Overview

TIG is a Registered Society under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014. Our mission is to “support and empower people to rent, buy and live in comfortable, affordable homes; promote independent and sustainable living solutions, and work to address fuel poverty and energy efficiency across our communities.”
In the achievement of our mission, we have an overarching community purpose that aims to reach and support every home, village and island of the Outer Hebrides.

Ownership model

TIG is managed by a committee of 13 volunteers elected from the societies membership there are also 2 nominated councillors who sit on our management committee.

Funding

TIG’s income is from a variety of grants, service level agreements, and contracts all of which relate to our 3 main services which are Energy Advice, Care and Repair and Housing and Community Development.

Impact to date

TIG’s key statistics from 24/25 are noted below.

The Energy Advice Service (TEAS)

• 1353 Clients assisted
• £300,366 total client financial gain
• 394 Fuel poor homes received 1182 energy vouchers
• 131 homes received small energy measures
• 22 broken / damaged appliances for 17 young families to value of £9,254 were replaced.

The Care and Repair Service

• £379,527.44 of major adaptations carried out
• £211.630 of major adaptations committed into the 25/25 financial year
• 185 minor adaptations carried out
• 251 Energy Performance Certificates
• 199 Warmworks Surveys
• 29 Property Surveys

The Housing and Community Development Scheme

• 17 Projects managed
• 6 Feasibility studies
• 2 Project Handovers
• 10 Topographical surveys
• 9 Properties managed on behalf of landlords

These key performance indicators assist us to reach out goal to be local, trusted and for the community, providing solutions which deliver positive housing and community impacts, and help address fuel poverty across the Outer Hebrides.

TIG takes its position as a trusted local provider of various housing services and empowers people to take action to reduce energy usage, save towards buying their own home and to remain independent living at home for longer. We campaign for affordable warmth for Hebridean households by carrying out valuable research in the levels of fuel poverty in the Islands raising awareness at all levels of the problem and we maximise the support that is available to vulnerable households.

We assist community groups and other develop affordable housing in their communities which in turn strengthens that local economy and goes towards the retention of the population by providing an affordable home. We work in partnership with the local authority and the IJB to assist the elderly and vulnerable live at home, independently for as long as possible.

Contribution to just transition

Citizens, communities and place: support affected regions by empowering and invigorating communities and strengthening local economies: The Outer Hebrides is a chain of islands off the West coast of Scotland with lovely beaches and rolling hills, but we can face extreme weather conditions with howling wind and driving rain, making it difficult to heat our homes, many which are situated near the coast in small villages. From a report published in 2024, response showed that 80% of homes were spending 10% of their income on heating their homes, however more concerning was that this was with many of the respondents self-rationing, which seems to be a norm now in the Western Isles. Our housing stock is unique in comparison to Urban areas which the vast majority being large, detached properties where historically there was large families in the property however there is now only one family member in the property, which on many occasions are on a single income pension. Community is central to all projects, and we involve the community from the development of the project through to completion, we ensure the service provides support and advice to all homes throughout the Western Isles and ensure that the people are central to any support we provide.

Lessons learned

There are many opportunities to ensure that we are learning positively, the small measures made a substantially difference to how householders used their energy however it also was the catalyst that got them to think about saving energy it was the start of a conversation and a way of getting into homes which then lead onto large savings and changes that could be achieved from the householders. The small measures that were distributed were the way to open the door and build a relationship with many householders, this then leading onto other saving and learning, many of which we are still supporting today.

Constraints and challenges

Through the course of the project there was a number of challenges, mainly COVID however we managed by following guidelines and an extension to the project to overcome these challenges, however there was specific localised challenges, such as our geographical spread, where homes are widely spread apart therefore making travel difficult between homes and islands. This in addition to many people being proud and don’t want to be seen as struggling or want a ‘hand-out’, people felt embarrassed to ask for help, however this was very much overcome with an empathic ear and a patient project officer who over time knew exactly what to say and do.

Working conditions and fair work practices

Featured organisations and initiatives were asked to supply the following information regarding working conditions:

• Alignment with Scottish Government Fair Work First criteria
• If they have gone beyond Fair Work First by incorporating broader values on fair work
• For larger organisations, whether a union recognition agreement is in place.

This did not apply to co-operatives structures and membership-based initiatives, though all projects and initiatives were given room to provide any detail on fair work practices deemed relevant.

The following information was provided:

TIG is a member of Employers in Voluntary Housing (EVH) who provide governance and HR consultancy, we are a living wage employer, and we have adopted a fair work first approach. We also hold ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001.

Case study

Energy Measures Project

The project was to support 500 Island homes to reduce energy use and therefore save carbon emissions, this was achieved through a project officer visiting these homes and from there a detailed bespoke energy plan was developed for each property that they could then revert to at any point for energy saving. From the report we are also able to identify which small measures would be suitable for the property to enable further saving, these measures were bespoken to island homes such as chimney balloons, draught proofing, LED light bulbs and more efficient cooking appliances such as air fryers and slow cookers.

Fuel poverty is a substantial issue in the Outer Hebrides with over 80% of homes spending more than 10% of their income to heat their home, in addition to many homes experience self-rationing and self-disconnections. The project was developed to help home reduce their electricity consumption to therefore bring homes out of fuel poverty and help homes to manage heating use in a more efficient way to reduce self-disconnections. It was also there to build confidence and to educate homes in the efficiency of heating and to ensure that homes didn’t get to the stage of self-disconnecting.

The project was run by TIG’s Energy Advisory Service which is a local trusted organisation within the Outer Hebrides, it used many partnerships within the lifetime of the property these local and nationally. Therefore, not just providing energy advice, education and support, we are able to provide a holistic approach and refer homes on to benefits entitlement check, new heating systems, large energy efficiency measures in addition to also working with many NHS services and Citizen Advice Bureau. Initially we were able to utilise European Funding; from this we were then able to lever in funding from Energy Redress and also Local Authority funding. A report detailing carbon and kwh savings created by the project is available upon request.