The Scottish Fuel Poverty Advisory Panel Annual Report March 2023 – April 2024

We’re pleased to publish our first annual report. As this is our first annual report, we have set out the work we have done since our appointment in January 2022. We reflect on the significant increase in fuel poverty rates, from 24.6% in 2019 to 31% in 2022, driven by the energy crisis and the wider cost of living crisis, and the impact these have had on those suffering and entering fuel poverty. This is the context which has dictated and shaped our work since we were appointed.

The Scottish Fuel Poverty Advisory Panel Annual Report 2023-2024.pdf

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Footnotes

[1] Scottish House Condition Survey 2022: Key Findings (www.gov.scot)

[2] Fuel Poverty (Targets, Definition and Strategy) (Scotland) Act 2019 (legislation.gov.uk)

[3] House of Commons Library (2023) Fuel poverty in Commons Library (parliament.uk)

[4] Scottish House Condition Survey: 2022 Key Findings – gov.scot (www.gov.scot).

[5] Affordability and debt in the domestic retail market – a Call for Input | Ofgem

[6] Consumer Scotland energy tracker (energy-en23-01-energy-affordability-consumer-scotland-energy-tracker-winter-2023-24-briefing.pdf)

[7] CAS stressed_about_debt_impact_evaluation.pdf (cas.org.uk)

[8] New forecast warns power prices to remain elevated until late 2030s – Cornwall Insight (cornwall-insight.com)

[9] Scottish Housing Condition Survey:  2022 Key Findings – reports that  in 2022, 27% of households living in dwellings rated EPC band C or better were fuel poor.

[10] Scottish Housing Condition Survey: 2022 Key Findings notes that the lowest rates of extreme fuel poverty are associated with higher energy efficiency standards. Only 12% of households living in dwellings rated EPC C or better were in extreme fuel poverty, compared to 23% for dwellings in band D and 32% for dwellings in band E.

[11] Energy Research Demand Centre (2024) Energy prices are going down, but the burden on those least able to pay remains too high – Energy Demand Research Centre (edrc.ac.uk)

[12] The Scottish Fuel Poverty Advisory Panel (2024) Scottish Fuel Poverty Advisory Panel has Commissioned Research – Fuel Poverty Scotland (fuelpovertypanel.scot)

[13] New energy price cap level for April to June 2024 starts today | Ofgem

[14] The Scottish Fuel Poverty Advisory Panel (2023) Energy rationing an increasing coping mechanism for dealing with fuel poverty – Fuel Poverty Scotland (fuelpovertypanel.scot)

[15] The  fuel poverty figure of 35% here is taken from the Scottish Government’s fuel poverty estimates produced when Ofgem’ announced, in line with the UK Gov. Energy Price Guarantee scheme in September 2022, its Energy Price Cap of £2,500.

[16] Scottish Government (2022) Tackling the energy cost crisis – gov.scot (www.gov.scot); Scottish Government (2022) Cross party anti-poverty summit: First Minister’s opening remarks – 3 May 2023 – gov.scot (www.gov.scot). See also Energy: Rural Energy Consumers Short-Life Working Group – gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

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