MECOPP ‘HEAT OF THE MOMENT’ PROJECT · PDF fileMECOPP ‘HEAT OF THE...

1 Climate Challenge Fund Final Report| MECOPP

FINAL REPORT

MECOPP ‘HEAT OF THE MOMENT’ PROJECT

CCF NUMBER 4138

Report jointly compiled by:

Suzanne Munday (Chief Executive) Suzanne Chong (Chinese Development Worker)

Winna Cooper (Gypsy/Traveller Development Worker) Kashfa Tahir (South Asian Development Worker)

Contact: 0131 467 2994 Website: www.mecopp.org.uk

http://www.mecopp.org.uk/


How it all started MECOPP (Minority Ethnic Carers of Older People Project) assists Minority Ethnic carers to access the supports and services necessary to undertake or sustain a caring role. Established as an independent charity in 2000, the organisation evolved in response to the difficulties experienced by Minority Ethnic carers and those in receipt of care in accessing mainstream services. To this day, MECOPP remains the only multi-cultural carers’ organisation in Scotland. The need for the project was established through the following mechanisms:

Discussion with carer representatives on our Board of Directors;

Identification of issues relating to substandard energy efficiency in the home through our ongoing casework service;

Carer focus groups with the South Asian and Chinese communities respectively1;

Individual interviews with a small number of Gypsy/Traveller carers2; and

A desk based review of available research on energy consumption and carers. A number of issues emerged from the above. The focus groups highlighted a significant knowledge gap amongst participants of climate change generally, the effects of climate change on the environment and what actions individuals and communities could take to minimise their carbon footprint. The lack of knowledge was compounded by little or no interaction with mainstream support agencies. A number of specific concerns were also highlighted as being particularly pertinent to informal carers and those in receipt of care. Our feedback highlighted increased energy usage due to longer hours within the home and the need to maintain a warmer environment because of disability and/or longterm ill-health, increased laundering as a result of the caring situation and reduced income levels leading to fuel poverty. Our findings were borne out by the available research. 77% of respondents who participated in the Carers UK and Carers Scotland ‘Caring and Family Finances Enquiry 2014’ identified increased costs in relation to household utility bills with a further 44% stating they had to cut back on heating. Figures taken from the Scottish Government Fuel Poverty Evidence Review identifies 20% of people with a longterm sickness or disability as being fuel poor and an additional 9% as being in fuel poverty. Project activities were designed to address the issues identified concentrating on individual reductions in energy consumption through improved energy efficiency and access to affordable warmth, reducing fuel poverty, increasing household recycling and reducing household waste. The project identified the following activities to achieve its overall aim:

Increase awareness of climate change by delivering workshops and developing accessible information materials;

Increase awareness of how to improve energy efficiency within the home through workshops, supporting home energy checks, implementing individual home energy

1 Funded through a CCF development grant 2 Funded through a CCF development grant


action plans and facilitating access to existing Government grant schemes to improve energy efficiency within the home

Increase access to ‘affordable warmth’ by working jointly with Changeworks to provide advice on tariff options, understanding meters and energy bills and resolution of fuel debt;

Reduce food and general household wastage by working jointly with Changeworks to deliver a series of workshops on ‘Reduce, Re-use and Recycle’ including reducing food wastage;

Increase project beneficiary knowledge of, and engagement with, recycling schemes;

Increase participation in community gardening projects and ‘grow your own’ schemes to assist in raising awareness of air miles for imported foods;

Act as a trusted intermediary to increase community engagement with a range of mainstream organisations working in this field; and,

Increase capacity of our target communities to provide basic advice on energy efficiency through the peer educators.

A final application was submitted in February 2015 with funding awarded to the amount of £78,942 for the period 1 April 2015 – 31 March 2016. The funding awarded enabled the project to recruit 3 development posts to work with the respective target communities. Project outcomes agreed with the Climate Challenge Fund were as follows:

Reduce CO2e by 10% for 50% of project beneficiaries by supporting individuals to reduce energy consumption within the home;

50% of project beneficiaries (Black and Minority Ethnic informal carers and those with a limiting long term illness/disability) will have reduced fuel poverty through greater access to energy efficiency advice and information including support to access existing Government grants to increase home energy efficiency;

Reduce carbon emissions by 20% for 50% of project beneficiaries per year by reducing food wastage going to landfill;

Reduction in air and water pollution, greenhouse gases and energy consumption through greater awareness of and engagement with recycling schemes (50% of project beneficiaries);

100% of project beneficiaries will have increased knowledge of climate change with 80% adopting behavioural and attitudinal changes as a result of their participation in the project; and,

Increase project beneficiary involvement in community gardening ‘grow your own’ schemes.

Headline Achievements We would like to highlight the following key achievements in this section. We were delighted at the levels of participation in the educational aspects of the project given that our target group were already coping with very difficult life circumstances in their role as a carer or as a result of long-term illness or disability. The workshop evaluations


clearly demonstrate that all participants increased their knowledge and awareness and as a result of this, committed to taking individual actions. This point is worth highlighting as many of the individuals we support are ‘older’ or ‘elderly’ and can feel excluded because of language and literacy issues. We feel that the workshops have created a legacy both for the respective communities but also for the organisation and one which we will continue to deliver on. The information provided in the workshops directly impacted on the increase of food being recycled rather than going to landfill. Over the life of the project, food recycling had increased from 38.42 kgs to 135.75 kgs, a difference of 97.33kg. Over a year this will mean an additional 1167.96 kgs of food waste being recycled with a value of 844.464 kgCO2e and over a lifetime (calculated as 10 years) 8444.64 kgCO2e / 8.44 tonnes Community gardening also proved extremely popular with demand for gardening space exceeding supply. Culturally, ‘food’ resonates deeply within our communities and creating opportunities for individuals to ‘grow their own’ has made a lasting impact. Participants spoke of ‘reconnecting’ with the land as before they immigrated to the UK, they lived in rural areas where farming was a large part of their day to day life. This activity also had the added benefit of reducing food ‘air miles’ as participants reduced the amount of Chinese vegetables they were purchasing from speciality food shops whereby produce was flown in. Participants also valued the opportunity to interact with the wider community around a shared interest. The project was also delighted to have the opportunity to work in partnership with 7 other CCF funded projects to co-deliver a multi-cultural eco event. With the agreement of our funding officer and the partner organisations, MECOPP assumed lead responsibility for the organisation of the event. A sessional worker was recruited who had significant experience of event management and the event was delivered on time and within budget. Although managing differing expectations from partners did at times prove challenging, as did the short timescale for delivery, the event was a great success with 330 people attending on the day. A separate report on the event has been submitted to the funder.

Outputs Output Grid – Please fill in only those outputs which relate to your project. More information about all of these outputs can be provided in other sections of the report – these figures will enable us to collate some overall impacts of the CCF.

How many advice/information centres – regular drop-in centre, advice surgery etc. - is your project running?

How many training sessions where skills and/or information were passed on – e.g. composting training, cooking workshops, etc. – has your project has held.

30

How many events did your project hold, e.g. information fairs, open days, etc.? Do not include events held by other organisations which you have attended.

3

How many staff, volunteers or community members have achieved qualifications through the project – e.g. City & Guilds Energy Awareness, Trail Cycle Leader, etc.

3

How many people were directly employed by your project. Tell us the full-time equivalent (FTE) number of employees (e.g. 3 days per week = 0.6 FTE).

1.6


Is the project is supporting the development of any long-term jobs which are not dependent of CCF Funding? How many?

How many people are actively involved in your project – attending groups & workshops, using the project facilities etc.?

345

How many people volunteer their time and energy to keeping the project going – don’t forget the members of your management committee or board.

20

How many schools are involved in your project?

How many community-owned buildings have been refurbished?

How many Home Energy Checks or similar energy efficiency reports have been carried out by your project?

30

How many households have been referred on to other agencies or providers (e.g. HES, Green Deal assessor) for further action?

24

How many households installed energy efficiency measures – loft, wall or floor insulation, draft-proofing, double glazing etc. – as a result of your project?

7 (with 5 referrals pending)

How many households installed green energy generation measures – photovoltaic panels, solar thermal panels, air or ground source heat pumps, wood fuelled heating systems etc – as a result of your project?

How many miles of car journeys have been reduced through the activities of your project?

How many square metres (m2) of community growing space (allotments, poly-tunnels, raised beds, community gardens) has your project brought into use?

How many tonnes of waste have been diverted from landfill because of the activities of your project?

8.44 tonnes food waste

How many kWh of energy has been reduced because of the activities of your project? 17591.03

Narrative on Project Activities/Outputs Due to the announcement of the grant outcome on the 31st March 2015, recruitment of the three posts only commenced in April 2015 with staff being appointed as of early June. This meant that the project start was delayed by two months and subsequently only ran for 10 months instead of the full year. In the first two months, the project concentrated on developing internal processes and paperwork to support the delivery of the project. These included a comprehensive monitoring framework to be completed monthly, a project risk assessment and finance schedule. These tasks were undertaken by the allocated project manager with management time funded as part of the overall grant application. On appointment in June, CCF staff focussed on developing project publicity, web content for the MECOPP website and in identifying and developing appropriate contacts/networks. As part of the project, staff were required to complete a range of external training to build their own knowledge and capacity. All staff successfully completed the City and Guilds qualification in Energy Awareness and the mandatory workshop on Climate Change. Staff also participated in training delivered by Changeworks on energy advice, home fuel billing and heating systems. A further two ‘train the trainers’ courses were also undertaken on the


3 R’s and ‘Kitchen Canny’. This ensured that the project had the capacity to deliver the training first-hand to project beneficiaries and also created an organisational legacy. Having undergone the external training, project staff were able to develop a range of workshop materials for delivery to our target audience. The draft workshop materials were ‘peer reviewed’ by colleagues to ensure the language used was readily understandable and accessible. To support evidence collection, the CCF team also developed a simple evaluation tool based on pre- and post-learning/knowledge. This tool proved so effective that it was used for all workshops delivered by the project. A key focus of the project was to raise awareness of climate change amongst our beneficiaries with the primary delivery mechanism being educational workshops. Over the life of the project, the staff organised and delivered 30 workshops with 345 attendances. Workshops were delivered on climate change, energy efficiency, ‘kitchen canny’ the 3 R’s, winter gardening, ‘end of winter’ gardening and a full day environmental education workshop. Many of the workshops were repeated due to demand with climate change, ‘kitchen canny’ and the 3 R’s proving the most popular. Workshops for the ‘peer educators’ were also developed and delivered to the Chinese and South Asian communities. All workshop evaluations demonstrate an increase in knowledge and understanding post- delivery. Workshop ‘highlights’ included the environmental education full day workshop delivered jointly with Dynamic Earth and the half day workshop on ‘river conservation’ delivered in partnership with the Water of Leith Trust. Both partner organisations cited the ‘added value’ working with the MECOPP CCF project brought to them as it enabled them to engage with communities who do not traditionally access their services. ‘Sign-up’ to the project began in earnest in August 2015 to allow the project team to complete the mandatory training and to raise awareness of the project amongst our service users. Over the life of the project, a total of 60 beneficiaries (34 Chinese / 17 South Asian/ 9 Gypsy/Travellers) engaged with the ‘casework’ based energy advice aspect of the work. To support this, the team worked with Home Energy Scotland, the Affordable Warmth Team and the Energy Saving Trust to develop joint referral processes between agencies. A total of 47 referrals for joint home visits with Home Energy Scotland and the Everwarm Team were made by the project and of these, 9 joint visits are pending to be taken forward by other members of the MECOPP team. These are broken down as follows:

Home Energy Scotland Everwarm Pending

Chinese 15 8 5

South Asian 7 3 4

Gypsy/Traveller 5 0 0

A total of 31 home energy action plans were completed as a result of the home visits (12 Chinese / 12 South Asian / 7 Gypsy/Travellers). As a result of the joint visits, 2 beneficiaries changed suppliers with a potential saving of £600 per year respectively.


Within the Chinese community, 15 referrals were made to Home Energy Scotland resulting in 5 individuals being awarded funding from HHCRO for new boilers and one individual being awarded funding from Warmer Home Scotland. At the time of writing this report, 5 referrals to Home Energy Scotland are pending and will be taken forward by other MECOPP staff. Four individuals were not entitled to receive any Government grant. Within the South Asian community, 7 referrals were made to Home Energy Scotland with one family being awarded funding for a new heating system. This will be installed in the summer months. Three further referrals were not entitled to receive any Government grants. Within the Gypsy/Traveller community, the joint visits resulted in one insulation survey being conducted by Everwarm which resulted in funding being awarded by West Lothian Council. Works will commence once the neighbour has agreed to the work being carried out. One Gypsy/Traveller was also awarded a ‘Warm and Well’ grant from Midlothian Council operated by Changeworks with works to commence in March 2016. The project also made progress against its objective of reducing food wastage both through reducing the amount of food going to landfill and skilling beneficiaries up to make use of leftover foodstuffs. In total 12 families received and made regular use of food caddies and 37 rolls of bio-bags were distributed. By the end of the project, the amount of food being recycled had increased from 38.42 kgs to 135.75 kgs, a difference of 97.33kg. Over a year this will mean an additional 1167.96 kgs of food waste being recycled with a value of 844.464 kgCO2e and over a lifetime (calculated as 10 years) 8444.64 kgCO2e / 8.44 tonnes. Throughout the project, considerable interest was demonstrated in the ‘grow your own’ food activities provided. Currently, four Chinese beneficiaries are growing their own vegetables at West Pilton Community Gardens and have been doing so since August 2015. A further 6 Chinese service users are currently awaiting allocation of growing space at West Pilton and the Scottish Widow Community Gardens respectively which will become available in April 2016. Two Gypsy/Travellers are also growing their own food. Additionally, seven Chinese and 2 South Asian service users are growing their own herbs in pots. The project also established a range of new working relationships with organisations that MECOPP had not previously engaged with, particularly in the environmental field. A particular highlight of the project was the end of year joint ‘Multi-Cultural Eco Celebration’ which was delivered in partnership with 7 other CCF funded organisations. In total, 330 people attended on the day and a separate report has been created to reflect this piece of work. MECOPP was also invited to present its work at a national conference organised by Changeworks with 37 different organisations signing up to the workshop on working with Minority Ethnic communities. MECOPP also delivered workshops to a range of other community organisations including Edinburgh Chinese Elderly Support Association, the True Jesus Church, Trust Housing Association, Cathay Court, Shakti, MILAN (Senior Welfare Council) and Saheliya.


Outcomes CO2e Outcomes:

Reduce CO2e by 10% for 50% of project beneficiaries by supporting individuals to reduce energy consumption within the home.

Over the duration of the project (12 months) reduction of 26,502 CO2e tonnes.

Lifetime impact at 7 years reduction in CO2e of 185.51932 CO2e tonnes (Outcome partially delivered)

As explained elsewhere in the report, collecting data over a like for like period was not possible for a significant number of beneficiaries as the project only ran for 10 months and individuals engaged with the project at different points in its lifespan. However, we were able to provide concrete data (see attached spreadsheet) for seven beneficiaries which demonstrate that the project did achieve a 10% reduction in energy consumption for these individuals. The total reduction in CO2e emissions for these beneficiaries was 16,537.99 tonnes CO2e over a lifetime (7 years). Speculatively, if this figure was applied for the remaining 23 beneficiaries (averaged out), this would equate to an additional reduction of 54,339.11 tonnes CO2e bringing the total to 70,877.10 tonnes CO2e. Community Outcomes: 50% of project beneficiaries (Black and Minority Ethnic informal carers and those with a limiting long term illness/disability) will have reduced fuel poverty through greater access to energy efficiency advice and information including support to access existing Government grants to increase home energy efficiency (Outcome partially delivered)

Across the 3 beneficiary communities, a total of 11 individuals benefited from support provided by the project to access central/local Government grants to increase energy efficiency within the home. This includes two beneficiaries who were supported to switch suppliers/tariffs with a potential cost saving to the household of approximately £600 each annually. As the replacement boilers, heating system and insulation secured by the project have only been recently installed/to be installed, figures are not yet available on the cost saving to the respective households but we anticipate that this will become evident over the lifetime of the replacements. “That’s great that my radiators are working fine! So I can unplug the electric heater and start saving money now!” (Gypsy/Traveller beneficiary) “Thank you very much for helping me find a better deal. Now I could save about £600 on the bills!” (Gypsy/Traveller beneficiary who lives in private owned house and takes care of 2 daughters) “That’s great that my radiators are working fine! So I can unplug the electric heater and start saving money now!” (Gypsy/Traveller beneficiary)


“Yes, we just want to thank you so much. We’re very grateful and much appreciate your help [to find grants to fix broken radiators]. Many thanks” (Gypsy/Traveller beneficiary who lives in a privately owned house and takes care of 3 children and a baby) “Thank you for helping me and my family to get help with the radiators. It will get damp out of the house and it will be warmer” (a thank you note from a Gypsy/Traveller family who were awarded the Warm and Well funding, Midlothian area) A further 31 home energy action plans were completed by project staff resulting in changes being adopted within the home. For example, participants reduced temperature settings to 30 degrees for laundry, set central heating thermostats at lower temperatures, switched to LED lightbulbs, used shower timers and purchased draught excluders. Over time, this will reduce energy consumption resulting in cost savings. “Everyone likes the shower timer you gave us and we all (especially my little brother) definitely spend less time in the shower, less than 10 minutes definitely” (a young Gypsy/Traveller living with his parents and brothers) The project exceeded its target of 40 joint home visits with Home Energy Scotland by 7 additional visits. Reduce carbon emissions by 20% for 50% of project beneficiaries per year by reducing food wastage going to landfill (Outcome met or exceeded) The project was able to reduce the amount of food waste going to landfill by 97.33kg leading to an overall annual increase of 1167.96 kgs / 844.464 kgCO2e of food waste being recycled. Over a lifetime (calculated as 10 years) this would convert to 8444.64 kgCO2e / 8.44 tonnes. ‘I started recycling food waste quite a while ago but I didn't know that egg shells can be recycled. The workshop provided me information that I didn't know before and I am now recycling more food waste.’ (Chinese beneficiary) “Because of the project, we learn more about how to save energy, stay warm, recycle and reduce food waste. Now I don’t want to cook if I can’t find lids. I tried to use up leftovers or make soup out of it” – (Gypsy/Traveller beneficiary who lives in private owned house and takes care of 3 children and a baby) “I did not know what happened to the food I threw away. Now I know, I will stop doing this and use the food caddy provided to make sure it is recycled” (South Asian beneficiary) “I learnt about portion size which will help me to stop making too much food and then throwing it away. It is simple things we can all do to help the environment (South Asian beneficiary) From the feedback received, it is evident that participants’ knowledge of how to reduce household waste going to landfill has significantly increased and has been matched by behavioural changes.


Reduction in air and water pollution, greenhouse gases and energy consumption through greater awareness of and engagement with recycling schemes (50% of project beneficiaries) Outcome partially delivered

100% of project beneficiaries were provided with information on recycling schemes as part of the workshop programme. Food recycling proved to be the most popular aspect of this activity with 12 beneficiaries being signed-up for food recycling and continue to use the food caddies provided. Thirty-seven rolls of bio-bags were also distributed. Three additional beneficiaries also donated household goods for the first time. “I started recycling food waste quite a while ago but I didn't know that egg shells can be recycled. The workshop provided me information that I didn't know before and I am now recycling more food waste.” (Chinese participant) “Sorting the rubbish for recycling” (Chinese participant) 100% of project beneficiaries will have increased knowledge of climate change with 80% adopting behavioural and attitudinal changes as a result of their participation in the project (Outcome met or exceeded) Demand for workshops exceeded our original expectations with 30 workshops being delivered over the life of the project compared to the original target of 20 workshops. Participant attendances also exceeded the original target of 190 by 155. The method of evaluation adopted by the project evidences the increase in learning following workshop inputs with all participants recording an increase in knowledge. “The activities and workshops of the project have provided a lot of useful information and knowledge related to Climate Change, Home Energy Efficiency and Recycling. Without this project, we will probably know nothing about these.” (Chinese participant) At the workshops, participants committed to a range of individual actions including: “Eat less meat, Walk more instead of using the car, try my best to use less gas and electricity” (Chinese participant) “Be more involved in environmental protection, try my best to slow down the climate change” (Chinese participant) "I will buy a lot better now because I have learned a lot today. I will recycle more because I know where things go now" (Chinese participant) "I will be more careful now that I can put leftover in the freezer and use another time for our supper" (Gypsy/Traveller participant) "I will do my best not to drive every day. Maybe go to shops twice a week" (Gypsy/Traveller participant) “I’ll shop for food as much as is needed so it won’t go to waste” (Gypsy/Traveller participant)


“I’ll switch off lights, close doors to keep heat in, walk when possible and drive less” (Gypsy/Traveller participant) Levels of participation workshops clearly demonstrate an appetite for learning amongst our beneficiary communities. We believe a factor in this was the ability of the project to develop and deliver materials that were both linguistically and culturally appropriate. The evaluations and feedback received also demonstrate that when provided with accessible information, individuals are able to commit to actions to reduce the impact of their behaviour.

“Thank you very much for delivering the Climate Change and Kitchen Canny workshop to our middle-age group of the True Jesus Church. The workshop was really well received. As most of us work long hours in the kitchen, we don't normally have the opportunities to attend events like this so we can have the chance to learn something new. Though we had heard about bits and bobs about climate change and recycling from different sources, this was the first time we had somebody to come into our group to deliver a workshop in Cantonese on a specific topic and we learnt a lot. We really hope that you could deliver more workshops or information sessions to our group in the future.” The team were also able to organise and deliver two full day multi-cultural events for our beneficiaries which provided ‘added value’ in bringing diverse communities together to learn. This aspect was commented on very favourably. As a result of these joint events, MECOPP was also able to develop new partnerships with Dynamic Earth and the Water of Leith Trust. These partnerships will continue to be nurtured so that similar events can be delivered in the future. “I enjoyed the experience and I know more about my natural environment. I enjoyed walking and tree planting.” (Chinese participant) “I understand the natural environment better after attending this event. It makes me enjoy the natural environment more.” (South Asian participant) “In today's event, I learnt a lot about the natural environment and how to protect the environment.” (Chinese participant) “I understand the relationship of nature to living things and how they connect better” (South Asian participant) Increase project beneficiary involvement in community gardening ‘grow your own’ schemes (Outcome met or exceeded) This aspect of the project proved to be very popular. Six project beneficiaries (4 Chinese / 2 South Asian) are regularly participating in West Pilton Community Garden. A further 9 are awaiting spaces to become available within West Pilton and the Scottish Widow community gardens respectively but hope to be able to begin in April 2016. Two Gypsy/Travellers are also growing their own food on site (as opposed to a community garden). An additional 9 beneficiaries (7 Chinese / 2 South Asian) are growing their own herbs in pots. All of the


above had not participated in community gardening/’grow your own’ prior to the support of the project. Involvement in community gardening schemes has had a number of additional benefits for participants. These include improved physical and mental wellbeing, greater engagement with community resources and supporting relationships with members of the majority community. “I feel very happy every time I go to West Pilton Community Garden. I love chatting and sharing vegetables with other people. The scenery on the way to the Garden is beautiful and the environment of the Garden is nice. It is really an enjoyable experience going to the Garden. I have been well looked after by the volunteers of the Garden Anne and Kirsty. I always look forward to going to the Garden.” (Chinese participant) “I look forward to the fresh air and seeing vegetables grow that I have planted myself. I am very happy that I can take part. I did not know about community gardens before this.” (South Asian participant)

Learning and Reflection There was a considerable amount of learning for the organisation in delivering this project as it was the first time the organisation had fully engaged with environmental issues. Prior to the project starting, MECOPP had a number of policies in place to support a ‘green’ working environment but it is probably fair to say that they were not always at the forefront of staff minds. For example, although all staff were instructed to turn off computer screens on leaving the office, it was observed that this was not always adhered to. The training provided to CCF staff enabled them to cascade the information amongst the wider staff group and behavioural changes were noted. For example, staff were much more aware of measures to reduce energy consumption within the office and also their own individual home environment. Non-CCF staff were also able to attend a number of workshops delivered by Home Energy Scotland and Changeworks which has created a legacy within the organisation to enable us to maintain aspects of the work. For example, MECOPP will continue to provide workshops on energy efficiency with the home as part of our ongoing work. With regard to specific project activities, the CCF team experienced a number of challenges. Some of the barriers identified are specific to a particular community whilst others were experienced across all beneficiary communities. Common Issues: A significant number of individuals that the project worked with within the Chinese and South Asian communities were not literate in either written or spoken English. This meant that considerable time was spent liaising with Home Energy Scotland, Everwarm and other agencies to arrange joint home visits. Staff calculated that for every referral to install a new boiler, four home visits were required. The length of the visits was also extended due to


communication support being provided by the worker. Adding in travel time, each installation required approximately 12 – 15 hours of staff time. As each post was only funded for 24 hours per week, this ate in considerably to the worker time available. Problems were also experienced in referrals to Home Energy Scotland being acted on in a timely manner due to staff shortages. This issue was beyond the project’s control and led to substantial delays. The staff also noted that despite being identified on referral forms as the key contact, agencies made direct contact with service users who did not understand the content of the call and declined visits. This led to a number of misunderstandings and in some cases, complaints which had to be resolved. Our beneficiaries also found the complexity of Home Energy Scotland’s home energy action plans too complex with highly technical language. This led to the project developing its own internal action plan which was much more accessible and proved more effective with service users. The project also experienced considerable problems in getting access to fuel bills. Very few of the beneficiaries were actually in receipt of paper utility bills any more with transactions being conducted on line by younger members of the family who lived overseas. Electronic copies of bills were not kept which meant that it was very difficult to get backdated bills. The project attempted to overcome this by visiting beneficiaries and having a three way conversation with providers to get access to previous bills. This was not always successful. Similarly, it was not always possible to get younger family members overseas to respond to requests for assistance as consent had to be given to contact the provider and request duplicate bills. The short duration of the project also proved challenging particularly in being able to quantify reductions in energy usage and cost savings. As the project did not run for a full year and it was not able to compare ‘like with like’ energy consumption, this reflected on our ability to evidence some of the changes made. The Chinese CCF worker noted that comments were made by Home Energy Scotland to the effect that gas consumption may initially go up after a new boiler is installed as it takes time for individuals to get used to it. Chinese Community: the Chinese worker also noted that the evaluation process for workshops also proved to be problematic for a small number of the older Chinese beneficiaries. Due to lack of written literacy in both English and Chinese, the worker offered to read the questions out to participants but this was declined as they felt it was ‘offensive’ and reflected badly on them. In these circumstances, the worker felt it was more appropriate to acknowledge their feelings and not pursue the issue. Younger members of the community were able to complete the evaluations independently. South Asian Community: the worker noted that inefficient windows seemed to be more of an issue within this community. However, she was advised on referral to Warmer Home Scotland that their scheme did not cover this but that the policy may change and to reapply later in the year. MECOPP staff will be taking this forward.


Gypsy/Traveller Community: the work with this community has identified a significant number of issues, a considerable number of which have been beyond the control of the project. The project worker for this community worked with both individual Gypsy/travellers in housing and on permanent sites. Whilst most of the findings are based on working on North Cairntow Site which is provided and managed by the City of Edinburgh Council, the practices highlighted are typical of other Council run sites. The following concerns were raised. The site is run by the Council as a sub-distributor of electricity with the site being billed as a whole. Money is then collected from each tenant by the site manager, via a purchased top-up card, to settle the bill. As a result of this, tenants are unable to change suppliers and meters to the most cost effective tariff. Costs are also increased as pre-payment meters tend to be the most expensive method of payment as the majority of cheaper energy deals are only available for periodic billing and on direct debit. Site tenants also do not receive individual energy utility bills so cannot monitor individual energy consumption, do not know who their supplier is and do not have access to their Meter Point Administration Number which is required for all communication with suppliers. Tenants are also disadvantaged in that they cannot quality for Warmer Home Discounts as this is applied to individual consumers via individual billing as opposed to collective arrangements. A comparison using the Tariff Comparison Rate also highlights that the cost of electricity under this system is costing individual Gypsy/Traveller ‘households’ on site substantially more than a similar size household in private accommodation. This was brought to the attention of an Affordable Warmth Advisor from Changeworks and is currently being investigated. Each amenity block on site has an electric immersion boiler installed under the kitchen worktop which is inaccessible. There is general agreement from the Affordable Warmth Advisor, the site manager and line manager that this is likely to be the main factor in excessive electricity costs. There does appear to be some appetite to investigate this and this is ongoing. Shower areas within the amenity blocks are poor insulated and heated by electric/electric convection heaters which are proving too expensive to run in order to keep the building warm and damp proof. All of these issues were raised with the site manager who also struggled to get the relevant information. “I am having a little difficulty in obtaining the info about the boiler. Waiting on a colleague getting back to me. All we know at the moment is that it is an electrically driven immersion cylinder that provides each tenant with hot water.” (Site manager)

Amenity blocks also do not have an energy efficiency rating/EPC whereas all Council houses are required to have a minimum EPC rating. This means that there is less incentive for the Council to ensure that all accommodation provided on site meets the required standard as there is no standard to be met. Waste management and recycling have also proved problematic for tenants on sites. Since the implementation by the Council for the ‘roll out’ of the new recycling scheme in September 2015, numerous complaints have been submitted by the site manager on behalf of tenants due to non-collection. Appropriate bins for glass recycling and food waste are still not in place.


Site tenants are further disadvantaged because the ‘properties’ do not easily fit the criteria for energy efficiency grants. Whilst the caravan is privately owned, the Council provide both the ‘pitch’ and the amenity block. Where caravans were manufactured before 2005 and do not have gas central heating, they can be considered under the ‘mobile home’ category for grants but this is at the assessor’s discretion because it has to be static and fitted to the ground (ie. no wheels attached). “The criteria below covers mobile homes permanently fixed to a site which more or less means that they can’t have wheels attached to them. But of course this is a tricky type of property and they get assessed on a case by case basis” The project worker also identified issues relating to scheduling work in shared buildings whereby permission has to be given by all residents. One female resident was unable to have cavity wall insulation installed as the neighbouring tenant refused. The Council is unable to insist that this work is carried out despite the mutual benefit. Subsequently, the work was unable to proceed despite the project worker negotiating on behalf of the MECOPP beneficiary. In summary, the project has highlighted the considerable disadvantage faced by Gypsy/Travellers across a wide range of issues concerning improving energy efficiency, reducing fuel poverty and increasing recycling.

Finance and Administration MECOPP has a considerable track record in project management and delivery and the organisation was able to draw on this for the CCF project. However, we did find that the financial reporting side proved overly onerous. Whilst we completely agree with the need for financial probity and good governance, we found that the monthly claims process added a considerable administrative burden to the organisation. Whilst some invoices detailed specific project expenditure, eg. training, others related to overall expenditure for central overheads which the project made a contribution towards. This meant that numerous invoices had to be submitted each month. We have learnt from this process and are currently looking at our financial systems to see if we can make this easier in the future. Due to the late start of the project, expenditure was also lower than anticipated. However, we very much appreciated the flexibility shown by the funders in allowing for funds to be transferred across budget headings with the agreement of the grants officer. We also found the grants officer, themselves, to be friendly, approachable and supportive. One of the key benefits of the project which has provided a legacy is the new partnerships we have developed which we will continue to develop in the delivery of our work. For example, it is our intention to negotiate with Home Energy Scotland to provide a monthly ‘surgery’ for carers on energy efficiency within the home. We also have greater knowledge of grants that are available and will continue to support individuals to access these as part of our ongoing support to carers and those in receipt of care. We will also continue to provide workshops on climate change, energy efficiency, ‘kitchen canny’ and the 3 R’s as these proved to be very popular with our service users.

MECOPP ‘HEAT OF THE MOMENT’ PROJECT · PDF fileMECOPP ‘HEAT OF THE...

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