The Scottish Fuel Poverty Advisory Panel annual report

The Scottish Fuel Poverty Advisory Panel published its first annual report earlier this week, covering its work since the panel was appointed in 2022. The panel is an advisory non-governmental body that advises Scottish Ministers on progress towards 2040 fuel poverty targets and set up to ensure that the strategies and solutions that have been developed to address fuel poverty are meaningful, well targeted, and impactful.

Despite targets to eradicate fuel poverty by 2040, the report publishes stark figures on fuel poverty including a 5.4% increase in fuel poverty levels from 2019 to 2022 and a 6.1% increase in extreme fuel poverty levels. In real terms, the number of families and households living in fuel poverty and needing support rose from 613,000 to 791,000.

The report also reflects panel’s learnings from stakeholder engagement sessions with people with lived experience of fuel poverty, and from those who support them. It lists 4 drivers of fuel poverty as:

1. High energy prices
2. Poor energy efficiency of the home
3. Low incomes
4. How energy is used in the home.

The report also outlines the Panel’s advocacy work, which align with the work of SFHA, its members, and other partners:

• Flexible Tariff Discount to close the gap between a fuel poor household’s income and the additional money needed to lift it out of fuel poverty.
• Reform of standing charges to create a fairer approach to standing charges which prioritises changes to benefit the most vulnerable consumers and those at risk of fuel poverty.

Learn more about the panel and their work in their full report.