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Fuel Poverty Contacts

Sustainable Housing

Making houses more energy efficient helps us meet the targets set in the Climate Change Act and make our housing more sustainable:

What is Fuel Poverty?

A person is living in fuel poverty if, to heat their home to a satisfactory standard, they would need to spend more than 10 per cent of their household income on fuel.

Causes of Fuel Poverty

Three factors influence whether a household is in fuel poverty.

  • Low household income. The costs of heating a property form a greater proportion of total income for those on low incomes.
  • Fuel costs. Higher prices reduce the affordability of fuel. Prices of different types of fuels can vary considerably, as can the availability of different fuels in different areas, and of different types of heating systems. This affects the ability of consumers to exercise choice.
  • Energy efficiency. The energy efficiency of the building and the efficiency of the heating source determine the amount of energy that must be purchased to heat the home adequately.

Scottish Government's Fuel Poverty Policy

The Scottish Government aims to ensure that by November 2016, so far as is reasonably practicable, people are not living in fuel poverty in Scotland.

How is the Scottish Government addressing fuel poverty?

The Energy Assistance Package (which replaced the previous Warm Deal and the Central Heating Programme) is designed to provide assistance tailored to the needs of individual households. It offers energy efficiency advice, information on low cost energy tariffs, and advice on income maximisation, as well as a wide range of energy efficiency measures to those most at risk of fuel poverty.

The Energy Saving Trust manages delivery of the package on behalf of the Scottish Government in partnership with a range of advice providers and the energy companies.

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The Universal Home Insulation Scheme (UHIS) provides energy efficiency measures to a large number of Scottish households while delivering emission savings and helping to reduce fuel poverty. It may offer you free loft and cavity wall insulation, depending on where you live. The scheme is delivered by local authorities in conjunction with local delivery partners.

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What else is being done to alleviate fuel poverty?

The Scottish Government is working in partnership with local authorities, voluntary bodies and energy companies to achieve its 2016 target.

Local authorities, in taking fuel poverty into account in their local housing strategies, have an important contribution to make to achieving the target. The Scottish Government has issued guidance and case studies to help them.

Energy companies are contributing to the target through their Carbon Emissions Reduction Target and other schemes.

Page updated: Friday, September 30, 2011