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Fuel poverty rural initiative


By SPP Reporter

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A NEW group has been established to find ways of making it easier and more affordable for people in rural and remote Scotland to heat their homes.

Many people struggle to heat their homes over the winter.
Many people struggle to heat their homes over the winter.

The Scottish Rural Fuel Poverty Task Force, which will have its inaugural meeting in Inverness on August 20, will explore the issues facing people in fuel poverty and prepare a report on its findings over the next year

Housing Minister Margaret Burgess made the announcement about the Home Energy Efficiency Programmes for Scotland: Area Based Schemes (HEEPS:ABS) during a summer tour.

The national fuel poverty statistics show that 39.1 per cent of households are living in fuel poverty.

Mrs Burgess said: "People in rural areas can often struggle to heat their homes because their properties tend to be more exposed to wind and weather and are more expensive to heat as the majority are not connected to mains gas supplies.

"It is unacceptable for people to face these fuel poverty challenges just because of where they live.

"Our new Scottish Rural Fuel Poverty Task Force will come up with a range of ideas specifically tailored to help people in more remote parts of Scotland reduce their fuel costs and keep their homes warm.

"We are committed to making sure everyone has access to an affordable warm home, and we are investing heavily in energy efficiency schemes."

The Government is ploughing £65 million into the scheme.

Scottish Housing Event which highlighted the need to focus on tackling rural fuel poverty.

The new short-life group will be chaired by Di Alexander, Chair of the Rural and Highlands Housing Associations’ Forum and will look at ways of building on the Scottish Government’s on-going work.

Di Alexander said: "Affordable warmth is still presenting a major problem for far too many rural and island households, especially those living in doubly disadvantaged off-gas areas.

"The job of the Task Force is to come up with practicable and deliverable solutions to all aspects of the problem and I’m delighted that we will have so much problem-solving experience to draw upon when we set to our task."

The Scottish Rural Fuel poverty Task Force will be a short life group for one year. Meetings will be held at least every two months with the 22 members expected to undertake research and prepare papers to feed back to the wider group.

More information on energy efficiency schemes by contacting Home Energy Scotland on 0808 808 2282 or visiting the website at www.homeenergyscotland.org


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