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Holyrood committee calls for further action on fuel poverty
The Scottish government should target help towards people living in ‘extreme fuel poverty’, members of the Scottish Parliament have said.
In a report published today, the Local Government and Communities Committee supported the Fuel Poverty (Target, Definition and Strategy) (Scotland) Bill currently going through Holyrood but called for additional measures to be added.
If passed, the bill would set a target to reduce the proportion of households living in fuel poverty to 5% by 2040.
The committee supported this aim but argued that an additional target was needed to focus on people living in extreme fuel poverty to ensure that they are not left behind.
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Social landlords will not have any additional duties as a result of the bill, which will merely set targets, but it also sets out an intention to publish a fuel poverty strategy.
A draft fuel poverty strategy, published by the Scottish government in June last year, proposed a link with the ‘Energy Efficient Scotland’ route map, which set specific targets for social landlords to increase the energy efficiency of the homes they manage.
Under this programme, social landlords in Scotland are able to access interest free or low-cost loans to help cover the costs of improvements to energy efficiency.
James Dornan MSP, convenor of the Scottish Parliament’s Local Government and Communities Committee, said: “The committee welcomes the Fuel Poverty Bill’s core purpose, which could make a real difference to the life of thousands of Scottish families. However, the longer-term ambition should be the eradication of fuel poverty.”
The Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) said it welcomed the committee’s report and agreed with the suggestions for additional measures.
Sarah Boyack, head of public affairs at the SFHA, said: “SFHA will continue to lobby for the bill to show further ambition, and we are calling for funding plans to increase home energy efficiency to be set and a more ambitious target to end fuel poverty by 2032, rather than the current date of 2040.
“However, at present, housing associations face a major issue that stands in the way of them reducing fuel poverty levels among their tenants. Currently, they cannot access Scottish government funds to reduce fuel poverty and, with their tenants more likely to experience it, it is vital this changes.”
