Statement of Intent for ECO4

East Dunbartonshire Council ECO4 Flexible Eligibility
Statement of Intent Local Authority name: East Dunbartonshire Council

Publication Date: 25/03/2024
Version number: V.1.1

This statement sets out East Dunbartonshire Council’s flexible eligibility criteria for the Energy

Company Obligation (ECO4) scheme which runs 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 flexible approach for Local Authorities (LAs) to identify fuel poor and vulnerable households who may benefit from heating and energy saving measures is referred to as “ECO4 Flex”

The Council is publishing this Statement of Intent (SoI), on the 25/03/2024 to confirm that each of the households declared will adhere to at least one of the four available routes outlined below. The tick boxes can be used to indicate to households which routes the council is using:

  • Route 1: 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.
  • Route 2: Owner-occupied and private rented sector households that meet a combination of two of the following proxies:
    • Proxy 1: Homes in England in Lower-layer Super Output Area 1-3 (LSOA)1, or homes in Welsh provision LSOA 1-3 on the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation 20192, or homes in Scotland in “data zone” 1-3 on the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 20203*
    • Proxy 2: A person living at the premises is entitled to a Council Tax reduction on the grounds of low-income.
    • Proxy 3: 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-income4*
    • Proxy 4: A child living at the premises is eligible for free school meals, due to low-income5
    • Proxy 5: Not currently in use by East Dunbartonshire Council.
    • Proxy 6: 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.
    • Proxy 7: [Please note, proxy 7 is for supplier owned debt data and is listed here for information only]. 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 than 13 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 3rd 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 3rd party deductions.*

Non-PPM customers: These are customers who have been in debt for more than 13 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 3rd party deductions.
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 3rd party deductions.*

*Note proxies 1 and 3 cannot be used together.
*Proxy 7 cannot be used in combination with proxy 5 or proxy 6.

  • Route 3: 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.
  • Route 4 [applicable to ECO4 Flex only]: Owner-occupied and private rented sector households that are referred under Route 4: Bespoke Targeting. Suppliers and LAs can submit an application to the Department 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.

Scheme eligibility

All potentially eligible households should apply through East Dunbartonshire Council or one of their approved ECO installers, to see if they can either benefit from the scheme or be assessed for eligibility under any other relevant programme.

An LA officer (not a 3rd 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:

Name: Julie Isikaiye
Job Title: Private Sector Housing Officer
Telephone: 0300 123 4510
Email: energyefficiencyenquiries@eastdunbarton.gov.uk

Name:  Elaine Anderson
Job Title:  Private Sector Support Officer
Telephone: 0300 123 4510
Email: energyefficiencyenquiries@eastdunbarton.gov.uk

CEO or dedicated responsible person mandatory signature.

East Dunbartonshire 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. 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 East Dunbartonshire Council for the purposes of ECO4 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.

 

Alan Baurer Signature

Signature: Name: Alan Bauer
Job Title: Executive Officer – Assets and Facilities
Date of signature:  12th March 2024