17th January 2023 - Meeting Minutes

Venue: St Andrew’s House, 2 Regent Rd, Edinburgh EH1 3DG
Time: 10:00-17:00
Type: in-person

ATTENDEES:

Panel: Matthew Cole (Chair), Margaret Corrigan (attending virtually), Kirsten Jenkins, Alister Steele, Fraser Stewart

Secretariat: Philippa Brosnan & Patricia Melvin

AGENDA ITEM 1: Welcome

Matthew Cole welcomed everyone to the meeting and reflected on the valuable listening sessions held with representatives from the Housing Sector yesterday (see Annex A for the organisations who attended on the 16th January and for the note of any prior contact which Panel members had with these stakeholders). He noted that the focus of today’s meeting is for the Panel to consider and discuss the Scottish Government’s Fuel Poverty Strategy.

The Panel reviewed the Minutes from the meeting on 28th November and agreed that, in the future, the Minutes will take the form of an high-level summary.

AGENDA ITEM 2: Scottish Government Fuel Poverty Strategy

The Panel has been asked by the Scottish Government to consider the Fuel Poverty Strategy (published in December 2021) with a view to suggesting amendments and bringing about a stronger focus on delivery. The Strategy was written before the energy crisis and the fuel poverty landscape has changed significantly as a result. The Panel’s thinking on the Strategy is in the context of the impacts of the energy crisis.

The Panel each offered their reflections on the Strategy and will work, supported by the Secretariat, to organise their thoughts into a strategic update which they plan to present to Ministers at the end of the first quarter of this year.

AGENDA ITEM 3: Secretariat Update

The Secretariat provided an update on the procurement of a website for the Panel – they expect the contract to be awarded by the end of January, with the website being launched by the end of the first quarter. The Secretariat have set up an MS Teams channel which the Panel will use as an internal communications’ tool.

The Secretariat shared the Panel’s draft workplan, produced at the last Panel meeting, and a further iteration will be worked up for the next meeting.

AGENDA ITEM 4: AOB

There are two Scottish Government consultations of interest to the Panel which have recently launched [The Draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan & the 2035 target for the amount of heat to be supplied by heat networks]. The Panel will work on a response to the Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan consultation at their next meeting.

Kirsten Jenkins provided an update on the desk-based research project, currently underway at The University of Edinburgh, on heating self-rationing. It’s hoped that this will be completed by the end of February.

Representation from the Panel at the UK Government Review of Electricity Market (REMA) stakeholder session in Glasgow on 7th Feb 2023, was discussed and it was agreed that two Panel members will attend – Fraser Stewart and Alister Steele

The next Panel meeting will be on Tuesday 6th March, 2023 in Glasgow.

Annex A

Housing Sector Stakeholder Engagement, 16-01-23 – prior contact