Central heating announcement good news for Borderers

The Scottish Government has pledged an additional £7 million towards the Central Heating Programme to help prioritise much-needed help for eligible pensioners in the Borders and elsewhere. SNP MSP Christine Grahame said the move demonstrated the Government’s commitment to the programme which had been run down and restricted in recent years by the previous Liberal and Labour administration. Ms Grahame said:

“It was clear that the Central Heating Programme which the SNP Government inherited and which was introduced to ensure that older people did not endure cold winters as a result of living in unheated accommodation, was being restricted and run down by the previous Liberal / Labour government.

“Figures I recently obtained demonstrated that there had been a 58 percent drop in the number of central heating systems installed in the Scottish Borders from an annual total of 427 per year in 2004-05 to 179 by 2006-07.

“The announcement by the Government of an extra £7 million towards the programme will significantly reduce waiting times and increase capacity. Priority will be given to those older people without both heating and hot water.

“Scotland is an energy rich nation, but at present all of that wealth is being siphoned off to the discredited Treasury in London. In our country it is a disgrace that any of our older people are forced to live without proper heating or hot water.

“With the limited financial resources the Scottish Government has we are committed to doing the maximum we can to alleviate the hardships of older people not just this winter but every winter. This significant additional commitment demonstrates that we will look after our older people where previous Governments have failed to.”

SNP It’s time.....