A third of North East families still suffering from fuel poverty

Posted by Jamie Mackie | Updated 2017-03-01

The Scottish Government have admitted their failure to meet fuel poverty targets set for the end of 2016 as figures show that around a third on households still struggle to pay their heating bills.

Before the Scottish Parliament elections in 2007 the SNP made cast iron commitment to eradicate fuel poverty by the end of 2016 but over the past five years, in most local authority areas, cases of fuel poverty have either gone up or stayed the same.

Figures for the North East show that very little has changed, with Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Dundee and Angus ranging between 29% and 43% respectively. There has also been very little improvement in cases of extreme fuel poverty with figures of around 6-14% across the North East region.

North East MSP Mike Rumbles said: “This is not just another SNP failure, it is neglect of the worse kind. These figures mean that thousands of families and individuals are struggling to heat their homes. Over a million people across Scotland.

“That means that there are children, elderly and the most vulnerable in our society going without adequate heating. On top of that, it is well reported that cold and damp homes can lead to further health problems down the line.

“In the North East we often get the coldest temperatures in the country so it’s no wonder that almost a third of households are struggling. In rural parts of Aberdeenshire and Angus, one in seven spend more than 20% of their income on their energy bills.

“It is time for the Scottish Government to wake up. It is no use promising election after election that they are going to do something about this very serious issue. We need a complete rethink, with proper investment and targeting of resources to the worst cases. No more half measures.”

ENDS

Notes for editors:

The Scottish House Condition Survey - Local Authority Analyses 2013 – 2015 can be found here.

Fuel Poverty Statistics

Local Authority	% 2013-2015	% 2012-2014	% 2011-2013	% Change

Aberdeen City	28%	29%	30%	Decreased by 1%
Aberdeenshire	38%	39%	43%	Decreased by 1%
Angus	43%	42%	37%	Decreased by 1%
Argyll and Bute	48%	40%	43%	Increased by 8%
Clackmannanshire	32%	32%	35%	No change
Dumfries and Galloway	45%	46%	45%	Decreased by 1%
Dundee City	37%	41%	42%	Decreased by 4%
East Ayrshire	38%	38%	35%	No change
East Dunbartonshire	26%	28%	33%	Decreased by 2%
East Lothian	31%	33%	34%	Decreased by 2%
East Renfrewshire	31%	32%	33%	Decreased by 1%
City of Edinburgh	24%	25%	26%	Decreased by 1%
Eilean Siar	59%	62%	62%	Decreased by 3%
Falkirk	25%	28%	32%	Decreased by 3%
Fife	40%	36%	34%	Increased by 4%
Glasgow City	30%	34%	36%	Decreased by 4%
Highland	56%	55%	50%	Increased by 1%
Inverclyde	41%	43%	38%	Decreased by 2%
Midlothian	29%	30%	31%	Decreased by 1%
Moray	46%	40%	36%	Increased by 6%
North Ayrshire	36%	40%	39%	Decreased by 4%
North Lanarkshire	31%	34%	41%	Decreased by 3%
Orkney Islands	65%	63%	58%	Increased by 2%
Perth and Kinross	37%	38%	35%	Decreased by 1%
Renfrewshire	28%	29%	29%	Decreased by 1%
Scottish Borders	38%	39%	43%	Decreased by 1%
Shetland Islands	52%	53%	43%	Decreased by 1%
South Ayrshire	32%	35%	39%	Decreased by 3%
South Lanarkshire	26%	30%	33%	Decreased by 4%
Stirling	29%	34%	38%	Decreased by 5%
West Dunbartonshire	26%	29%	30%	Decreased by 3%
West Lothian	29%	29%	23%	No change
Scotland	34%	35%	36%	Decreased by 1%

					Breakdown Change in LAs:

					No change = 3
					Decreased by 1% = 11
					Deceased by more than 1% = 13
					Increased = 5

Extreme Fuel Poverty Statistics

Local Authority	% 2013-2015	% 2012-2014	% 2011-2013	% Change

Aberdeen City	9%	9%	8%	No change
Aberdeenshire	14%	14%	17%	No change
Angus	13%	13%	11%	No change
Argyll and Bute	16%	14%	14%	Increase by 2%
Clackmannanshire	8%	7%	8%	Increase by 1%
Dumfries and Galloway	13%	15%	14%	Decrease by 2%
Dundee City	6%	7%	11%	Decrease by 1%
East Ayrshire	8%	9%	8%	Decrease by 1%
East Dunbartonshire	5%	6%	9%	Decrease by 1%
East Lothian	6%	7%	9%	Decrease by 1%
East Renfrewshire	9%	10%	11%	Decrease by 1%
City of Edinburgh	6%	6%	7%	No change
Eilean Siar	25%	26%	24%	Decrease by 1%
Falkirk	6%	7%	5%	Decrease by 1%
Fife	9%	11%	11%	Decrease by 2%
Glasgow City	8%	8%	8%	No change
Highland	21%	23%	18%	Decrease by 2%
Inverclyde	7%	6%	4%	Decrease by 1%
Midlothian	5%	7%	8%	Decrease by 2%
Moray	13%	12%	13%	Increase by 1%
North Ayrshire	10%	9%	8%	Decrease by 1%
North Lanarkshire	5%	6%	7%	Decrease by 1%
Orkney Islands	30%	30%	28%	No change
Perth and Kinross	12%	12%	10%	No change
Renfrewshire	7%	7%	7%	No change
Scottish Borders	14%	14%	12%	No change
Shetland Islands	19%	19%	13%	No change
South Ayrshire	9%	9%	12%	No change
South Lanarkshire	6%	7%	8%	Decrease by 1%
Stirling	7%	10%	13%	Decrease by 3%
West Dunbartonshire	5%	6%	5%	Decrease by 1%
West Lothian	7%	5%	4%	Decrease by 2%
Scotland	9%	10%	10%	Decrease by 1%

					Breakdown Change in LAs:

					No change = 11
					Decreased by 1% = 12
					Deceased by more than 1% = 6