2m face winter fuel poverty nightmare

A RECORD two million Scots face freezing in fuel poverty this winter as the number struggling to heat their homes soars.

The SNP was yesterday accused of abandoning the nation’s poor, elderly and vulnerable as figures show a surge in the number of those having problems keeping themselves warm.

Almost 40 per cent of households are living in fuel poverty, the Scottish House Condition Survey shows, with the number battling to pay heating bills rising from 647,000 to 940,000.

One in five households said their heating kept them warm in winter sometimes, with 5 per cent saying it never did. Eight per cent told the survey they could not afford to heat their home in winter.

The First Minister called the figures ‘shameful’, blaming the UK energy market which has seen Big Six prices increase rapidly year after year.

Miss Sturgeon insisted the Scottish Government was trying to help families by spending £300million on energy efficiency measures since 2009, with a further £95million to be invested.

However, Labour said the Govern- ment had underspent by £10million on its budget for tackling fuel poverty – spending more than 10 per cent of disposable income on energy.

Labour’s Jackie Baillie told First Minister’s Questions: ‘The number in fuel poverty is nearly one million households – more than two million men, women and children who will be freezing this winter. Nicola Sturgeon should be ashamed.’

Miss Sturgeon said: ‘ One in three households has received energy efficiency support. I do not have powers over regulation of the energy market or fuel prices.’

The Scottish Government said the £10million highlighted by Labour was spent on the bedroom tax.

A spokesman said: ‘ There was no underspend. Delays in implementing the ECO energy efficiency programme meant councils were prevented from spending their full 2013-14 energy efficiency allocations – but £10million was transferred to mitigate the impact of the bedroom tax.’