Fuel poverty remains rife

FUEL poverty remains rife in Scotland. Thousands of families can no longer afford to meet the cost of energy which forces them to go without essential heat even when they need it most. 

A recent survey showed that 658,000 households were living in fuel poverty in 2010, 28% of the population. Some experts are estimating that the figure for 2011 could be as high as 35% once data has been collated.

As a result Holyrood's Energy and Tourism Committee have urged the Scottish Government to do something about this increasing problem and to try to find additional ways to cut the cost of energy bills.

A range of factors are involved in the long standing predicament that many Scottish families find themselves in. The current state of the energy market is one. The need for conservation and insulation in affordable and accessible forms is another.

More on the Scottish Fuel Poverty Forum.