Los roles de las mujeres

12.13 In recognition of the 4.3 million households in England alone that could not afford the heat they need to keep warm and healthy – the fuel poor – and the excessive number of Winter deaths in the UK, we took early action to reduce the level of V.A.T. on fuel and energy saving materials, initiate reforms to the energy market to reduce the cost of keeping warm, and introduce £100 annual Winter Fuel Payments for pensioner households. In the 2000 Budget, we have announced an extension of the V.A.T. reduction on energy saving materials to all households and an increase in the Winter Fuel Payments for pensioners to £150.

12.14 A Ministerial Group is developing the Government’s overall strategy on fuel poverty. The importance of improved energy efficiency in providing a permanent solution to the problem of fuel poverty is well recognised. Following a detailed consultation, we have announced plans for an expanded Home Energy Efficiency Scheme (HEES) to provide warmer, healthier homes.

12.15 New HEES will target those people who are at most risk from ill health caused by fuel poverty – the elderly and families on low incomes, the disabled and the chronically sick. It will provide a wider range of insulation and heating improvements including, for the first time, central heating systems. These measures will reduce the cost of keeping warm by up to

£1,000 a year. Marketing of the new scheme is just beginning, with the first homes due to be improved in June 2000. New HEES is expected to reach some 460,000 households, mainly in the owner-occupied and private rented sectors, of whom 280,000 will be aged 60 or over.

12.16 We are also developing an Affordable Warmth Programme in conjunction with Transco. This aims to support the installation of efficient heating and insulation in up to a million homes by 2007, using operating leases to finance the work. By providing security to the lease finance providers, Transco will reduce the lease costs. By introducing capital

allowances for lessors, we are bringing costs down and encouraging landlords to participate in the programme. The large majority of homes covered by the programme will be in the local authority and registered social landlord sectors, although it will also cover private sector homes improved through New HEES.

12.17 Increased resources for local authorities to spend on housing and improvements delivered through stock transfer will also help to improve the energy efficiency of local authority

housing, complementing the HEES and Affordable Warmth programmes.

12.18 Local authorities are also driving improvements in the energy efficiency of all housing in response to the requirements of the Home Energy Conservation Act 1995 (HECA). In England, they have been required to develop a strategy – as an integral part of their overall housing policy – for making progress towards a substantial improvement in the energy efficiency of all residential accommodation over 10 years from 1 April 1996 and to report on progress. Authorities are expected to incorporate energy efficiency measures in their own works programmes and to act as a facilitator of change, encouraging homeowners and landlords to adopt energy efficiency measures as a matter of course.

12.19 Energy efficiency improvements will help to tackle fuel poverty. They will also contribute to our climate change programme, reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the

domestic sector and reducing the impact that housing has on the environment. 12.20 Our action to tackle fuel poverty and increase the energy efficiency of housing is

complemented by our proposals for improving the home buying and selling process (discussed in Chapter 4) and by the Building Regulations. The house condition report, which is to form part of the seller’s pack required when a home is marketed, will include an energy rating. This will increase the awareness of both the seller and the buyer of the energy efficiency of the house.

12.21 Part L of the Building Regulations, the last revision of which came into effect in July 1995, sets minimum energy performance standards for new buildings and extensions or

conversions. A review, launched in January 1998, is examining the contribution the Building Regulations can make to achieving our commitments under the Kyoto Protocol and our own target for reducing CO2emissions. We have extended the review to take

more account of the environmental costs of CO2emissions and to look both at housing

and other types of buildings with a view to improving standards of new construction and applying standards to more maintenance and repair work in the existing stock. We will be consulting on amendments to the regulations soon.

Security

12.22 Social exclusion can be exacerbated by crime or a fear of crime and can be worsened by housing which lacks adequate security. This is particularly true of older households who have a particular fear of the risk of crime.

12.23 In a joint initiative with the Home Office Crime Reduction Programme, low income households with at least one member aged 60 or more who are assisted through our New Home Energy Efficiency Scheme (HEES) will also receive a package of home security measures if they live in an area considered to be at higher risk from crime. We believe this will help these households to participate more fully in the local community and thereby reduce the risk of isolation and exclusion.

12.24 Crime and the fear of crime are a serious problem in many of our residential areas. Theft, vandalism and fear of assault severely impact on the quality of life for too many people. The effect of high crime rates is to undermine communities, create unpopular

neighbourhoods and reinforce social exclusion. Our crime reduction programme will make major inroads into this problem. Over the next three years £400 million is being invested in a range of initiatives to combat crime and its causes.

12.25 Wider use of closed-circuit television (CCTV) in public areas can be a particularly effective crime prevention measure. As part of the crime reduction programme, over £150 million is being invested in new or extended CCTV systems in England and Wales, representing the biggest ever public investment in CCTV. Half of this investment is being targeted on residential areas. CCTV has not been widely used in residential areas in the past but we believe that it provides a major opportunity to reduce crime and improve the quality of life in areas where crime is a particular problem. Wherever possible, CCTV will be used in combination with other measures to assist in the wider regeneration of

declining neighbourhoods.

12.26 As with improvements to the energy efficiency of the stock, increased investment by local authorities in housing will also lead to improvements in the security of individual homes. Good design in new developments and refurbishment schemes which reflect the

requirements of residents can often make a real difference to security – improved access to blocks of flats, for example. Ensuring appropriate standards of security, such as those provided through the “Secured by Design” scheme, is important in reducing opportunities for – and fear of – crime.