Wednesday
24
April
Controversial fuel poverty scheme could be revived
21/02/2020 @ 01:27
Councillors will get to look through proposals that could see a not-for-profit company brought in to run a controversial fuel poverty scheme on behalf of Powys County Council (PCC).
On Monday the Economy, Residents, Communities and Governance Scrutiny Committee will go through PCC’s Statement of Intent (SOI) for ECO3 at County Hall in Llandrindod Wells.
The scheme is about the installation of central heating, boilers, underfloor and wall insulation for homes deemed to be in fuel poverty.
This is over a year since ECO3 proposals were supposed to be scrutinised by councillors before they went to Cabinet.
Then, Powys Plumbing Group (PPG) claimed the highly controversial ECO2 scheme, ECO3’s previous incarnation, was being run fraudulently.
A report on ECO3 was postponed in January, 2019, to allow an investigation to take place. Then, PPG claimed that people earning more than £21,000 a year, the threshold to qualify, were receiving free boilers.
The new SOI would see Port Talbot-based Warm Wales/Cymru Gynnes take control of the ECO3 scheme in Powys.
In their ECO3 certification proposal Warm Wales director, Jonathan Cosson, explains that Warm Wales would take complete control and:
· Create a bespoke service level agreement for delivery of ECO3, detailing operational parameters, local authority costs/potential income from the scheme
· Be named as the council’s partner and body responsible for vetting applications
· Perform all necessary vetting/checks, determining applicant eligibility, thereby delivering an independent, robust and clear audit trail
This, Mr Casson says, would allow Warm Wales to source the best available deal for qualifying applicants. They would recover fees associated with ECO3 delivery direct from ECO funding partners and develop Warm Wales branded ‘Application for Flexible Eligibility’ form.
PCC would receive £90 plus VAT from Warm Wales for every successful installation.
It is expected that the ECO3 will go to Cabinet soon for a decision.
On Monday the Economy, Residents, Communities and Governance Scrutiny Committee will go through PCC’s Statement of Intent (SOI) for ECO3 at County Hall in Llandrindod Wells.
The scheme is about the installation of central heating, boilers, underfloor and wall insulation for homes deemed to be in fuel poverty.
This is over a year since ECO3 proposals were supposed to be scrutinised by councillors before they went to Cabinet.
Then, Powys Plumbing Group (PPG) claimed the highly controversial ECO2 scheme, ECO3’s previous incarnation, was being run fraudulently.
A report on ECO3 was postponed in January, 2019, to allow an investigation to take place. Then, PPG claimed that people earning more than £21,000 a year, the threshold to qualify, were receiving free boilers.
The new SOI would see Port Talbot-based Warm Wales/Cymru Gynnes take control of the ECO3 scheme in Powys.In their ECO3 certification proposal Warm Wales director, Jonathan Cosson, explains that Warm Wales would take complete control and:
· Create a bespoke service level agreement for delivery of ECO3, detailing operational parameters, local authority costs/potential income from the scheme
· Be named as the council’s partner and body responsible for vetting applications
· Perform all necessary vetting/checks, determining applicant eligibility, thereby delivering an independent, robust and clear audit trail
This, Mr Casson says, would allow Warm Wales to source the best available deal for qualifying applicants. They would recover fees associated with ECO3 delivery direct from ECO funding partners and develop Warm Wales branded ‘Application for Flexible Eligibility’ form.
PCC would receive £90 plus VAT from Warm Wales for every successful installation.
It is expected that the ECO3 will go to Cabinet soon for a decision.
Photo: Powys County Council offices in Newtown
By Elgan Hearn, Local Democracy Reporting Service
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