Rennie: Scottish Government fuel poverty scheme ‘drop in the ocean’

North East Fife MSP Willie Rennie has accused the Scottish Government of ‘staggering complacency’ on home insulation after its fuel poverty scheme helped fewer households last year than when it was first set up.

Warmer Homes Scotland, the Scottish Government’s fuel poverty scheme, helped 5,311 households with insulation and other measures in the last year. This is fewer than the number of households it helped in 2016/17 when the scheme first launched.

The Scottish Government estimated in April 2022 that more than 874,000 households are in fuel poverty, including almost 600,000 in extreme fuel poverty, before a further 27% rise in the energy price cap in October.

Willie Rennie said:

“Over the last year people have suffered huge increases in their energy bills, pushing even more households into fuel poverty. Meanwhile the Scottish Government’s complacency on this issue is staggering.

“Their scheme is a drop in the ocean. Hundreds of thousands of households are still going without the better insulation and other improvements which would reduce their bills.

“Ministers have failed to make any progress speeding things up, with the pace still slower than when they started. Tackling climate change needs more effort than this.

“The Scottish Liberal Democrats are focused on practical solutions. That means being serious about a national insulation and energy efficiency programme which meets the scale of the challenge.”