THE Queen would be considered a victim of fuel poverty because of the cost of heating her empty castles, an academic has claimed.
The anomaly was highlighted by Dr Keith Baker, and Ron Mould of Glasgow Caledonian University, whose research has forced Scottish ministers to review their definition of the condition.
As the Scottish Government announced a consultation on changes to its fuel poverty strategy, Dr Baker said the current definition was too limited.
“A small number of householders who are not otherwise classified as poor are counted as being fuel poor because of the size of the properties they need to heat – technically, the Queen would be fuel poor in Scotland,” he explained.
Meanwhile, other families that do not meet the definition – based on the proportion of a household income which needed to fund adequate heating – are in fact facing fuel poverty because of their circumstances, he said.
Dr Baker said more needed to be done to address the needs of the most vulnerable householders, those already facing fuel poverty and those at risk of falling into it.
“The current definition is too limited, and the use of blunt thresholds, such as income, is too inflexible,” he said. “Households not classified as being fuel poor may still [be] suffering from the impacts of fuel poverty because they are also vulnerable in other ways, such as due to physical and mental health, or their ability to manage their energy bills.”
The Scottish Government has accepted the findings of the research and aims to establish a better definition, followed by a new target for tackling the problem by 2040.
Launching a consultation on the issue, Housing Minister Kevin Stewart told the Energy Action Scotland conference in Crieff that views submitted could influence the new target, which will be enshrined in the Warm Homes Bill and introduced next year.
He said more than £1billion had been invested in tackling fuel poverty since 2009, but claimed the current definition could impede attempts to reach those most in need.
“Scotland is one of only a handful of European countries to define fuel poverty and now we are taking an even bigger step," he said. "Our fuel poverty strategy and Warm Homes Bill will take a bolder and more focused approach to reducing fuel poverty.”
The goal was to create a more equal society, he said, adding: “Far too many people find themselves struggling with unaffordable energy costs, including the elderly, families with young children and those with serious medical conditions. This is unacceptable in a modern, progressive and compassionate country like ours.”
Based on the existing definition – which says any home where heating costs more than 10 per cent of overall household income is fuel poor – around 748,000 homes or 30.7 per cent of Scottish households are in fuel poverty. Ministers are proposing to target cutting this to 20 per cent by 2030 and 10 per cent by 2040.
Other new suggested targets include a push to reduce the average fuel poverty ‘gap’ to no more than £450 by 2030 and no more than £250 by 2040, and to ensure all homes reach green energy efficiency standards by 2040.
Director of Energy Action Scotland Norman Kerr said: “As the national fuel poverty charity we are fortunate to be able to draw upon decades of experience and relationships within our national network of experts, in order to turn cold, damp houses into warm, dry homes. “ “ The Government should hear from as many groups and organisations as possible – this forthcoming strategy is too important not to have a voice in shaping.”
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