In its Programme for Government, the Scottish Government has laid out ambitions to raise household incomes and invest in clean heating and energy efficiency. Delivery of these will be key to addressing fuel poverty, and a new report from Consumer Scotland makes recommendations on how.
Fuel poverty – a persistent challenge
For the last decade and more, fuel poverty has continued to affect between one in four and one in three households in Scotland. These numbers have been driven in large part by high fuel prices. But the energy inefficiency of homes and low household incomes have also played a part. The Scottish Government has the powers at its disposal to make homes warmer and cheaper to heat and help ensure households are left with enough money after fuel and housing costs to maintain an acceptable standard of living. The government needs to set out how it will use these powers in reviewing and revising its fuel poverty strategy by the end of the year.
Making homes warmer and cheaper to heat
The Scottish Government should prioritise the introduction of a Heat in Buildings Bill and the publication of an associated heat decarbonisation strategy. These are pivotal to reducing fuel poverty and the Scottish Government should ensure close integration between the fuel poverty and heat decarbonisation strategies.
The government also needs to provide further detail on how ambitions to support energy efficiency and clean heating measures in around 100,000 properties announced in the Programme for Government will be targeted at those in or at risk of fuel poverty, and the contribution they can make to meeting fuel poverty targets. There is scope to explore whether more households could be reached through strategic investments via the new Major Projects Office that was also announced in the Programme for Government.
Other priorities for the Scottish Government must be the delivery of the Social Housing Net Zero Standard, introducing minimum standards of energy efficiency in the private rented sector and further enabling local authorities to effectively deliver fuel poverty measures.
Raising household incomes
The majority of households living in fuel poverty in Scotland are income poor. Aside from income, high energy needs due to a long-term illness, or disability can also push households into fuel poverty. The Programme for Government includes a number of measures to raise household incomes such as support with fuel bills and widening access to debt and money advice. A revised fuel poverty strategy will need to be clear on how, together, these measures improve consumer outcomes and reduce overall rates of fuel poverty.
Ensuring the targeting of income and energy bill support for those with high need and via direct reductions to consumer bills is important. The Scottish Government’s commitment to provide support for energy costs for those who are terminally ill and with lifesaving equipment in their homes is welcome. A revised fuel poverty strategy will also need to consider how the use of UK-wide and Scottish data could be improved to better target financial support at those with the greatest affordability challenges. The Scottish Government should also explore what more can be done to alleviate the negative impacts of growing energy debt and how this is reflected in how fuel poverty is defined and measured.
A joined-up approach to fuel poverty
A joined-up approach to addressing fuel poverty will ultimately reduce costs elsewhere in the public sector as well as consumer harm and therefore aligns with the prevention strand of the Scottish Government’s public service reform agenda. However, to achieve this the Scottish Government needs to articulate how the measures set out in its Programme for Government combine to decisively tackle fuel poverty, a problem that has blighted too many families in Scotland for too long.