PRIVATE landlords should be forced to install double glazing, insulation or draught-proofing to help tackle fuel poverty, according to campaigners.
New laws should be introduced to ensure the same energy efficiency standards apply in the private rented sector as they do in council and social housing, according to campaign group Energy Action Scotland (EAS), which aims to end fuel poverty.
Norman Kerr, director of EAS, has accused the Scottish Government of failing to do enough to help families who can’t afford to heat their homes, with ministers certain to miss their goal of ending fuel poverty by the end of November. The charity is holding its annual conference in Clydebank.
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“We need to know what comes next,” he said. “There is a new target for tackling child poverty, why have ministers not done the same for fuel poverty?” he said.
“Thirty per cent of winter deaths are attributable to fuel poverty. The Government need to bring all these recommendations together and forge a new policy with fairness and social justice at its core.”
Mr Kerr said the Scottish Government has seen the results of two reports, from the Scottish Fuel Poverty Strategic Working Group, and the Scottish Rural Fuel Poverty Task Force, and should respond to their recommendations, while also setting a revised target to end fuel poverty.
Ministers have delayed holding a consultation on its plans to regulate energy efficiency in the private sector, Mr Kerr added. Yet, in terms of fuel poverty, private rented houses and flats are among the worst performing stock, with some of the highest rents and rates of fuel poverty, Mr Kerr claimed.
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“The government needs to hold that consultation,” he said. “The private rented sector should have the same standards as social rented housing.”
John Blackwood, chief executive of the Scottish Association of Landlords, said: “Landlords already spend millions of pounds each year upgrading and improving housing stock, much of which includes measures which contribute to reducing fuel poverty.
“However, due regard must be given to the different types of housing stock which private landlords are responsible for compared to social housing – this often makes some upgrades technically impossible or financially prohibitive.”
Ministers have been accused of missing their goal to eradicate fuel poverty this year “by a country mile”, with an estimated 800,000 people still struggling to afford to heat their homes.
Housing Minister Kevin Stewart, who is due to speak at the EAS conference, said the policy goal had been hampered by forces beyond its control.
“We remain absolutely committed to tackling and as far as possible eradicating fuel poverty in Scotland,” he said. “By the end of 2021 we will have committed over £1 billion to making our homes and buildings warmer and cheaper to heat. Despite our efforts, above-inflation energy price increases that are beyond our control have greatly impacted on Scottish households.”
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The Scottish Government has also committed to a Warm Homes Bill during this Parliament.
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