EST Implements New Grant
Management System
The Energy Saving Trust (EST) has developed
what it says is a more effective grant management system that
will streamline the grant administration process and make it
easier for customers to successfully apply for grants throughout
the year.
Changes to the grant system are a result of a high level of demand for TransportEnergy
grants during the last financial year. EST has set new grant levels per vehicle
and a grant budget limit for each two-month period. EST says this is to ensure
that the limited funds are managed equally and fairly across the whole transport
market and stimulates the early take up of these new vehicles and technologies
throughout the year.
The implementation of this grant system comes
after extensive consultation with industry and key stakeholder
groups, which took place in January. The recommendation to take
seasonal demand across different sectors into account when setting
budget limits was incorporated.
Tom Fidell, director general of the LPGA,
said: "The grants are now being allocated on a two-monthly
basis and the first allocation proved problematic owing to the
backlog of requests. However, the second two-monthly allocation
seems to be working better but the amount of administration needs
to be cut down to make it more user-friendly."
A regular review of the process will occur
throughout the year. EST recently held ameeting with key suppliers
to ensure there is common understanding of how
the system works and grants are administered.
Commenting on the new system, Richard Tarboton,
head of TransportEnergy, said: “Changing the process of
grant distribution needs to work for everyone. The decision to
implement this system came after careful consideration and consultation
with our stakeholders. Our TransportEnergy programmes are proving
to be in high demand and this system will help us to allow a
fairer distribution of grants across the year.
"Importantly, it also ensures that new,
cleaner, low carbon vehicles and technologies that come to the
market later in the year will be able to benefit from the from
the grants."
The new system only applies to the CleanUp
programme in England and the PowerShift programme in England,
Wales and Northern Ireland.
EST recently announced that the grant fund
for the TransportEnergy CleanUp programme in Scotland for 2004/5
will be £1.44 million.
Contact the Energy Saving Trust on 0207 222
0101
www.est.co.uk
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