19 December 2025
Chair of the Scottish Fuel Poverty Advisory Panel
E: philippa.brosnan@fuelpovertypanel.scot,roanna.sefton@fuelpovertypanel.scot &
trisha.melvin@fuelpovertypanel.scot
To: Ms Màiri McAllan, Cabinet Secretary for Housing
Update on Heat in Buildings Bill
Dear Cabinet Secretary
Thank you for your letter of the 18 November updating the Panel on the delay to the introduction of the Buildings (Heating and Energy Performance) and Heat Networks
(Scotland) Bill.
As we noted in our Response to the Scottish Government’s Tackling Fuel Poverty in
Scotland: periodic report: 2021–2024, and during our productive discussion with you on the 11 September, the delay to the Bill should not be allowed to slow progress on fuel poverty action and that, as well as providing a vehicle to accelerate energy efficiency delivery, it should be made clear how the bill relates to the mitigation and reduction of fuel poverty, and contributes to the fuel poverty targets. We wonder to what extent there has been assessment of the impacts, positive or negative, on the fuel poverty targets in producing the draft Bill?
We have taken an initial look at the draft Buildings (Heating and Energy Performance) and Heat Networks (Scotland) Bill and will consider it further next year.
We do have some early thoughts. We are concerned by the lack of any reference to
fuel poverty and the fuel poverty targets. We recognise that it’s early days but we wonder how the connection will be made between the fuel poverty strategy (to be revised by the end of December 2026) and the heat decarbonisation strategy proposed in the draft Bill. It is clear that the governance for the implementation of these two strategies will need to dovetail and we wonder how this would be done.
We look forward to contributing to the stakeholder discussion on the draft Bill when it is introduced in the next Parliament.
Wishing you all the best for the festive season,
Matthew Cole (Chairing Member)
The Scottish Fuel Poverty Advisory Panel
7th Floor
Atlantic Quay
150 Broomielaw
Glasgow
G2 8LU