The elderly need help to afford devices

The deadline for the installation of interlinked fire alarms caught most homeowners by surprise last year and we were glad our calls to extend the deadline were listened to, albeit only for a year.

However, there’s still a long way to go to ensure all households affected can meet requirements and we have a number of concerns we hope to see addressed ahead of the February installation deadline.

Many older homeowners have voiced concerns over the affordability and cost of these devices, as well as where to access support to install them.

The Scottish Government provided Care And Repair Scotland

with £500,000 funding to help older and disabled people install the alarms. However, at present, this funding has helped just 800 people across Scotland, with £250,000 already being utilised.

With 150,000 pensioners in Scotland living in poverty and hundreds of thousands more on low and fixed incomes, there has been an underestimation of the scale of financial help that will be required by older households.

There’s also currently issues with supply and deliveries of interlinked alarms meaning many households may not have alarms installed by the deadline. The Scottish Government suggests there may be flexibility in the legislation but has given no indication of what that might mean.

There’s also still uncertainty about how home insurance policies, or home reports if buying and selling, may be impacted going forward, as well as how to prevent scammers and rogue traders from taking advantage of those worried about meeting the timescales for installation.

Good home fire safety standards are vital. We want every household affected to have the time and resources to make safe and affordable decisions to meet requirements ahead of the deadline.