Meeting of the Parliament 23 April 2014
I welcome the opportunity to outline the actions that the Scottish Government has taken and continues to take to combat fuel poverty. The Scottish Government has a clear vision—that every one of us should live in a high-quality, sustainable home that we can afford to heat. I agree with Jackie Baillie on that point. However, she spoke as if we work in isolation on the matter. She mentioned that the Labour Party works with stakeholders, but we too work closely and collaboratively with stakeholders, including the independent fuel poverty forum.
We took on board every one of the forum’s recommendations following its previous review of Scottish Government policies and how we are meeting our targets, and we are looking closely at its current recommendations. In its last report, it acknowledged our commitment to eradicate fuel poverty through support and funding. That funding is a much-needed lifeline for the many householders who cannot afford to heat their homes properly.
The Scottish Government has delivered energy efficiency measures to more than 600,000 households, so one in four households have benefited from that support. The latest statistics show that, in mid-2012, 74,000 fewer households were in fuel poverty than in October 2011. Improved energy efficiency measures account for two thirds of the fall. However, we agree that 647,000 households are still struggling to pay their fuel bills. Those are the latest official figures and we work on official figures.