Housing and Welfare Minister Margaret Burgess has outlined six key demands which she says must be undertaken by the UK government and the energy sector in order to help Scotland tackle fuel poverty.

The Minister was speaking at a fuel poverty debate in Parliament, whereupon she told MPs she would be outlining the demands at a fuel poverty summit in Edinburgh.

The six demands are:

1. That the UK Government takes immediate action to improve regulation of energy companies, to ensure that consumers are better protected against further price hikes.

2. That Ofgem immediately publishes the outcomes of its investigation into wholesale energy price fixing claims, and follows up with required actions as soon as possible.

3. That the UK Government ensures the Scottish Government receives robust and relevant information on how its new ECO scheme is being delivered in Scotland.

-- Advertisement --

4. That energy companies take immediate action to protect vulnerable households, including rolling out a pilot scheme to help consumers access cheap energy tariffs. The Energy Best Deal Plus pilot scheme was launched in July 2012 and is still to be rolled out across the country.

5. That energy companies commit to a minimum level of funding in Scotland to support Scottish Government energy efficiency programmes, including a fair share of Energy Company Obligation targets for Scotland based on the market share.

6. That the UK Government ensures the costs of the ECO initiative are passed onto consumers in a way which best protects the poorest and most vulnerable households.

Ms Burgess said: "In spite of the concerted efforts of the Scottish Government to help households reduce their energy bills through the provision of energy efficiency grants and initiatives, tens of thousands of families were pushed into fuel poverty last year as a direct result of energy company price rises.

"While we are doing everything we can within our devolved powers to tackle this problem - including committing a budget of £68 million for fuel poverty and energy efficiency programmes this year alone - key levers remain out with our control.

"That is why we are using this energy summit to pinpoint our key demands which will help protect vulnerable people and ensure that our households are better supported."

(IT)