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 |
||||||
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