The Scottish Fuel Poverty Statement
Ministerial Foreword
For too many Scottish households, fuel poverty is a harsh fact of life. They are forced to choose between staying warm or spending their money on other basic necessities, such as food and clothing - a choice that no household should be forced to make.
Cold, damp homes are also a breeding ground for chronic illnesses such as asthma, and self-confidence cannot flourish in households where it is a constant struggle simply to stay warm.
Fuel poverty blights the environment as well as individual lives. Homes with poor energy efficiency waste valuable resources, and experience has shown that installing insulation and improving the thermal quality of housing benefits the environment, as well as boosting the quality of peoples' lives.
Fuel poverty is simply not acceptable in a 21 st century Scotland - that is why we have said we will work to end it by 2016. We are already making good progress.
- Since 1999 we have improved more than 140,000 homes under the Warm Deal which means that we have already met and surpassed our Programme for government target.
- Since 2001 we have installed almost 10,000 central heating systems under our Central Heating Programme and by 2006 all elderly people and local authority and housing association tenants will have central heating.
But there is more to do. In this statement we lay out how we are going to build what we have already achieved so that fuel poverty becomes a thing of the past.
We cannot do this on our own however, which is why we have established close working relationships with our partners in the public, private and voluntary sector. Initiatives such as the new Community Energy Partnerships in Dundee and Lanarkshire may well prove to be a model for the rest of Scotland. And the Fuel Poverty Advisory Group - which draws it membership from the public, private and voluntary sectors is working hard to end fuel poverty in Scotland.
Together we are determined to end the misery caused by fuel poverty and create the conditions where all Scots can afford to enjoy the comforts of a warm, dry home.
Hugh Henry, MSP
Deputy Minister for Social Justice