Correspondence between a constituent of
Siobhain McDonagh MP to the Committee and to the Department for
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)
LETTER FROM
CONSTITUENT OF
SIOBHAIN MCDONAGH
MP
I am writing further to your letter letting
me know that the meeting of the Committee of Public Accounts at
which the NAO Report will be considered is to be held on 22 October,
and asking me to let you know what I would like you to do.
I apologise for the delay in getting back to
you, but the situation has changed since I first approached you
on this matter, at least insofar as it affects us. Firstly, a
combination of budget cuts and changes in policy earlier this
year mean that our chances of obtaining a grant from Merton were
reduced, in effect, to zero. Secondly, when our boiler underwent
its annual service last month, it was condemned as unsafe because
of a defective flue. This left us in the same position that was
highlighted as being unsatisfactory in the NAO Report, namely
that our alternatives were either to spend the winter without
proper heating or hot water while awaiting help from the Warm
Front Scheme, or to find the money for the necessary work ourselves—which
of course we did.
In the event, British Gas took only slightly
longer to quote for, deliver and install a new boiler and flue
than Merton had done to respond to our request for an update on
their grants policy. Having said that, I don't want to be too
critical of the Council—they should not really have to fund
this kind of work any more, and have only got involved on this
occasion because of the shortcomings of the Warm Front Scheme,
which is what motivated me to contact you in the first place.
Although we now no longer have any personal
stake in the outcome of the Committee's deliberation on the NAO
Report, I am still of the view that the Warm Front Scheme's many
shortcomings have been clearly identified by the NAO, and that
the recommendations contained in the report should be implemented.
In common with the other issues that I have
raised with you over the years (Special Educational Needs, Working
Families' Tax Credits/Passported Benefited/Disabled Child Premiums—all
of which have related directly or indirectly to our son's disability),
there is nothing wrong in principle with the Warm Front Scheme,
and the government deserves credit for its commitment to helping
families such as ourselves. Unfortunately, such credit has been
largely dissipated by the wholly unsatisfactory way in which these
initiatives have been administered by the NGO or the local or
central government department charged with their implementation.
As regards next week's meeting, may I urge you
to submit a response to the Committee supporting the NAO's recommendations
on the basis that at least one family in your constituency has
experienced the kind of problems that those recommendations are
intended to resolve.
13 October 2003
LETTER FROM
SIOBHAIN MCDONAGH
MP TO THE
CHAIRMAN OF
THE COMMITTEE
Further to my letter concerning my constituent
and the problems he has identified in the operation of the Warm
Front Scheme, I understand that you will be considering the National
Audit Office Report on 22 October.
I would be very grateful if you could consider
the points raised by my constituent in his letter of 13 October
which identifies the problem created by grants not being provided
until such time as the central heating boiler has actually broken
down. As you will see from my constituent's case, the family quite
rightly felt unable to operate without a central heating boiler
for the nine months it would take for it to be replaced through
the Warm Front Scheme and therefore found their own funds to do
this work.
I would be very grateful if you might inform
the Committee of this case and the problems it identifies.Thank
you in advance for your assistance.
Siobhain McDonagh MP
17 October 2003
REPLY FROM
THE DEPARTMENT
FOR ENVIRONMENT,
FOOD AND
RURAL AFFAIRS
TO THE
CHAIRMAN OF
THE COMMITTEE
Thank you for forwarding to me, via the Committee
Assistant's letter of 28 October, correspondence from Siobhain
McDonagh MP enclosing correspondence from one of her constituents,
relating to Warm Front. We briefly discussed her constituent's
complaint during the PAC hearing on 22 October and I have now
had the opportunity to consider the correspondence (which raises
a number of significant issues).
At the risk of repeating what you know from
the NAO Report and the PAC hearing, Warm Front provides a range
of specified insulation and heating measures depending upon the
needs of the eligible householders and measures already installed
in the property. Scheme Managers appoint surveyors who then recommend
which measures should be installed. Some householders will be
eligible for a range of measures, for example cavity wall insulation,
draught proofing, loft insulation, central heating, energy efficiency
advice or energy efficient light bulbs. Others may receive just
one of these measures as others are already installed or there
are technical reasons that further work cannot be carried out.
Following this route helps to ensure that the most appropriate
measures are installed—subject to the grant maximum.
Warm Front grants are not paid directly to households.
Payments are made by the scheme managers to installers. We place
stringent requirements on the Warm Front scheme managers to ensure
that payments are only made when they have satisfactory evidence
of the work having been completed.
According to the current scheme rules, in order
for a boiler or radiators to be repaired, the boiler has to be
non-operational at the time of survey. Where central heating systems
have broken down, they can be either repaired or, if that is not
economically viable, replaced on a like for like basis. Warm Front
does not currently provide additional heating. During the PAC
hearing you and other committee members raised concerns about
the constraints imposed by these requirements, and you mentioned
the correspondence from Siobhain McDonagh MP. As I explained,
these rules are under urgent review. Discussions with stakeholders
are already underway.
If her constituent wishes to apply for a grant
under Warm Front for other measures, such as insulation measures,
may I suggest he contacts Eaga on 0800 316 6011.
Her constituent also raised the issue of the
timescale for the installation of heating measures (this too was
discussed during the PAC hearing). Eaga have advised that the
waiting times for the installation of heating measures within
her constituent's area is presently between three to six months.
(These are average timescales and can vary depending on seasonal
demand). As I explained at the PAC Hearing, over the past year
there has been a 17% reduction in the average waiting time for
work undertaken as part of the Warm Front Scheme. The scheme managers
are doing everything they can to improve the waiting times. For
example, they are encouraging installers to transfer resources
from areas of low to high demand, and are continuing to identify
additional firms that are able to carry out the work. We are also
working with the Energy Saving Trust, the Learning and Skills
Council, Corgi, OFTEC and the heating industry to launch a major
new programme to train 70,000 heating installers to help address
the problem of delays.
As Mr Leek (Operations Director, Eaga Partnership
Limited) explained at the PAC hearing, Scheme Managers have exceeded
the target that has been set for them in installing heating systems
into clients' homes every year that the scheme has been running.
Over 700,000 households have now received assistance, improving
the comfort of their homes. We are continually working with the
Scheme Managers to identify ways to improve performance and delivery
of the scheme.
I am copying this letter, as you requested,
to Siobhain McDonagh MP, and to the Comptroller and Auditor General.
Sir Brian Bender KCB
Permanent Secretary
20 November 2003
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