Appendix A: focus group guide

Background for facilitator

This document serves as a focus group guide but should be seen as flexible – something which organisations should adapt to best suit their needs. This note also provides some further information that might be useful for providing context for participants.

Organisations should consider ethical concerns around consent, confidentiality and anonymity, and risk of harm. As the SFPAP will only receive anonymised notes containing no personal details, it is not necessary to share consent forms with us, although these should be used as required.

Background for participants

The Scottish Fuel Poverty Advisory Panel provides independent advice to Scottish Ministers on fuel poverty and scrutiny of the Scottish Government’s progress towards delivering Scotland’s 2040 statutory fuel poverty targets.

One of the Panel’s key areas of focus is rural fuel poverty, and it is vitally important that our understanding and recommendations to the Scottish Government are informed by people experiencing fuel poverty. As such the Panel is partnering with organisations to carry out focus groups exploring the experiences of those living in fuel poverty in rural Scotland.

What the Panel will do with the feedback from the focus groups

The Panel will produce a report which analyses the experiences of all the focus group participants. This will be published on the Panel’s website in Spring 2025. The findings will be used to inform the Panel’s advice and recommendations to the Scottish Ministers and Scottish Government on tackling fuel poverty.

After the report is published the Panel will get back in touch with the organisations running the workshops to give participants feedback about how their views have shaped the Panel’s work and the Scottish Government’s response.

Questions for participants

Theme 1: rural specific drivers of fuel poverty

We are interested in the rural specific drivers of fuel poverty. In addition to the four recognised drivers of fuel poverty in Scotland as a whole (fuel prices, energy efficiency of the home, income, how energy is used in the home), Changeworks have defined rural specific drivers as:

• cold and wet climates
• high cost of living
• employment and training
• affordable housing
• ageing demographics
• limited access to support services

The following questions aim to draw out more detail on the specifics of fuel poverty in rural areas:

2. How does the climate in rural Scotland impact your energy usage?
3. For those that use them, how do you manage the cost of purchasing unregulated fuels?
4. For those that use gas and electricity, do you manage the costs of purchasing these differently

Theme 2: rural fuel poverty since the COVID-19 pandemic, cost of living and energy crises

The energy crisis began in late 2021, and caused higher household energy rates and  bills for people in the UK, leaving many people struggling. This is combined with the fact that many people were already facing difficulties because of the of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the cost of living crisis more generally. We are interested in how your energy usage has changed since these crises began.

4. Did your energy usage change during the COVID-19 pandemic?
5. Has your energy usage changed since the energy crisis?
6. Do you struggle with energy costs all year round or do your experiences vary seasonally?

6.1 Has this changed?

Theme 3: metering

The RTS meter is a type of electricity meter that operates via long-wave radio technology. The service is a legacy industry-run service which supports versions of multi-rate, or other complex meter types with certain functions such as switching between peak and off-peak rates or turning on heating or hot water. The RTS system is now very old and relies on what is regarded as obsolete technology. The technology that supports Radio Teleswitch (RTS) meters will end on 30 June 2025. Without the technology to tell RTS meters when to switch between peak and off-peak rates they will no longer work proper.

In most cases, RTS meters (and indeed other types of meters present in rural households) should be replaced with smart meters. However, Ofgem have highlighted that the roll out of smart meters for RTS consumers has progressed at a considerably slower pace than expected. Rural areas in particular have had lower uptake of smart meters. Furthermore, access to the dedicated network connection services required for a functioning smart meter system varies widely across the UK, with notably lower accessibility outside of urban centres. In some cases even where smart meters have been installed they are not operating as such, meaning that consumers are at risk of receiving estimated or catch up bills, often without warning.

We would like to explore these issues with you:

7. What has your experience of updating or changing electricity meters been?
8. Are you aware of the RTS switch off and the implications it has for metering?
9. If you have an RTS meter, what has your experience with your supplier been like?

Theme 4: support interventions

Changeworks have highlighted that the limited number and dispersed nature of public and social services in rural areas means people are less likely or able to reach out for assistance during times of financial hardship. There is also lower uptake of welfare support in rural regions because of a lack of awareness and access to services.

We are interested in drawing out these issues further with you in order to understand what support is most useful to those living in rural areas, as well as how support can be reformed or introduced to provide the help required.

10. What energy related support have you had?
11. How was your experience in accessing this support?
12. What intervention would make the biggest difference to your life?