McGrigor: “Cases only tip of Highlands and Islands heating problem iceberg”

Conservative MSP Jamie McGrigor is now dealing with over 80 cases where work on heating systems under the Scottish Executive’s Warm Deal and Central Heating programmes has not been carried out.

Jamie McGrigor said “I am dealing with more than 80 cases to do with applications in the Highlands and Islands but my concern is that this is just the tip of the iceberg.

“While there has been some movement on some cases, who knows how many more cases there are? Who knows how many elderly and vulnerable people in the Highlands and Islands face a cold winter without adequate heating because of the Scottish Executive's failure to ensure full delivery of its schemes?

“Constituents have experienced significant delays in getting work done; there has been shoddy or even dangerous workmanship in some cases; and people have simply been denied such work on dubious grounds.

“One constituent says that she feels that she is living in a "danger zone", another has waited two years just for electric heaters to be installed. A Caithness woman was told that she could not go on the scheme because she already had heating—a 20-year-old peat-burning Rayburn.

“The Executive is always quick to congratulate itself but it should also take responsibility when things are not working. Although there are many cases in which work has been delivered successfully, there are just too many in which constituents have experienced real and potentially dangerous problems.

“The Executive must act now to ensure that continued support is available for those who need assistance in upgrading their heating systems and in improving the energy efficiency of their homes, but it must also ensure a far better delivery of the schemes”.