Local MP challenges minister on Hard-to-treat homes and cold weather payments

5.15.00pm GMT Wed 10th Mar 2010

Gordon MP Malcolm Bruce has called on the government to do more for residents in Aberdeenshire who live in hard-to-treat homes.

Mr Bruce raised the issue in the House of Commons last week in a debate on Home Energy Efficiency and Fuel Poverty together with many other concerns including the rising costs of fuel particularly for those off the gas mains grid who rely on heating oil and LPG fuel.

In a wide ranging debate the MP spoke of the disproportionate number of people living in fuel poverty in Scotland.

The MP said:

"I was shocked to read that fuel poverty figures indicate that we are nearly back where we started 10 years ago. After a dip in fuel poverty it has risen sharply and it is estimated that between 4.5 million and 5 million households across the United Kingdom are in fuel poverty, In Scotland statistics show that 618,000 households in Scotland-over a quarter of the total-are in fuel poverty."

On hard-to-treat homes, the MP challenged the current level of support available for home owners and the burden that falls to those local authorities trying to tackle the problem.

He said:

"I was shocked to discover that more than 50 per cent. of households in Scotland are, in one form or another, hard to treat. They are mostly houses with solid walls or the early timber-framed houses, and flats and homes in multiple occupancy.

Energy companies which have an obligation to promote insulation and efficiency tend to take the easy way out and promote cheaper and quick- fix solutions rather than investing in larger scale problems which are more energy intensive such as hard-to-treat homes.

The social housing sector faces huge bills and touch choices in tackling this problem. Dealing with the existing housing stock reduces the pool of funds available for providing new houses.

All over the country, local authorities such as Aberdeen City and Orkney together with housing associations are independently tackling the problems without any real exchange of information or co-ordination, which is not the most efficient way to deal with the matter."

Speaking on cold weather payments, Mr Bruce believes that many people in the constituency were missing out due to the link between most Gordon homes to the Dyce airport weather station. He said:

"People living in Huntly and communities such as Rhynie, Lumsden and Glass will know from bitter experience that the temperature and weather conditions are far different to those milder conditions found in low-lying Dyce airport. By changing the link to a weather station which is located further inland they are more likely to have a fairer assessment. Those linked to Braemar which includes Alford can expect eight weather payments so far this winter compared to four for those linked to Dyce.

"I don't think people living in Lumsden for example would accept that they have had less snow or higher temperatures than Alford during this cold winter.

"I also believe that cold weather payments should be awarded to everybody who is currently not on the gas mains given the disproportionate costs involved. I am contacting the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to push these important points."