Hansard

I encourage the minister to look again at supporting efforts in Orkney to harness more of the excellent renewable resources that we have in the islands to provide lower-cost electricity to fuel-poor households. At present, much of that resource is being constrained, off the grid, or pumped straight into the ground. Surely there is an opportunity for some joined-up thinking to allow Orkney and communities elsewhere in Scotland to derive more benefits from our assets. In the past, ministers have been reluctant to promote the idea of local councils or other community bodies taking on more of a role in energy supply, but that issue is worthy of further consideration.

I firmly believe that the Scottish Government has taken the issue of fuel poverty seriously. The development of many schemes that were initiated under the previous Scottish Executive has been sensible and effective, and I welcome the retrofit programme. However, the challenges in continuing to make progress are all too evident. In a sense, we have dealt with the low-hanging fruit, and what follows will be more tricky and costly. The Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee puts the bill at around £200 million a year; Energy Action Scotland insists that it is likely to be nearer £300 million. It has also made the point that the funding should be secure and over and above what the energy companies invest.

The minister will point to the £200 million in the budget, but that is almost certainly insufficient. She ignores the fact that the Government has made political choices about how it chooses to spend money. Since taking office, ministers have repeatedly refused to engage in discussions about how significant resources that are spent on Scottish Water might be better deployed while public control is retained over Scottish Water. That missed opportunity is directly affecting ministers’ ability to fund measures to combat fuel poverty.

The minister is correct to say that the number of households in fuel poverty at the start of the 21st century in Scotland, which is an energy-rich country, is scandalous. Tackling that will require collective effort, innovative approaches and significant resources. It does not need ministers relegating the issue below their obsession with the referendum and picking fights rather than working on solutions with Westminster.

I have pleasure in moving my somewhat lengthy amendment: I move amendment S4M-05424.1, to leave out from “the contrast” to end and insert:

“recognises the early indications from the National Retrofit Programme ‘go-early’ pilots that energy companies view Scotland as an attractive place to invest; further welcomes UK Government schemes to improve energy efficiency and tackle fuel poverty that will help households in Scotland, in particular the innovative Green Deal, which will launch in January 2013, under which individuals and businesses will be able to implement energy efficiency improvements to their properties paid for through savings on their energy bills, and the £1.3 billion Energy Company Obligation (ECO) that targets support at households in fuel poverty and those with hard-to-insulate homes; believes that as the ECO is taken forward, ministers should ensure that the obligation provides support for remote and rural communities with high rates of fuel poverty and higher costs; congratulates the UK coalition government on its decision to permanently increase the cold weather payment from £8.50 per week to £25 per week; recognises that action to reduce reliance on fossil fuels is required to tackle rising energy bills and welcomes the significant sums invested in the Scottish renewables industry in recent years, with around 11,000 jobs in Scotland now directly related to the renewables sector; further welcomes the UK Energy Bill, which is designed to ensure that there is a competitive market of diverse suppliers and energy sources in which consumers can obtain the best possible deal; supports the UK coalition government’s efforts to simplify tariffs to ensure that consumers are on the lowest tariff appropriate to their circumstances but, nevertheless, remains concerned that many customers find themselves subject to large increases in their energy bills, above the headline figure announced by energy companies; believes that, in order to meet the target to end fuel poverty by 2016, both governments must work together constructively in the best interests of Scotland’s people, and calls on the Scottish Government to work with the Treasury in order to unlock funds from Scottish Water to increase significantly its home insulation programme, which will reduce Scotland’s carbon footprint, cut family heating bills and generate thousands of green jobs across the country.”