Local Authority: North Ayrshire Council

Publication Date: 15 January 2024

Version number: V002

Publication on web site: North Ayrshire Council website

This statement sets out North Ayrshire Council’s flexible eligibility criteria for the Energy Company Obligation (ECO4) and Great British Insulation schemes which run until March 2026.

The ECO4 scheme will focus on supporting low income and vulnerable households. The scheme will improve the least energy efficient homes helping to meet the Government’s fuel poverty and net zero commitments. The Great British Insulation Scheme will support the ECO4 scheme in the delivery of predominantly single measures targeted at a wider range of households.

The flexible approach for Local Authorities (LAs) to identifying fuel poor and vulnerable households who may benefit from heating and energy saving measures is referred to as “ECO4 Flex” and “Great British Insulation Scheme Flex”.

The Council is publishing this Statement of Intent (SoI), on 15 January 2024 to confirm each of the households declared will adhere to at least one of the four available routes outlined below.

Tick boxes indicate which routes are being used by the Council.

Owner-occupied and private rented sector households with a gross annual income less than £31,000. This cap applies irrespective of the property size, composition, or region.

Owner-occupied and private rented sector households that meet a combination of two of the following proxies:

Homes in Scotland in area 1 to 3 of the Scottish Government Index of Multiple Deprivation for 2020.

A person living at the premises is entitled to a Council Tax reduction on the grounds of low income.

A person living at the premises is considered to be vulnerable to the cold under the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Guidance NG6: Recommendation 2, for a reason other than their low income.

A child living at the premises is eligible for free school meals, due to low income (under section 512ZB(4) of the Education Act 1996 or section 53 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980).

A person living at the premises is supported by a scheme established by the LA/DA that is named and described within their Statement of Intent and established to support people living on a low-income and considered vulnerable to the cold under NICE Guideline NG6.

A household referred to the LA for support by their energy supplier or Citizens Advice or Citizens Advice Scotland, because they have been identified as struggling to pay their electricity and/or gas bills.

Households identified through energy supplier debt data. This route enables obligated suppliers to use their own debt data to identify either non pre-payment meter households (non-PPM), or pre-payment meter households (PPM).

a. Non-PPM customers: These are customers who have been in debt for more than13 weeks ending with the day on which the declaration is made and are in a debt repayment plan with their energy supplier or repaying their fuel debt through third party deductions.

b. PPM customers: Suppliers may also identify PPM households who:

• have either self-disconnected or received supplier Discretionary/Friendly credit within the last 13 weeks ending with the day on which the declaration is made, or
• are in a debt repayment plan with their energy supplier, or
• repaying their fuel debt through third party deductions

Owner-occupied and private rented sector households that have been identified by either a person registered in the General Practitioner Register, a Scottish Health Board, a Welsh Health Board, an NHS Foundation Trust, or an NHS Trust as vulnerable, with an occupant whose health conditions may be adversely affected by living in a cold home. These health conditions must be cardiovascular, respiratory, immunosuppressed, or limited mobility related.

Owner-occupied and private rented sector households that are referred under Route 4: Bespoke Targeting. Suppliers and LAs can apply to the Dept. for Energy Security and Net Zero where they have identified new methods to identify low-income and vulnerable households. Applications need to demonstrate a number of factors, including that the proposed methodology is more effective at identify households in fuel poverty than the criterion offered under Routes 1 and 2.

ECO4 Flex and GBIS installers will be responsible for collecting eligibility data on behalf of North Ayrshire Council to determine if the householder meets eligibility criteria as detailed within the SoI. All evidence, as required by OFGEM, will be accepted on face value as being accurate and all risks and liabilities reside with the installer to ensure those submitted are true and accurate.

Installers will cooperate fully with North Ayrshire Council with any audits or investigations and provide access to all relevant paperwork at any time during ECO4 to ensure regulatory compliance. Failure to do so will result in a temporary ban and review to determine continued eligibility to deliver this scheme.

To access ECO4 Flex funding, North Ayrshire Council is required to complete a Local Authority Declaration for eligible households. The final decision on whether a household receives ECO support is made by the energy suppliers and therefore inclusion within a declaration will not guarantee installation of measures.

The Council’s ECO4 Flex Privacy Notice, with details of how your data will be managed, can be found on the Council’s Energy Management webpage. Further information on how the Council manages personal information can be found within the North Ayrshire Council Privacy Policy.

All potentially eligible households should apply via one of the Council’s approved ECO / Great British Insulation Scheme installers, or contact Home Energy Scotland to see if they can benefit from this scheme or be assessed for eligibility under any other relevant programme.

An LA officer (not a third party working on behalf of an LA) will be responsible for checking, and verifying evidence, and issuing declarations. For any general enquiries relating to this SoI please contact:

Job title: Sustainability Officer

Telephone: 01294 310000

Email: ECO4 Flex

North Ayrshire Council will administer the ECO4 Flex scheme according to the Electricity and Gas (Energy Company Obligation) Order 2022 (ECO4 Order).

The CEO/dedicated responsible person of the Council will oversee the process of identifying eligible households under ECO Flex and Great British Insulation Scheme Flex. The Council will notify Ofgem of households that declarations have been issued for via the declaration notification template.

All personal data collected or processed by North Ayrshire Council for the purposes of ECO4 Flex or Great British Insulation Scheme Flex will be processed and stored in accordance with: the Council’s obligations under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, the Council’s data protection policy, the Information Commissioner’s Office Data Sharing Code and other guidance, and Department for Energy Security and Net Zero guidance.

Name: Russell McCutcheon

Job title: Executive Director (Place) - dedicated responsible person

Date of signature: 10 January 2024

For any general enquiries relating to this Statement of Intent, please email North Ayrshire Council Energy and Sustainability Team (ECO4 Flex and GBIS).