Fuel poverty in remote and rural Scotland: focus group analysis

As a part of their 2024/2025 workplan's focus on remote and rural fuel poverty, the Scottish Fuel Poverty Advisory Panel collaborated with ALIenergy, Scarf, and Tighean Innse Gall (TIG) to carry out focus groups with people experiencing fuel poverty in remote and rural areas of Scotland.

Fuel poverty in remote and rural Scotland: focus group analysis.pdf

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Introduction

One of the Scottish Fuel Poverty Advisory Panel’s key themes for 2024/25 was the systemic impact of rural and remote fuel poverty. The Panel are also committed to ensuring that their work is informed by those with lived experience of fuel poverty. Therefore, the Panel commissioned Argyll, Lomond and the Islands Energy Agency (ALIenergy), Scarf, and Tighean Innse Gall (TIG) to carry out focus groups with those experiencing fuel poverty. Topic guides were developed by SFPAP and focus groups were facilitated in-person by the three partner organisations. As each organisation is set up differently and works with people in different ways appropriate to their client relationship, the format and facilitation of the focus groups was determined by organisations themselves.[1] Anonymised notes from these sessions were provided to the Panel’s Social Researcher, who analysed and produced a report on the findings. 12 focus groups with 81 participants were held between January and May 2025 in the following locations:

  • Aberdeenshire – Stonehaven (6 participants)
  • Perth and Kinross – Perth (8 participants)
  • Highland – Thurso, Lairg (24 participants)
  • Argyll and Bute – Oban, Taynuilt, Campbeltown (31 participants)
  • Na h-Eileanan Siar (the Western Isles) – Stornoway and Galson (12 participants)

Participants included a mix of families, single people, couples, and retired people, as well as those living in social housing, home owners, and private rented sector tenants. There was also a mix of heating types, including ground source and air source heat pumps, storage heaters, and oil or LPG boilers. Some participants were benefit recipients while others were not in receipt of benefits

Participants were asked about rural fuel poverty drivers; fuel poverty since the COVID-19 pandemic and energy crisis; metering issues, and support interventions. The interview guide provided to the partner organisations is included in Annex A. Participants were provided with a thank you voucher for their local supermarket or similar, for each session attended.

The Panel is very grateful to all the focus groups participants who took the time to discuss these issues, and the organisations who we worked with. The findings from this research will help inform the Panel’s 2025/26 continuing work on rural and remote fuel poverty, which will focus on solutions.

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