Existing Homes Alliance Scotland - Fuel Poverty Budget Call
For immediate release – 12 January 2016
In advance of John Swinney MSP, Deputy First Minister, giving evidence to the Economy,
Energy and Tourism (EET) Committee of the Scottish Parliament on the Draft Budget 201617, the Existing Homes Alliance have called on the Scottish Government to reverse their
decision to cut the fuel poverty/energy efficiency budget.
In advance of the EET Committee meeting, Alan Ferguson, Chair of the Existing Homes
Alliance Scotland said:
“It is clear from the Draft Budget that the Scottish Government currently plan to spend over
£15m less on tackling fuel poverty and improving energy efficiency next year, compared to
what they are spending during the current financial year. That is particularly disappointing as
it follows a new commitment from the Scottish Government to take a longer-term,
‘transformational’ approach to improving the energy efficiency of Scotland’s homes, through
making energy efficiency a National Infrastructure Priority.
“We believe that next year’s energy efficiency budget needs to be sufficient to maintain
existing programmes and should begin to reflect the new National Infrastructure Priority
commitment. The Scottish Government appear to agree, saying that they will deliver existing
programmes and trial new approaches. As the Scottish Government works with the
Parliament to redraft its budget over the coming months, they should find the cash to
improve upon their Draft Budget so that they can deliver on these commitments.
“With Scotland’s high rate of fuel poverty currently showing little sign of improving, we are
calling on all of Scotland’s political parties to set out a plan in their manifestos for abolishing
cold homes in Scotland, through national infrastructure and fuel poverty programmes that
support all homes to reach at least a C energy performance standard by 2025. No other
investment can do so much, particularly in a tight budget situation, to cut energy bills for the
fuel poor, create 8-9,000 jobs all over Scotland, reduce climate emissions and improve
physical and mental health.”
Notes to Editors
1) John Swinney MSP, Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance,
Constitution and Economy, will be giving evidence to the Economy, Energy and
Tourism Committee from 9.30am. An agenda for the meeting is available here:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/S4_EconomyEnergyandTourismCommittee/Meetin
g%20Papers/20160113_Meeting_papers_public.pdf
2) The Draft Budget 2016/17 sets out that the Scottish Government will spend £103.3m
in 2016/17 on Fuel Poverty/Energy Efficiency. Page 86:
http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0049/00491140.pdf. The Scottish Government have
told the Scottish Parliament that they will spend £119m on Fuel Poverty/Energy
Efficiency in the current financial year (2015/16) – e.g. Aileen McLeod MSP told the
Parliament on the 15th December 2015, “Since 2009, the Government has allocated
more than half a billion pounds to a range of fuel poverty and energy efficiency
programmes, with a budget of £119 million in the current financial year.” (Official
record here:
1|Page
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/report.aspx?r=10277&i=945
41&c=1894745#ScotParlOR)
This is a £15.7m reduction in spending plans year to year for fuel poverty/energy
efficiency.
3) The Scottish Government committed on the 9th of June to making “improving the
energy efficiency of Scotland’s homes and non-domestic building stock will be
designated a National Infrastructure Priority.” Scottish Government press release:
http://news.scotland.gov.uk/News/Climate-change-action-heats-up-19c8.aspx