fuel poverty in Western Isles

“Scandal” of islands high fuel poverty levels 8/6/14

A recent report shows the Western Isles has the highest levels of fuel poverty in Scotland.

The new analysis by Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) indicated 76% of islanders over the age of 60 were suffering in fuel poverty

A household is in fuel poverty if it needs to spend 10% or more of income on all fuel use in order to heat the dwelling to an acceptable standard.

Angus MacNeil MP said: “Fuel poverty in an energy rich country like Scotland is an absolute scandal.

“The Scottish Government continues to work within its limited powers to provide a wide range of energy efficiency measures, the inaction of the Westminster Government to take action on spiralling energy costs is hitting every household and particularly our elderly as shown in the analysis by Scotland’s rural College.

“The SNP has stated that in an independent Scotland we would remove the cost of energy efficiency measures from bills and place the cost on central Government funds - reducing bills by 5% or an average of £70 a year.

“The wind-chill factor is a major challenge in our islands and should be recognised as such. The wind-chill makes our islands feel far colder and means that our pensioners require more energy to heat their homes.

“This is why we need the full powers of independence to fully tackle all the causes of fuel poverty."