I asked the Scottish Government, in light of cold temperatures and the first snowfall, whether it will provide an update regarding the steps it is taking to support any households at risk of fuel poverty.
The Cabinet Secretary for Housing (Màiri McAllan) said:
In an energy-rich nation such as Scotland, nobody should be struggling to pay their bills; however, that continues to be the reality for far too many, as successive United Kingdom Governments fail to get a grip on spiralling energy costs. Indeed, the Labour Government came to power promising to reduce average bills by £300, but in just over a year they have risen by nearly £200 more.
We have repeatedly called on the UK Government to introduce a social tariff to address unaffordable bills at source. Our proposals for targeted discounts would see estimated fuel bills reduce by an average of £700 and lift around 135,000 households out of fuel poverty. In the meantime, the Scottish Government continues to use the powers that are available to us to raise incomes and to improve energy efficiency, including by increasing funding for Warmer Homes Scotland, investing around £196 million in our suite of winter heating payments this year and providing a further £1 million to support advice services to help people who are struggling with energy debt. That spending is part of a package of nearly £17 million.
I was keen to concentrate on pensioners. The Scottish Government’s pension age winter heating payment will provide vital support to older people in Scotland. The context is that Labour slashed the winter heating support for pensioners last year, which led to the Scottish National Party stepping in to ensure that pensioners in Scotland do not lose out this winter.
Although I note Labour’s eventual U-turn on the issue, can I wanted to seek assurances from the cabinet secretary that those matters in Scotland are on track, now that winter is approaching
I asked the cabinet secretary to also provide any update on the roll-out of the Scottish Government’s winter heating payment?.
She replied:
Payments have now commenced and will be made in batches over the coming weeks, with the first pension age winter heating payments having reached bank accounts last week. Through that programme, we are delivering real support to pensioners across Scotland, to the tune of about £157 million, which is helping approximately 880,000 pensioners to stay warm in the coldest months.
It is worth noting that, unlike in the rest of the UK, eligible low-income households across Scotland, including pensioner households, are also guaranteed support through our winter heating payment. We expect those payments to begin in early December.
I welcome the assurance that those payments to pensioners are on track. That support will be more necessary than ever this winter, given that energy bills have spiralled by an average of £200, despite the fact that Labour promised to cut bills by £300. It is scandalous that pensioners in Scotland pay some of the highest bills in Europe, despite having a huge wealth of natural energy resources on their doorsteps.
The cabinet secretary mentioned the possibility of a social tariff for energy. That is absolutely the strategic approach that we need in order to tackle pensioner poverty and fuel poverty more generally. As such, I asked the cabinet secretary to outline the steps that the Scottish Government has already taken to develop a social tariff that could benefit pensioners who are suffering from fuel poverty.
She replied:
We have consistently and repeatedly called on the UK Government to deliver a social tariff. I am very proud of the work that the Scottish Government has done to develop proposals for a social tariff, which we have done in concert with experts. The tariff would take the form of an automatic and targeted discount on energy bills, to address the chronic issue of the unaffordability of bills at the source.
As Mr Doris pointed out, the UK Government’s continued failure to address the issue and recognise the harm that bills and the associated debt are causing households is just another indication that we ought to have control over our own energy resources for the benefit of the people of Scotland.