Consultation on the Enhanced Heating Regimes within the new definition of Fuel Poverty
Feedback updated 17 Dec 2019
We asked
We consulted on which households should have an enhanced heating regime applied when calculating whether they were in fuel poverty or not. We have now published an analysis of the responses to the consultation and this can be accessed on the Scottish Government website - http://www.gov.scot/ISBN/9781839604461
You said
We are grateful for the responses and the feedback and carefully considered all the suggestions that were made. We have set out our response to the consultation and this can be accessed on the Scottish Government website -http://www.gov.scot/ISBN/9781839604478
We did
The responses have shaped The Fuel Poverty (Enhanced Heating) (Scotland) Regulations which were laid in Parliament on 17 December 2019. The draft regulations can be found at http://www.legislation.gov.uk/
Published responses
View submitted responses where consent has been given to publish the response.
Overview
The Fuel Poverty (Targets, Definition and Strategy) (Scotland) Bill was passed by Parliament on 11 June 2019 and is currently awaiting Royal Assent.
The underlying data on households used in the calculation of fuel poverty rates is drawn from the annual Scottish House Conditions Survey (SHCS). The Enhanced Heating Regimes are a set of assumptions, laid out in the Bill and used in the calculation of fuel poverty rates, about the room temperatures and hours of heating which are appropriate for vulnerable households. This consultation is being undertaken to inform the secondary legislation, to be introduced later this year, which will specify the types of household to which the Enhanced Heating Regimes will apply.
Why your views matter
The Fuel Poverty Bill sets out the various factors that are considered in the definition of both fuel poverty and extreme fuel poverty , including the requisite temperature and time the home should be heated to. We call this the ‘heating regime’. The type of heating regime used dictates the estimated costs that would be needed to provide the household with a sufficiently warm home. We recognise that some people are more vulnerable to the effects of a cold home and require an enhanced heating regime with either higher temperatures, longer hours or both.
The Bill specifies that Ministers may make regulations specifying the types of households for which the enhanced heating temperatures and the enhanced heating hours are appropriate. This consultation sets out the three Enhanced Heating Regimes and seeks views on which households they should be applied to.
Following the closing date, all responses will be analysed and considered along with any other available evidence to help us. Responses will be published where we have been given permission to do so.
Following this consultation we will introduce Regulations under section 2(4) of the Act setting out what enhanced heating regime will be applied to the specified households. We will also be amending the SHCS to ensure that we can correctly identify the specified households. It is anticipated that the SHCS that commences in 2020 will include the new or amended questions and the results published later that year will take account of all aspects of the new definition.
Interests
- Energy
- Equality, Welfare and Rights
- Housing and Regeneration
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