Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland
People at the Centre

Become a member

ALLIANCE comments on the final Fuel Poverty Strategy

  • Area of Work: The ALLIANCE
  • Type: News Item
  • Published: 11th October 2021
Colourful hands

The ALLIANCE has responded to a Scottish Government consultation on the final Fuel Poverty Strategy.

The Scottish Government has committed to publishing its final Fuel Poverty Strategy by the end of 2021. The strategy will set out how the Scottish Government intends to achieve the targets for reducing fuel poverty as set out in the Fuel Poverty (Targets, Definition and Strategy) (Scotland) Act 2019 (this link will take you away from our website).

In February 2018, we submitted a consultation response on the draft Fuel Poverty Strategy, and in 2019 we supported several amendments to the Fuel Poverty (Target, Definition and Strategy) (Scotland) Bill proposed by our member, Energy Action Scotland. The ALLIANCE’s manifesto for the 2021 Scottish Parliament elections called for an independent panel of people with lived experience to inform and advise the Scottish Government’s work on fuel poverty, and for housing to be fully incorporated into health and social care integration for a more joined up approach to prevention and the right to health.

The ALLIANCE has submitted a response, commenting on proposals for the final Fuel Poverty Strategy. The ALLIANCE welcomes and supports many of the measures within the strategy, including action to mitigate and remove the unfairness of levies on gas and electricity, measures to address the problems faced by rural households in Scotland, and measures to promote and support sustainable partnership work.

We recommend applying a human rights based approach and equality and human rights impact assessments to support prioritisation. These offer a framework and tools to balance competing rights, interests and risks and support difficult decision making to ensure judgments about value for money and efficient use of resources are made on a fair, equal and transparent basis, without discrimination.

Scotland’s fuel poverty law includes a requirement for a new statutory Fuel Poverty Advisory Panel to ensure that targets are met. The ALLIANCE also recommends that the Scottish Government appoint and adequately resource an independent panel of people with lived experience of fuel poverty to inform and advise all aspects of the statutory Advisory Panel’s work.

You can read the full response via the link below.

Resources:

ALLIANCE Response to Final Fuel Poverty Draft Strategy
Download Word Document (1 MB)

End of page.

You may also like:

Back to all news