Introduction

The 2024 Scottish House Condition findings show a welcome reduction in fuel and extreme fuel poverty rates with fuel poverty falling to 28.7% (around 732,000 households), down from 33.9% in 2023, with 14% of all households (357,000) in extreme fuel poverty down from 19.4%[1]. This is mainly attributable to falling energy prices in 2024. However, as the recent 13% energy price cap rise[2] shows, energy prices are rising again in response to the energy shock caused by the crisis in the Middle East. A further 2% rise[3] on the July-September cap is predicted for the October-December quarter. Energy debt and arrears also continue to rise, Citizens Advice Scotland report that in the first quarter of 2026, a total of £2.7 million of energy debt was brought to their network. Fuel poverty remains deeply rooted in Scotland’s communities.

This workplan year will be an important one in setting the direction for fuel poverty policy and programmes as the new Scottish Government works to revise its Fuel Poverty Strategy, due to be published in December 2026. It is probable that this year’s programme for government from the Scottish Government will also set a timetable for the introduction of the Buildings (Heating and Energy Performance) and Heat Networks (Scotland) Bill. Our key priority for this workplan year will be to offer Scottish Ministers advice on the Fuel Poverty Strategy revision. We will do this by continuing the work we began with our response to the Scottish Government’s Periodic Report last year, setting out a framework for a revised Strategy, and will revisit the advice we have given to Scottish Ministers to date to ensure it reflects the current fuel poverty landscape. We will also advocate for fuel poverty to be  explicitly recognised in the Buildings (Heating and Energy Performance) and Heat Networks (Scotland) Bill. We will offer recommendations for the revised Strategy which have emerged from our work on the impact of fuel poverty drivers on island communities and strengthening health and fuel poverty policy links. Our work on health and with island communities has highlighted the intersectional nature of fuel poverty where several factors come together to cause, or deepen, people’s fuel poverty. We want to understand further what the work in this area has shown, shine a light on findings, identify data gaps and suggest how policy and fuel poverty approaches, programmes and projects, could be strengthened by bringing an intersectional perspective to them.

The energy transition is moving at pace but is complex and achieving a synchronised transformed energy system is the work of many years. Separate moving parts lead to unintended consequences such as poor grid connectivity resulting in high curtailment costs with currently limited benefit to consumers in Scotland. Much is happening at a strategic policy level as REMA moves to Reformed National Pricing but the challenge of reducing energy prices remains immediate. We know that electricity prices in particular cause entrenched fuel poverty in areas where electric heating is the norm and unregulated fuels prevalent – typically rural and island communities. The price cap[4] can mask the true reality of energy bills for those using electric heating systems. The lived experience of those contending with high electricity prices and greater consumption needs with electric heating systems has been brought home to us again in our recent work on the impact of the fuel poverty drivers on Scotland’s island communities. The price cap does not cover the costs of alternative (unregulated) fuels either where volatile pricing is a challenge for those who depend on them for heat. The sudden and dramatic rises in the cost of oil following the crisis in the Middle East, has seen the UK Government allocate funding to alleviate the full impact on vulnerable consumers[5] [6]. Funding which the Scottish Government augmented and opened up to those using LPG. The ongoing uncertainties in the energy markets will increase fuel poverty rates as energy prices are rising again as we have seen with the recent price cap increase and the anticipated further rise in October. In spite of this, there is innovative practice throughout Scotland, which is proving that even with high energy prices, there are solutions which can be deployed to reduce energy bills and mitigate fuel poverty. We will be exploring these solutions and the impact they can have in reducing fuel poverty.

The UK Government is planning to introduce reforms[7] which should bring down the price of electricity but when and how long before these take effect is unclear. Earlier this year the UK Government published the Fuel Poverty Strategy for England. With its shift to affordability, and the funding underpin for the Warm Homes Plan which will help deliver it, additional financial consequentials will flow to Scotland. As energy price crises are becoming more frequent and prolonged, the need for fuel poverty policy to move beyond short-term emergency response towards long-term resilience increases. The Warm Home Plan financial consequentials create opportunities to scale and speed up energy efficiency improvements in Scotland – poor energy efficiency being the fuel poverty driver where the Scottish Government has the most leverage.

We will, as in previous years, engage and collaborate widely accepting invitations where we can. We will also continue to nurture connections, in partnership with others, across the fuel poverty landscape.

Who we are

The Panel is an independent advisory Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB), established under The Fuel Poverty (Targets, Definition and Strategy) (Scotland) Act 2019, set up to support Scottish Ministers and others to help eradicate fuel poverty in Scotland.

We have six panel members. Five members are contracted to work around 12 days a year with the chairing member working around 18 days a year, collectively working a maximum of 90 days. Our appointments run until the end of December 2029. We are supported by a Secretariat of three.

What we do  

The Panel provides an independent voice to Scottish Ministers on fuel poverty matters, fostering co-operation across the fuel poverty landscape, and fulfilling its statutory duty of monitoring Scottish Ministers’ progress towards meeting Scotland’s statutory fuel poverty targets, as well as advising Scottish Ministers on emerging fuel poverty issues. This includes assessing the likelihood of the Scottish Government meeting those targets, how the four drivers of fuel poverty are being addressed, and how effectively the implementation of Scotland’s Tackling Fuel Poverty Strategy, programmes and projects are working to deliver Scotland’s fuel poverty targets and address the fuel poverty drivers.

Our March 2024 to April 2027 Strategic Plan sets out our strategic goals which underpin our vision and mission for this three-year period.

The Panel’s vision is for a Scotland where everyone lives in an energy efficient home and has access to affordable clean energy – a Scotland where no one lives in fuel poverty.

The Panel’s work is driven by its mission to:

• Strengthen fuel poverty policy, legislation and practice
  in Scotland and the UK.
• Eradicate fuel poverty and increase resilience by engaging with people with lived experience and those who support them.
• By advising Scottish Ministers, scrutinising progress, and advocating for action.

The Panel’s principles for all our work are:

• Independent – undertake work that is independent and objective.
• Transparent – be open and transparent, bringing our Code of Conduct principles to all that we do.
• Collaborative – work in an inquisitive, consultative, and collaborative way, including in the development, delivery and sharing of our thinking and advice.
• Dynamic – provide visionary and dynamic advice and input to both long term challenges and the response needed to immediate need.
• Understanding – be respectful and supportive listeners to all, particularly offering a safe space for those with lived experience of fuel poverty to share their insights, understanding and views.

Our workplan is also shaped by our seven strategic goals:

1. We will advocate for the eradication of fuel poverty by relationship building, and through evidence-based policy development and delivery in Scotland, and in the UK where appropriate
2. We will be informed by evidence from a wide range of sources and stakeholders, including those with lived experience and the organisations that support them
3. We will offer insights and reflections to support Scottish Government to improve short-term and long-term responses to Scotland’s shifting fuel poverty landscape
4. We will provide an independent view of Scottish Government’s progress towards and likelihood of achieving Scotland’s statutory fuel poverty targets
5. We will advocate for actions and solutions to address the drivers of fuel poverty across, and in line with, all the relevant policy areas which contribute to National Performance Framework outcomes
6. We will champion and foster a collaborative approach to challenging fuel poverty drivers and other structural causes, identifying and encouraging actions to address fuel poverty with stakeholders across the public, private and third sectors
7. We will establish and maintain a strong values-led governance framework to ensure the effectiveness of the Panel.

Annex A shows how the work we have planned maps to our strategic goals.