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Fuel poverty rise ‘unacceptable’ |
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Tuesday, 11 December 2007 |
Nearly a quarter of all Scottish households experience fuel poverty, a matter that must be urgently addressed by government at Holyrood and Westminster, as well as by energy companies, according to Communities Minister Stewart Maxwell.
Maxwell made the comments after figures in the Scottish House Condition Survey showed that fuel poverty – defined as a household spending more than 10 per cent of its income on heating – rose from 18 per cent of households in 2004/05 to 23 per cent, or 543,000 households, in 2005/06.
Maxwell said:
“This rise in fuel poverty under the previous administration is completely unacceptable. It is simply not right that in 21st century Scotland nearly a quarter of our population - more than half a million households - are still living in fuel poverty. The people of Scotland need be in no doubt that I will continue to strenuously pursue the issue of fuel poverty with my UK counterparts and the energy companies, to make sure Scots aren't left out in the cold.
“I have written to Ministers at Westminster asking for the UK Ministerial Fuel Poverty Group to reconvene at the soonest opportunity, to allow all the relevant partners, including members from the devolved administrations, to have their say in the matter. I will be meeting with several of the major energy suppliers in Scotland to see what can be done to help the most vulnerable.”
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