Scotland 'going backwards' on fuel poverty as more households struggle to afford heating

Patrick Harvie tore into the SNP Government amid speculation it will water down key legislation on making homes more energy efficient.

Scotland is "going backwards" on fuel poverty as a rising number of people struggle to pay their heating bills.

The SNP Government announced today that 34 per cent of households - or 861,000 homes - were classed as living in fuel poverty last year, an increase of three per cent.

The benchmark is defined as any household spending more than 10 per cent of their income to heat their home to a reasonable level, once housing costs such as rent are discounted.

The Scottish Government target is for no more than five per cent of households to be in fuel poverty by the end of 2040.

It comes amid speculation SNP ministers will dilute or scrap planned legislation aimed at phasing out gas boilers in favour of greener alternatives, like electric heat pumps.

Alasdair Allan, the acting Climate Action Minister, tried to blame Westminster for the rise in households struggling to pay their bills.

He told MSPs: "The global events we have witnessed in the last three years and continue to see unfold, have had a substantial negative impact upon the progress that was being made in tackling fuel poverty.

"This is together with an enduring cost-of-living crisis which has led to a sharp rise in our energy bills, alongside other essentials, impacting all households across the country, and worsening the ‘poverty premium’ facing those at the sharpest end of price rises, on the lowest incomes."

He added: "We know that tackling fuel poverty requires a long-term sustained effort and a whole sector approach with suppliers, consumers, the regulator and most importantly, the UK Government.

"This requires the use of the fundamental policy and fiscal levers in making the changes – which only it can take, and which the previous UK Government continually failed to use - to protect household energy bills, as well as address the legacy of soaring levels of energy debt."

Green MSP Patrick Harvie tore into the SNP Government amid speculation it will abandon its flagship plan to require homeowners to switch to greener heating systems shortly after purchasing a new home.

The Heat in Buildings Bill was drafted by the Greens as part of the Bute House Agreement.

The party's co-leader said: "The cost of living crisis hasn’t gone away, with the UK Government cutting social security and the Scottish Government approving rent hikes.

"This would have been a great time to show real leadership in cutting energy bills. But that leadership is sadly lacking.

"The statement on fuel poverty shows that Scotland is moving in the wrong direction.

"Yet this statement is coming just two days before the SNP are expected to dilute, delay or even scrap the Heat in Buildings Bill, which is the only serious proposal they had to end Scotland’s over-reliance on gas for heating.

"The Greens have long tried to push the Government to go further and faster on fuel poverty and green heating. Even if they had taken the actions we called for back in 2009, when the budget fell because of their lack of ambition on energy efficiency, people would have been better protected from the recent price hikes.

"For a brief period, the SNP seemed to accept that failure on both fuel poverty and climate change meant they had to go further and faster. Now, they are admitting that fuel poverty is on the rise, but at the same time actually slowing down the action that’s needed."

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