Consumer Scotland has outlined recommendations for new measures to support people living with a terminal illness, who face significantly higher and unavoidable energy costs.
The paper highlights that current support does not adequately reflect the elevated essential energy needs associated with terminal illness, exacerbating the risks and impact of fuel poverty.
Estimated figures from Social Security Scotland suggest there are currently 13,350 terminally ill people in Scotland including 230 children, 7,730 of working-age and 5,390 pensioners.
People with terminal illnesses often rely on essential medical and mobility equipment in the home and may need to heat their living spaces to higher temperatures to manage pain, respiratory issues and other clinical symptoms.
These combined needs can result in energy bills that are substantially higher than the average household’s with research showing these can be up to 75 per cent higher.
Consumer Scotland has assessed two potential routes for targeted support delivered through Social Security Scotland’s existing rules that record benefits for the terminally ill – known as Special Rules for Terminal Illness processes (SRTI).
Consumer Scotland’s preferred option is for people eligible under SRTI to receive a new bespoke payment providing a Minimum Guaranteed Offset of £450 to address additional essential energy costs. This approach is estimated to cost £6 million per year and offers targeted support that closely aligns with the actual energy needs of terminally ill people.
Consumer Scotland has also assessed a second delivery option that would see existing devolved benefits expanded to include people supported under SRTI. Doing so would provide up to £300 of support per person and would carry an estimated total annual cost of £4 million
Consumer Scotland Chief Executive Sam Ghibaldan said:
“For people approaching the end of life, living without sufficient support can significantly undermine the ability to meet essential needs, including staying warm, dry and clean which in turn can accelerate health deterioration and compound distress.
“People living with a terminal illness are a group who often have to spend higher amounts of money on their energy needs with the potential for significant detriment if they have to ration their energy use.
“Current energy support does not account for the impact of higher essential energy expenditure, and therefore does not effectively help terminally ill consumers to meet their essential energy needs.
“Introducing a Minimum Guaranteed Offset would provide meaningful help to those facing the highest essential energy demands. It would also provide a clear mechanism that can be readily updated as needs evolve, rather than requiring multiple adjustments to existing benefits.”
Consumer Scotland’s analysis shows that improving energy affordability for terminally ill consumers could help people maintain their health and wellbeing, reduce the likelihood of energy debt and self‑disconnection.
Background
This proposal aligns with the Scottish Government’s statutory duties under the Fuel Poverty (Targets, Definition and Strategy) (Scotland) Act 2019, and directly supports the delivery of the current Fuel Poverty Strategy.
Terminally ill individuals typically require an enhanced heating regime as recognised in the existing regulations. The Scottish Government’s 2021 Fuel Poverty Strategy highlights that fuel poor households are more likely to include someone with a long-term illness or disability, recognising that cold homes exacerbate ill-health and increase health risks.
Social Security Scotland has an established Special Rules for Terminal Illness (SRTI) process, facilitated by the Benefits Assessment Under Special Rules in Scotland (BASRiS) medical evidence form.
A BASRiS form is a form that terminally ill patients in Scotland can use when applying for specific benefits, like disability benefits, under special rules that provide the claimant with an up-rated, expediated benefit claim. A patient’s healthcare professional will complete the BASRiS form, providing clinical confirmation that the named patient meets the definition of terminal illness under Scotland’s social security system.
Terminally ill consumers would not need to apply separately for Consumer Scotland’s proposed energy support as SSS already holds the information required to automatically data match and transfer them onto the additional energy support.
Consumer Scotland is writing to the Scottish Government and to party spokespeople in the Scottish Parliament to highlight the recommendations.
Consumer Scotland is the statutory body for consumers in Scotland which was established by the Consumer Scotland Act 2020. We are accountable to the Scottish Parliament.