Agenda item

Andrew Ford, Energy Advice Manager, presented written evidence from the charity Forum for the Future.

 In the presentation the following points were made:

·        The evidence was Forum for the Future’s response to the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s Consultation on Cutting the Cost of Keeping Warm: a New Fuel Poverty Strategy for England. The document outlined the resources community groups would need. These included the provision of clear and accurate information, access to training providers and advice and resources for marketing campaigns. Typically resources came from local authorities.

·        In the past, Islington Council had undertaken energy reduction programmes. However, there had not been any resources to undertake community engagement for a number of years.

·        To date, no community groups had approached the Energy Team about community energy projects.

·        Energy schemes should be carried out in line with the energy hierarchy i.e. firstly, reducing energy; secondly, insulating homes; and thirdly, generating energy.

·        In response to a question about the efficiency of the housing stock, members were advised that the most energy efficient was council housing, followed by social housing, then owner occupied housing and then private rented housing. Most council housing was flats which were generally more energy efficient than houses due to there being fewer roofs.

·        The council had undertaken solid wall insulation. If there was a choice between insulating and installing double glazing, generally insulating should be prioritised.

·        It was important to ensure there was a joined up approach between different departments.

·        There was a community energy scheme in Bannister House, Hackney. The council had provided £40,000-£50,000 plus officer time and procurement advice. The scheme resulted in community development and included community cohesion and apprenticeships. There was a Camden community group currently looking for a commercial building, who were not looking for local authority funding but would use council resources such as planning services.

·        If a community group contacted the council, the Energy Team would try and support them and put them in touch with the relevant people.

·        It was suggested that more information on community energy could be provided to councillors, staff and tenants and residents’ associations.

·        The Energy Team acted as consultants to the Housing department and advised them when grants were available and advised on the design of buildings and schemes. Often government grant money came with conditions. The council successfully bid for £6.5m between six boroughs. The funding required owner occupiers to contribute to work on their properties and they could apply for Green Deal finance to assist with this. Although this funding could only be used for owner occupied properties, the council combined the grant with other grants to do work on whole blocks as this was cost effective.

·        Landlords did not always invest in making their properties more energy efficient. The council’s Housing department had a health and safety rating system with 29 measures including cold, damp and mould checks. The environmental health team conducted spot checks and residents could also contact them to request a visit. If the property was found to be inadequate, the landlord could be required to deal with the problem within a specified time period. If they did not do this, the council could do the work and then charge the landlord for the work.

·        At the moment, it was considered not reasonable to ask landlords to insulate their properties. However, with a change to the law in 2018, it would become reasonable.

·        The Energy Team was not aware of any Islington residents having taken out the Green Deal.

·        In the past, funding had been used for door-knocking, surveys, draught proofing, infra-red surveys to show heat leakage, awareness raising programmes and workshops.

·        Barriers to people having work done included not wanting strangers in their homes, being unwilling to clear their lofts for insulating work and being unwilling to go through the disruption associated with work taking place in their homes.

·        Condensation could create a problem because people would open windows to deal with the condensation and then have to turn up their heating due to the heat loss out of the windows. To solve the problem of condensation, it was important to understand the cause. It could be a result of breathing, cooking, the design of buildings, especially those not designed for modern heating systems, or structural issues e.g. pathways over rooms on the Andover Estate.

·        Members of the public raised concern about the amount spent on energy measures under Decent Homes work. Officers did not have the figure but the work done was to meet the standards set by government.

·        In response to a resident’s question about whether there was scope for the compulsory purchase of homes which did not meet energy standards, the officer advised that although he understood that the council could compulsory purchase properties in some instances, he was not aware if not meeting minimum energy standards was one of the reasons.

·        A member of the public asked for the cost of energy related improvements on tenants’ rent. Officers would look into this.

·        Members of the public were advised that they could ask questions of the Executive member and could put in written questions to Full Council.

RESOLVED

That the presentation be noted.