Written Question · S4W-29622 · Session 4
In light of the finding from the Scottish House Condition Survey 2012-2014 that the levels of fuel poverty and extreme fuel poverty had inc…
The question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the finding from the Scottish House Condition Survey 2012-2014 that the levels of fuel poverty and extreme fuel poverty had increased in some areas, what plans it has to help (a) children and (b) pensioners living in fuel poverty (i) in Orkney, (ii) in the Highlands and Islands and (iii) across the country.
The answer
The most recent statistics on fuel poverty were published in December 2015 (Scottish House Condition Survey: Key Findings 2014 http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2015/12/8460) and do not show an increase in fuel poverty between 2013 and 2014. The Scottish House Condition Survey 2012-2014 publication is based on a different time period to the national report. It is based on three year rolling averages to ensure reasonable sample sizes for local authority analysis and is therefore not designed to measure year-on-year change. Given the small sample sizes and overlapping samples, the local authority results in this publication do not show a statistically significant increase in fuel poverty and extreme fuel poverty between 2011-13 and 2012-14 for any local authority area.
Since 2009, we have allocated over half a billion pounds to make Scotland’s homes more energy efficient and over 700,000 of the most vulnerable households in our society have received assistance to help them heat their homes affordably.
In 2015, we launched our new flagship national fuel poverty scheme – Warmer Homes Scotland. This new scheme, which is focussed on the installation of a wide range of energy efficiency and heating measures, is expected to help around 28,000 of the poorest and most vulnerable households, including pensioners and fuel poor families, across Scotland during its lifetime. Warmer Homes Scotland has been designed to ensure that customers are not disadvantaged because of where they live, so householders in Orkney and the Highlands and Islands will receive the same high quality service as those in the central belt.
With the devolution of cold weather payments and winter fuel payments, we are also considering how best to use winter fuel payments to tackle fuel poverty and make homes warmer. This includes looking at whether it is appropriate to extend eligibility and if fuel bill rebates should be considered. We want to help people who are struggling to keep their homes warm – and this is one area we are exploring to see if are able to do that.
We are asking for views on how effective the cold weather payments and winter fuel payments are in tackling fuel poverty and what, if any, changes might be welcomed.
Since 2009, we have allocated over half a billion pounds to make Scotland’s homes more energy efficient and over 700,000 of the most vulnerable households in our society have received assistance to help them heat their homes affordably.
In 2015, we launched our new flagship national fuel poverty scheme – Warmer Homes Scotland. This new scheme, which is focussed on the installation of a wide range of energy efficiency and heating measures, is expected to help around 28,000 of the poorest and most vulnerable households, including pensioners and fuel poor families, across Scotland during its lifetime. Warmer Homes Scotland has been designed to ensure that customers are not disadvantaged because of where they live, so householders in Orkney and the Highlands and Islands will receive the same high quality service as those in the central belt.
With the devolution of cold weather payments and winter fuel payments, we are also considering how best to use winter fuel payments to tackle fuel poverty and make homes warmer. This includes looking at whether it is appropriate to extend eligibility and if fuel bill rebates should be considered. We want to help people who are struggling to keep their homes warm – and this is one area we are exploring to see if are able to do that.
We are asking for views on how effective the cold weather payments and winter fuel payments are in tackling fuel poverty and what, if any, changes might be welcomed.
In the Official Report
No contribution in the Official Report cites S4W-29622 by reference.