Chamber and committees

It is welcome that you went to the House of Commons last week and set out a proposal. You said to the UK Government that there should be a social tariff that would take £1,000 off the bills of people who are struggling the most. If the Government does not agree to do that, what will be the consequence? Without a social tariff, what do you fear will happen?

Thank you for that answer. I would say, though, that many people will disagree and say that there is a moral case for a freeze.

Natalie Don touched on the issue of profits, and you have given quite a comprehensive answer on that. Another figure that I have seen in some media sources in recent months is the more than £7 billion in operating profits that the big six energy firms have banked in just five years. Do you understand why some people feel quite offended when energy companies—I am not saying that your company does this—tell them to hug their pets, put on socks or jump up and down? Can you see why people feel let down? Do you see why, when people hear companies say, “Don’t freeze the cap—let’s bring in a social tariff,” they feel that the Government and the companies need to do more?

Thank you, Chris. I am aware of the time, so I will hand back to the convener.

Indeed. Just for clarity, the deputy convener mentioned finance skills as an example of a skill set that will be required. Can you be specific about some of the other skills that you feel are integral to this work to enable us to deliver on the ambition for local heat and energy efficiency planning Scotland-wide? What examples of skills do you have in mind when you think about this discussion?

I will bring in Chris Birt. We are all keen to consider how the crisis will exacerbate inequality in our society. Just to give an example of the kind of inquiry that MSPs are getting right now, I have been contacted by someone who is struggling to afford to charge up their mobility scooter, so I have been asking the Scottish Government what support is available.

Frazer Scott talked about people who have additional medical needs and who need to charge equipment at home. Those are the kinds of practical issues that people are raising. In many areas, you can go out and charge your electric car for free, but people cannot even get out of their house with an electric mobility scooter. That is the scale of the challenge that we face.

When it comes to social security policy, Chris, you have talked about what needs to be done, but can you bring a bit more sharpness to the immediate actions that could be taken? It makes no sense for people to be stuck in the house and not able to get out and spend money in the local community. They cannot support the high street, and they become more isolated. What needs to be done to knock together the heads of Government ministers, so that, across the country, we can help people to get out and live a life independently and with dignity? People are telling MSPs that they cannot get out with their mobility scooters.

Good morning to the panel. I would like to raise the issue of households at risk of self-disconnection or self-rationing their energy use due to unaffordable fuel costs. I recently had a response from the cabinet secretary, Michael Matheson, who has confirmed that an additional £10 million will be available for the fuel insecurity fund to deal with those issues.

My questions are for Alastair Wilcox first and then Frazer Scott. Are your advisers hearing more about self-disconnection and self-rationing? How much of a risk is that? Although I am sure that the £10 million is welcome, is it going to be enough to cover that problem?

Good afternoon. We heard from our previous panel, which included representatives of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Energy Action Scotland and Citizens Advice Scotland, that the current situation is a collective failure, which does not reflect well on Governments or the industry itself. We also heard fears that the crisis will lead to

“a catastrophic loss of life”;

it does not get more serious than that.

Keith Anderson, is there a compelling case for a freeze on the energy cap in October?

This has been a really interesting session so I have been quite happy to mostly listen. I was struck by one of the comments about the behaviour changes that people can make. I accept that there are things that we can all do, but it strikes me that we do not have a behaviour crisis here—it is a market crisis and a system crisis.

One view is that increasing democratic ownership of Scotland’s energy resources could help to support local energy co-operatives and smaller energy companies. Do panel members have a view on the role that a Scottish publicly owned energy company could play in protecting consumers and the climate by providing clean, green and affordable energy? I know that people want to hear about immediate solutions so that we do not have bills of £3,000 a year, but if we think about what an energy system could look like in the medium to longer term, what could the Scottish Government be doing?

Thank you. I am not getting any indication that other panellists want to chip in.

Thank you.

You have now had two ships detained on safety grounds by the coastguard. Will there be any more?