Stone calls for action on 'shocking' fuel poverty figures
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A CALL has been made for the Scottish Government to take urgent action to deal with the "shocking" number of people in fuel poverty in the Highlands.
The plea was made by Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross MP Jamie Stone after figures showed that 33 per cent of households in the Highlands are in fuel poverty, with 22 per cent classed as being in extreme fuel poverty. The latter figure is joint second worst across Scotland.
It was also revealed that Highland has more than three times the national average of homes deemed to be the least energy efficient.
The Liberal Democrat MP wants action to address what he describes as an injustice.
He said: "There is a serious problem in the far north when it comes to paying extortionate prices for the basic privilege of keeping warm.
"Highlanders continue to be forced into choosing between heating their homes or putting food on the table. And what does the SNP government do? It sits on their hands and tries to conveniently forget they were due to publish their fuel poverty strategy over five months ago.
"For an area that produces so much renewable energy, it is entirely unjust that we don’t see more of this used to keep people warm who otherwise live in one of the coldest areas in the UK."
Molly Nolan, Lib Dem MSP candidate for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, said the government’s delay in announcing its fuel poverty strategy would be "catastrophic for people and communities throughout the Highlands who have already had to face temperatures well below freezing in the past few weeks".
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: "We remain committed to ending fuel poverty entirely, including in our rural and island communities.
"Since 2013 our area based schemes, delivered by local authorities, have improved energy efficiency for more than 100,000 fuel-poor households, making their homes cheaper to heat."
