Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government is fully aware of the impact that high energy prices are having upon many Scottish consumers. We estimate that from July to September 2023 there will be around 850,000 fuel poor households in Scotland which equates to 34% of all households.

While energy markets policy remain reserved to the UK Government, there are severe limits on the actions that we can take to help those facing the most serious impacts. However, we are taking measures where we can.

For example, we have tripled our Fuel Insecurity Fund to £30 million for this year and replaced DWP’s Cold Weather Payment with our new Winter Heating Payment, which will help around 400,000 low-income individuals.

I will also be chairing three working groups over the summer to discuss the impact of high energy prices on Scottish energy consumers. These will focus on the challenges facing those living in vulnerable circumstances, in the more rural areas of Scotland, and non-domestic consumers. The groups will identify collaborative action that we and our partners can continue to take, as well as maintaining a consensus on those areas where the UK Government must bring its reserved powers to bear.

I recently met the UK Government Minister for Energy Consumers and Affordability and repeated our call for further action to support and protect those who have been most affected by the ending of the Energy Bills Support Scheme.

The fact that the energy price cap from July to September is lower than the Energy Price Guarantee means that the UK Government now has greater scope to support those most in need. This includes introducing a much needed social tariff for vulnerable consumers, which should be funded through taxing significant windfall gains rather than passing the cost on to taxpayers.