Question reference: S6W-10668
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 31 August 2022
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Current status: Answered by Shona Robison on 22 September 2022
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to financially supporting third sector organisations with rising utility bills.
Answer
We recognise the challenges faced by the third sector in the current cost crisis and we will ensure the sector is not excluded from any financial support made available to the public or private sectors.
We have asked the UK Government to take key actions without delay. These include freezing energy prices at their current level for households, businesses and the public and third sectors.
We are aware of the recent announcement by the UK Government around the Energy Price Guarantee for households and businesses. We await further detail but this must include all types of third sector organisations too.
While the UK Government’s long anticipated Energy Price Guarantee is welcome and may limit the impact of the energy price crisis on some organisations, this announcement has come too late for many third sector organisations across Scotland who are already struggling to pay bills.
It is vitally important that the review on identifying 'vulnerable non domestic customers' is accelerated and those in need should be offered guaranteed support past March 2023.