The programme is aimed at homes with walls that are unsuitable to be fitted with cavity wall insulation. More than 1,100 privately owned houses in Perth & Kinross have already been insulated through the scheme since it started in July 2013 as well as 750 council houses.

Combining the funding for Perth & Kinross in 2017/18 with additional ECO funding from Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) it has been possible to insulate many private homes without the need for owners to contribute to the cost.

The plans for this year’s programme include the installation of external wall insulation to 184 private homes in various areas of the district including Almondbank, Crieff, Stanley, Milnathort, and Perth.

At the same time the council will upgrade a further 138 of its houses in the same places.

Two of the latest areas to benefit from the scheme are the Darnhall area of Craigie in Perth and the area surrounding Isla Road in Alyth. Both of these projects are being carried out by SSE (Energy Solutions).

The council’s housing and communities convener, Councillor Peter Barrett, visited some recently insulated properties in Murray Crescent, Perth, to view the progress of the works.

He said: “This insulation work on hard-to-heat homes will make a huge difference to the lives of tenants and residents. It will mean that properties are warmer and that fuel bills will reduce significantly.

“Fuel poverty is still a problem right across Scotland and it’s something I want to focus on tackling in Perth and Kinross. Everyone has the right to live in a warm home and this programme is helping us to achieve that aim here.

“The external appearance of the completed houses is also often transformed by the work, which benefits the whole local neighbourhood.”

Councillor Barrett also reassured people living in homes where the work is being carried out over the cladding used, following the recent Grenfell Tower fire in London.

“The recent tragic events in London have highlighted the importance of careful design and material specifications when retrospectively fitting insulation measures to buildings,” he said.

“The external wall insulation systems being fitted to these houses is very different from the rain screen cladding fitted at Grenfell Tower. The insulation materials, which are either non-combustible or flame retardant, are fixed directly to the existing wall surface and then completely enclosed behind new layers of non- combustible render. All of the designs are subjected to independent scrutiny by the council’s Building Standards team before approval is given to proceed.”