;

(c) to improve the energy efficiency of any space or water heating system installed in the dwelling; and

(d) to provide draught proofing to or in the dwelling together with additional means of ventilation for any rooms which would otherwise be inadequately ventilated after such provision.

(2) Where a grant is made for one or more of the purposes set out in paragraph (1), grant may also be made for the provision of any of the following–

(a) energy advice;

(b) energy efficient lamps; and

(c) insulation to any water heating system or part of such system installed in the dwelling.

(3) No grant shall be made unless the dwelling and the subject-matter of each category of works mentioned in the application meets such conditions as may be specified from time to time by the administering agency with the consent of the Scottish Ministers.

(4) No grant shall be made in respect of any dwelling where a grant has been made previously for the same or similar works.

(5) All works shall comply with such standards as to materials and workmanship as may be laid down from time to time by the administering agency with the consent of the Scottish Ministers.

Calculation of amount of grant

9.  –

(1) The total amount of grant payable by the administering agency in respect of an application shall be the amount properly charged for the works carried out or £500, whichever is the lesser.

(2) Subject to paragraph (1), an administering agency shall have power, with the consent of the Scottish Ministers, to specify a grant-calculation basis, expressed in terms of amounts per unit of measurement, for any category or combination of categories of works.

(3) Where the applicant qualifies for grant by virtue only of regulation 7(1)(a), the maximum amount of grant and the grant-calculation basis applicable to any category of works, shall be one-quarter of the amount or basis which would otherwise apply.

PART 3 Central Heating Programme

Interpretation

10.  In this Part of these Regulations–

“central heating system” means a system which provides warmth to 2 or more rooms in a dwelling through a series of connected radiators or ducts linked to a central boiler or from a series of electric storage heaters and controlled from one central point;

“electric storage heater” means–

(a)

a free-standing storage heater;

(b)

an electric fan-assisted storage warm air system;

(c)

an electric wired underfloor heating system, set in solid floors; or

(d)

an electric ceiling heating system;

“inefficient central heating system” means–

(a)

a central heating system that is unable to deliver a satisfactory heating regime;

(b)

a central heating system that consists of or includes–

(i)

a solid fuel boiler with a seasonal efficiency of less than 55%;

(ii)

a natural gas boiler with a seasonal efficiency of 55% or less;

(iii)

an oil-fired boiler with a seasonal efficiency of less than 65%; or

(iv)

a gravity or semi-gravity solid fuel heating system which was manufactured at least 20 years before the date of application; or

(c)

a central heating system that consists of or includes electric storage heaters which were manufactured at least 20 years before the date of application;

“partial central heating system” means a system that does not provide warmth to one or more of the following rooms–

(a)

the main living room;

(b)

the main and any second bedroom;

(c)

the main bathroom; and

(d)

the main hallway;

“satisfactory heating regime” means a temperature of 23°C in a living room and 18°C in all other rooms sustained for at least 16 hours in every period of 24 hours;

“seasonal efficiency” means the efficiency of a boiler as determined using the 2005 edition of the Government's Standard Assessment Procedure for Energy Rating of Dwellings(18); and

“self-contained dwelling” includes any part of a building which is occupied as a separate dwelling.

Persons who may apply for a grant under this Part

11.  –

(1) An application for a grant towards the cost of the works specified in regulation 13 may be entertained from a person who–

(a) has attained, or lives with a partner who has attained, the age of 60;

(b) alone or jointly with others owns the dwelling or occupies it–

(i) under a lease from a private individual, partnership or from a limited company which is not a registered housing association;

(ii) as a service occupant; or

(iii) as a cottar within the meaning of section 12(5) of the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993; and

(c) at the time the application is made has occupied the dwelling for at least one year and does not expect to cease to occupy the dwelling within the period of twelve months beginning with the date on which the works are completed.

(2) If the application is for a grant for the works specified in regulation 13(1)(c) the applicant must–

(a) have attained the age of 80; or

(b) be in receipt of guarantee credit as mentioned in section 1 of the State Pension Credit Act 2002(19).

Dwellings eligible for grant

12.  An application for a grant under this part may only be entertained in respect of a dwelling which–

(a) (i) does not have a central heating system;

(ii) has a partial central heating system or an inefficient central heating system; or

(iii) has a central heating system that does not function;

(b) is self-contained; and

(c) is not the subject of any order or resolution which may lead to its demolition.

Works for which grant may be made

13.  –

(1) Subject to paragraph (2) below, a grant may only be made for the purpose of–

(a) providing a type of central heating system approved by the administering agency and any new fuel source;

(b) repairing a central heating system that does not function if it is reasonable to do so having regard to the likely lifespan and efficiency of the system; or

(c) replacing or upgrading a partial or inefficient central heating system.

(2) Where an application is approved for a purpose mentioned in paragraph (1) grant may also be made for the purpose of providing–

(a) insulation between the internal and external leaves of cavity walls of the dwelling;

(b) insulation to any water heating system or any part of such a system;

(c) insulation in any accessible roof space in the dwelling, including the insulation of any cold water tank and any water supply, overflow and expansion pipes in such a space;

(d) draughtproofing to or in the dwelling together with additional means of ventilation for any rooms which would otherwise be inadequately ventilated after such provision;

(e) energy advice;

(f) a cold alarm;

(g) a smoke detector; and

(h) a carbon monoxide detector.

Limits of grant

14.  –

(1) The maximum amount of grant payable under regulation 13(1)(a) is £3,500 but, if no central heating system approved by the administering agency can be installed for that amount, the lowest costing approved system may be installed where costs do not exceed £5,500.

(2) Grant may only be paid under regulation 13(1)(b) if the cost of repairing the central heating system is between £400 and £750, but where the cost exceeds £750, grant may be made under regulation 13(1)(a).

Conditions of grant

15.  The making of a grant may be made conditional on the carrying out of works listed in regulation 13(2).

MALCOLM CHISHOLM

A member of the Scottish Executive

St Andrew's House,

Edinburgh

29th November 2006