Tag: Scottish Government

Additional funding for energy advice in face of rising bills

£1.2 million to ensure households and businesses get support

Immediate funding is being awarded to key energy advice organisations to make sure energy customers can access crucial support and advice to deal with rising energy bills and heating costs.

More than £1.2 million will be distributed to help key agencies, including Advice Direct Scotland, Home Energy Scotland and Citizen’s Advice Scotland, reach more people who need help.

The funding will also support a training programme for staff from third sector organisations to expand the reach of expert advice.

The Scottish Government committed to providing additional support to advice agencies at the Scottish Energy Summit hosted by the First Minister on Tuesday 23 August, at which a series of further actions to mitigate the energy price rises were agreed with energy companies and advice organisations.

The additional funding announced today is on top of the Scottish Government’s existing investment in free income, welfare and debt advice services, including support to Money Advice Scotland and the Welfare Advice and Health Partnerships Programme.

Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings and Tenants Rights Patrick Harvie visited Home Energy Scotland’s Edinburgh offices to speak to advisors who have been supporting households.

Mr Harvie said: “We know that this is an incredibly unsettling time for all households and businesses and it is imperative that those worried about or struggling with heating their homes access the information and support they need to reduce their energy bills.

“A further energy price cap increase announcement will only serve to escalate concerns, making the need for impartial, expert advice and support even more vital.

“The Scottish Government is clear that energy customers simply cannot be expected to carry the burden of further price rises in October, and that the UK Government must now commit to freeze the cap for all households and to support energy companies to deliver that.

“In the meantime, the cost crisis is already hitting energy customers hard and the Scottish Government will continue to do everything within our means to support the people of Scotland through it.

“This funding will ensure that expert advisors across the country stand ready to provide crucial support and guidance to those understandably worried about their energy bills. I would urge everyone who has concerns to access these services and get the support they need.”

A total of £1.268 million will be distributed across energy advice services as follows:

  • £220,000 to Advice Direct Scotland to fund new staff in its contact centres for consumers, including vulnerable consumers, in need of help.
  • £50,000 to Advice Direct Scotland to create a user-friendly online digital journey for customers
  • £220,000 to Citizen’s Advice Scotland to enhance capacity in their local advice bureaus enabling them to provide advice on both energy debt and energy efficiency measures.
  • £280,000 to expand the Home Energy Scotland advice Service
  • £198,000 for Home Energy Scotland recruits who will provide training to staff from third sector organisations on energy efficiency, which will see around 200 local community groups and organisations benefit
  • £300,000 to enhance support for businesses through Business Energy Scotland

The Scottish Government estimates that 906,000 or 36% of all households will be in fuel poverty in October 2022, based on an Ofgem price cap of £2,800 and taking into account previously announced government mitigations.

The Scottish Government has allocated almost £3 billion in this financial year that will help households face the increased cost of living. This includes the provision of services and financial support not available elsewhere in the UK that is helping to reduce everyday costs and increase incomes.

It also includes £10 million to continue the Fuel Insecurity Fund which helps households at risk of severely rationing their energy use, or self-disconnecting entirely. This includes direct support for households using any tariff or fuel type, and is delivered via trusted third sector partners the Fuel Bank Foundation, Advice Direct Scotland and the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations.

Investing in Scotland’s workforce

Up to £15,000 for eligible businesses

Thousands of businesses can now apply for up to £15,000 to help retrain and upskill their workforce.

The Scottish Government’s Flexible Workforce Development Fund provides workers in organisations of all sizes with access to training courses through local colleges, the Open University in Scotland and Skills Development Scotland.

Now entering its sixth year, the fund is open to organisations who pay the UK Apprenticeship Levy and small-to-medium size business (SMEs).

The initiative plays a crucial role in Scotland’s National Strategy for Economic Transformation, which outlines how the Scottish Government will work to develop the best economic performance possible over the decade ahead.

Youth Employment and Training Minister Jamie Hepburn said: “We know times are tough for many businesses, so this funding will help them to continue investing in their workforce – addressing skills gaps and improving productivity. A skilled workforce is vital to our economy and we want as many businesses as possible to benefit from this scheme.

“For the first time, all eligible employers can access training available via local colleges, Skills Development Scotland and the Open University, tailored to their needs. This provides an incredible opportunity for workers to upskill at a time when many businesses are opting for new ways of working.

“I would encourage all employers to find out more about the opportunities available to them.”

The Flexible Workforce Development Fund (FWDF) was introduced in 2017-18 and aims to provide employers with flexible workforce development training opportunities tailored to their needs to support inclusive economic growth through upskilling and reskilling of employees.

Full information on the fund is available on the Scottish Funding Council website.

Creating a robust future for Gaelic and Scots? Consultation launched

A commitment to ensure the long-term growth of Gaelic and Scots is at the heart of a new public consultation launched today.

The consultation seeks views on how to raise the profile of Scots, a new strategic approach to Gaelic medium education (GME) and the creation of a Gàidhealtachd, areas with a higher percentage of Gaelic speakers. It also covers the structure and function of Bòrd Na Gàidhlig – the principal public body promoting Gaelic in Scotland.

This feedback will help develop the forthcoming Scottish Languages Bill.

The 2011 census indicated that 57,375 people spoke Gaelic and 87,100 said they had some Gaelic skills and over 1.5 million people identified themselves as Scots speakers.

Launching the consultation during a visit to the GME unit at Goodlyburn Primary in Perth, Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “Gaelic and Scots are a significant part of Scotland’s culture and we want to ensure they thrive and grow.

“The situation for Gaelic speakers is an improvement on ten years ago as there are increased numbers in Gaelic medium education and more initiatives in place to support Gaelic in Scotland.

“We now need to build on what is in place and this consultation will show how we can make our measures more effective, ensuring Gaelic medium education continues to grow and provides a high quality education, that Bòrd na Gàidhlig operates effectively in the promotion of Gaelic, and consideration is given to the creation of a Gàidhealtachd.

“Scots is spoken throughout Scotland, but has never benefited from formal support through legislation and it may be time to consider this to help promote, strengthen and raise the profile of the language.”

The consultation will run until 17 November.

FM hosts Scottish energy summit

Further action agreed as consensus reached

The Scottish Government, energy companies and advice organisations met at Bute House yesterday (Tuesday 23rd August) for a summit chaired by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon – but it’s the UK Government that will have to act to head off a financial crisis for families across the country.

During the meeting a consensus emerged around next steps that must be taken by the UK Government, and where further work and action will take place between energy companies, advice organisations and the Scottish Government ahead of a follow up meeting next month.

The First Minister said: “Any further increase in energy bills in October will have a profound impact on households, businesses and the public sector already struggling with the cost crisis.

“No single government, company or organisation can solve this crisis alone. It requires a collective response commensurate to the situation and the Scottish Government is now treating this situation as a public emergency.

“There was clear consensus at today’s summit that energy customers simply cannot be expected to carry the burden of further price rises in October, and that the UK Government must now commit to freeze the cap for all households and to support the energy companies to deliver that.

“This meeting was focussed on practical solutions, but without action by the UK Government to address the problem at source, the actions we discussed can only ever mitigate the impact of such dramatic price rises at the edges.

“I am grateful to energy suppliers and our third sector partners for coming to the table today and for committing to work together with the Scottish Government to develop further action and practical steps to help households and businesses through the cost crisis.”

The consensus reached in the meeting was that the UK government should:

  • Immediately cancel any further energy price increase for domestic consumers, and work with the regulator and energy companies to put in place the funding to support this;
  • Provide significant additional support to help households and businesses meet current energy bills and the impact of inflation more generally;
  • Take action to protect small and medium sizes businesses, and other organisations not covered by the price cap, from rising energy costs;
  • Reform the energy market for the longer term to prevent this situation occurring again in the future.

The following actions to mitigate the current situation were also agreed and will be developed further:

  • Energy companies will pursue all possible options to provide enhanced support to consumers who are in difficulty, including working with advice agencies and government to improve the support available to consumers, and protect customers from disconnection. It was agreed that the energy companies will work with the Scottish government over the next two weeks to agree a package of measures;
  • The Scottish Government will provide additional support to advice agencies and consider, as part of its emergency budget review, further support for households and businesses. It will also undertake a public information campaign to promote energy efficiency measures alongside sources of help and support for those in difficulty;
  • This group will reconvene following the announcement by Ofgem of the new price cap on Friday 26th August and the appointment of a new Prime Minister to determine further specific actions.

Bins Strike: Politicians play the Blame Game while punters wade through mounting rubbish

TALKS to resolve the local government workers strike ended without an agreement being reached yesterday.

Unions had sought clarity over a 5% offer tabled at a meeting with local government organisation Cosla but the employers were unable to give sufficient reassurances to enable unions to call off planned strikes across the country.

This means the ongoing strike in Edinburgh will continue, with other council areas also being hit by industrial action for the first time today.

Edinburgh North and Leith SNP MP Deirdre Brock said the capital’s Labour-run council had failed to put forward a decent pay offer.

Edinburgh council’s Labour leader Cammy Day was criticised last week for offering just 3.5% to council workers while other council leaders were pushing for a 5% pay rise for their workers.

Ms Brock said: “The SNP in government put an extra £140m on the table, on top of the £100m extra given to councils earlier in the year, yet Labour refused to offer that money to refuse workers for over a week, leaving our capital streets an eyesore.

“Residents and tourists alike need to see a plan from Labour to clean up the capital starting today. All we’ve seen so far is ineptitude.”

Her Edinburgh SNP colleague Angus Robertson MSP weighed in:

The Labour administration in Edinburgh is propped up by the Scottish Conservatives and the Lib Dems, but the Tory Local Government spokesperson Miles Briggs MSP had a go at both the Labour-led council and the SNP Holyrood government:

Lamenting the city council’s ‘astounding’ lack of contingency planning – trade unions have made their plans very clear in the run-up to the strike – Lothians list MSP Miles Briggs said: “More could have been done to prepare the city, such as working with private companies or providing additional bins.

“The SNP government must get around the table and fix this before it’s too late. They cannot stand by and watch while a situation that they created by giving councils a poor funding settlement spirals out of control.”

Scotish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole Hamilton lays the blame squarely on the Scottish Government:

“Think of the white elephants the SNP has splurged cash on: independence, the ferries debacle, the embassies so they can play ‘dress-up diplomat’. All of this could have gone to councils to allow them to settle these very reasonable pay expectations.”

Talking of white elephants, our cash-strapped city council chose yesterday to announce £1 BILLION plans for a new North-South tram line … but that’s another story!

Responding to the Edinburgh refuse workers’ industrial action, Labour Lothian list MSP Foysul Choudhury said: “SNP representatives should get off their high horse about the ongoing industrial action when they should have been canvassing their own party in the Scottish Government to agree extra cash with COSLA for councils to pay workers a fair wage, rather than expecting Edinburgh City Council to cut services elsewhere.

“It is up to the Scottish Government and COSLA to agree further funding, and then up to COSLA and the unions to agree the terms of any new pay deal, not Edinburgh City Council. As a former City Councillor, Deidre Brock knows this and yet has pretended otherwise in the media.

“Nobody wants to see the streets of Edinburgh in their current state, but the ongoing industrial action shows what a crucial job refuse and recycling workers do and demonstrates why we should be paying them fairly for their work.

“At the same time it is ridiculous for SNP representatives to lay the strike at the hands of a Labour-led council when it is their party which has repeatedly slashed local government budgets in real terms, forcing councils to cut their services to the bone.

“If the SNP really wanted to avoid these strikes rather than play politics, they should have come to an agreement with COSLA sooner, or better still, avoided imposing successive years of painful austerity for local authorities across Scotland.”

UNITE City of Edinburgh Branch pointed out: “Misinformation on #edinburghbinstrikes today is rife. Strike is a national dispute—one council can’t stop it. 14 more councils tomorrow.

“Local government funding has been slashed for a decade. Idea that 5% definitely would have stopped this is a fantasy. An insulting one at that.”

STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer is backing the striking unions. In a tweet yesterday, Ms Foyer said: “Solidarity to all of you. Keep fighting!

“All Scotland’s local government workers deserve a decent pay rise for the vital work you do. Let’s show our support on the picket lines across Scotland tomorrow.”

PLANNED INDUSTRIAL ACTION:

Unison

School and early years workers will strike on 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th September, joining UNISON waste and recycling staff who will have already started their strike action on 26th, 27th, 28th and 29th August and 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th September.

Unite

Strikes will be held between the 18th August – 30th in Edinburgh with a second wave expected in a further 14 local authorities this week.

Aberdeen City, Angus, Clackmannanshire, Dundee, East Ayrshire, East Lothian, East Renfrewshire, Falkirk, Glasgow, Highland, Inverclyde, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian.

Unite Campaign Page

Unison

In the first wave of action cleansing workers will strike in Aberdeenshire, Clackmannanshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow City, Inverclyde, North Lanarkshire, Stirling and South Lanarkshire councils for the first wave of strike action to take place on 26th, 27th, 28th and 29th August and 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th September.

Unison Campaign Page

GMB

Cleansing workers will strike in Aberdeenshire, Clackmannanshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow City, Inverclyde, North Lanarkshire, Stirling and South Lanarkshire councils for the first wave of strike action to take place on 26th, 27th, 28th and 29th August and 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th September.

City of Edinburgh Council: Disruption to Waste Services

We appreciate the impact and inconvenience this will cause you and appreciate your understanding. Please help us to keep the city as clean and safe as possible during the strike by following this guidance:

  • Regularly check our website and Twitter account for updates on services suspended and when collections will restart in your area.  Be aware normal collections may take a while to get back to schedule after the strike ends.
  • Don’t put any bins, boxes or bags out for collection until the situation changes.
  • Stock up on strong black bags, and be prepared to fill, seal and store these with extra waste. 
  • When separating your recycling, please try to flatten all cardboard and crush drinks cans and bottles.  You can bag these up, separated, to empty into the recycling bin when you can.
  • Store waste sensibly and safely. If possible, use and share empty garage space with your neighbours or store bags in your garden or driveway.
  • Don’t store waste in stairwells or landings, where it could become a fire hazard.
  • Be careful not to block bin chutes or overfill them.
  • Keep all food waste separate and in an enclosed container, to help prevent smells attracting wildlife.
  • Talk to your neighbours and share responsibility for keeping spillages to a minimum.  Help neighbours who may need support managing their waste. Explain the situation to those who may not have heard.
  • Please do not leave bags or any bulky items next to full bins. These will not get cleared away and could become a hazard.
  • Join with neighbours to do local litter picking clean ups, especially around on-street bins and litter bins on your street. 
  • If a bin is full to overflowing, don’t use it, particularly for dog fouling.  Please either use a bin that’s not full or take it home and double bag it to reduce smells.

Report a waste emergency

If you need to report an emergency issue where waste is causing injury or hazard call us and listen to select an option carefully.  Phone 0131 608 1100, from Monday -Thursday 1000-1600 and Friday 1000-1500.  After these hours, phone 0131 200 2000.

You can also email waste@edinburgh.gov.uk with the specific location and details of the issue.

R100: Scotland’s full fibre broadband network extended

More rural homes and businesses will access faster broadband following a further £36 million expansion of the Reaching 100% (R100) contracts. 

The extension of existing contracts with delivery partner Openreach will see another 2,637 rural properties across Scotland able to access gigabit-capable connections through additional Scottish and UK Government investment in the R100 programme.

It will provide speeds more than 30 times faster than the Scottish Government’s original commitment and fulfil a 2021/22 Programme for Government commitment to deliver gigabit capable connections to the islands.

Contracts for both the North Lot – covering the north of Scotland and most of Scotland’s inhabited islands – and South Lot – covering Dumfries and Galloway, Scottish Borders and stretching from East Lothian and East Ayrshire – are being extended with this new R100 investment. 

The UK Government’s Project Gigabit will fund £16 million of this additional investment, which will be split between the R100 North and South contracts. The Scottish Government will invest a further £20 million in the North contract to help fund the gap between the cost of delivery and the contribution from Project Gigabit.

Business Minister Ivan McKee said: “This latest investment will connect more homes and businesses in Scotland’s rural and island communities to gigabit capable broadband. That will have far reaching economic, social and development impacts.

“Our R100 programme is going further, and providing faster broadband, than originally envisaged. This takes time and significant investment, but we are fully committed to ensuring that as many people as possible are able to enjoy the important advantages of this future-proofed digital infrastructure.”

Digital Infrastructure Minister for the UK Government Matt Warman said: “Bringing lightning-fast and reliable broadband to hard-to-reach areas is at the heart of the UK Government’s mission to level up communities, and that’s exactly what we’re doing in Scotland with our additional £16 million investment in R100.

“We’ve already delivered faster broadband to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses across Scotland and there is even more investment on the way thanks to Project Gigabit, our record £5 billion programme to bring growth and prosperity to rural areas by putting them in the digital fast lane.”

Openreach Scotland Partnership Director Robert Thorburn said: “The R100 build is once in a generation, bringing the fastest, most reliable technology to our most remote residents. Full fibre is future-proof – so the new network will always meet the nation’s needs. 

“Connecting these properties one by one is one of the biggest broadband challenges in Europe. To make the most efficient use of resources, we’ll align the R100 build with our own rural investment. This will help us to get engineers and equipment to the most remote places, where they’re needed. 

“We’ll continue to explore every option to reach more rural homes, faster.” 

Progress to becoming a fairer, greener Scotland?

Marking one year of the Bute House Agreement

New funding has been announced to cut carbon emissions in homes and commercial properties, as the Scottish Government continues to focus on delivering its net zero targets and support families with the cost of living.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Zero Carbon Buildings Minister Patrick Harvie announced £16.2 million funding for five zero emission heat networks during a visit to ng Homes in Glasgow.

The announcement coincides with the first anniversary of the Scottish Government and the Scottish Green Party Parliamentary Group signing the Bute House Agreement, a plan to work together to build a green economic recovery from COVID, respond to the climate emergency and create a fairer country.

In its first year the agreement has delivered a range of benefits for households, communities and businesses and seen work begin on a number of longer-term reforms.

Particular progress has been made across a range of areas including:

  • Doubling the Scottish Child Payment to £20 per week per eligible child from April 2022, with plans to extend eligibility to under 16s and further increasing the payment to £25 per week by the end of 2022.
  • Bringing ScotRail into public ownership.
  • Introducing free bus travel for under 22s to cut the cost of living for young people, encourage sustainable travel behaviours early in their lives and improve access to education, leisure, and work.
  • Investing a record £150 million in active travel in 2022-23, including more than doubling the funding for the National Cycle Network, a new walking fund, and supporting pilots for free bikes for school age children who cannot afford them.
  • Publishing Scotland’s National Strategy for Economic Transformation setting out how Scotland will transition to a wellbeing economy.

The Agreement set out a strategy for over a million homes to be using zero carbon heating systems by the end of the decade and allocating funds from a total planned investment of £1.8 billion to cut energy bills, improved building energy efficiency and reduce climate emissions.

Scotland’s Heat Network Fund offers long term funding support to deliver more climate-friendly ways of heating Scotland’s homes and buildings. It has enabled the rollout of new zero emission heat networks and communal heating systems, as well as the expansion and decarbonisation of existing heat networks across Scotland.

Moving forward, the Scottish Government is primarily focused on four key tasks: reducing child poverty; addressing the climate crisis; the recovery from COVID of Scotland’s public services including the delivery of the National Strategy for Economic Transformation; and the development of the prospectus for an independent Scotland and an independence referendum in October 2023. 

The First Minister said: “The world has changed substantially since the Agreement was reached 12 months ago. The conflict in Ukraine and the rising cost of living crisis have profoundly impacted everyone’s lives.

“However, the stable and collaborative government provided by the Agreement, has helped to deliver immediate action in the face of these challenges, including supporting those displaced from Ukraine and using the powers that Ministers have to address the cost of living crisis.

“Action is needed now to support communities to respond to the cost of living and climate crises, and Scotland’s Heat Network Fund is just one of the many initiatives that the Scottish Government has already undertaken.

“The projects that receive support from the Fund will fully align with the Scottish Government’s aim to eradicate fuel poverty by supplying heat at affordable prices to consumers, which is especially important now when we are seeing record rises in the cost of heating.

“The Bute House Agreement was reached to equip us best to deal with the challenges we face, because we believe that new ideas and ways of working are required to deal with new problems. An unstable world needs more co-operation and more constructive working towards building a consensus, if governments are to be equal to what the people need of them.”

Mr Harvie said: “One year on from the Scottish Greens entering government as part of the Bute House Agreement, I am proud of what this Government is doing to build a fairer, greener Scotland.

“From free bus transport for young people to doubling the Scottish Child Payment, we are committed to accelerating action to tackle the climate and cost of living crises.

“The energy crisis households across Scotland now face is being driven by rocketing prices for gas, which we depend on for heat. We are clear that we need to redouble our efforts to improve the efficiency of our homes, making them more comfortable and cheaper to run, and end our reliance on gas for heat. That’s why we are investing £1.8 billion in our green homes and buildings programme.

“Delivering a just transition to net-zero and seizing the opportunities this presents is a major focus of the Scottish Government, and rapidly increasing Scotland’s renewable energy generating capacity and securing accompanying jobs and investment will be central to our work over the rest of the parliament.

“During the first year of the Agreement firm foundations have been built, demonstrating delivery and progress on shared policy priorities and adopting an approach that is both challenging and constructive.”

Bute House Agreement – One Year On report

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Improvements to shared equity housing scheme

Veterans and disabled people among those to benefit

Changes to a shared equity scheme will mean disabled people, first-time buyers and others on low to medium incomes will have an increased opportunity to buy a home that meets their needs.

From today, the threshold of the Open Market Shared Equity Scheme – which allows people to buy a home without having to fund its entire cost – has been raised by 9% across the country to reflect rising house prices. The scheme is aimed at priority groups who need support to buy their own home.

Applicants will also be able to make offers on properties above the formal valuation amount, where they have funds available. People who have an application in progress do not need to reapply to benefit from the changes.

Housing Secretary Shona Robison said: “These are positive changes which will put applicants on a more level playing field with other buyers when purchasing an affordable home.

“We are well aware of the rise in house prices and we have listened to people’s feedback. That is why we are acting to make the process fairer and to offer a helping hand in challenging times.

“Our evidence-based approach ensures that the scheme continues to be targeted at priority groups and to ensure that, across Scotland, all areas are able to benefit from a viable scheme with a reasonable number of purchases.

“The Scottish Government delivered 111,750 affordable homes between 2007 and 2022, with more than 78,000 for social rent. Progress has started towards our next ambitious target of delivering 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, of which 70% will be for social rent and 10% in remote, rural and island communities.”

Open Market Shared Equity scheme

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First Minister to convene summit with energy suppliers and campaign groups

The First Minister will convene an urgent summit with energy supply companies and consumer groups later this month, to discuss how advice and support for people struggling with energy bills can be improved.

The summit will consider what collective action can be taken by government, energy companies and the third sector to help businesses and consumers access advice, and get support with debt issues.

Scotland’s major energy suppliers including Scottish Power, OVO Energy, Centrica, Octopus and E.ON, as well as industry bodies and key consumer and poverty organisations will attend.

The summit follows last week’s meeting of the Scottish Government Resilience Committee on the cost living crisis and will take place ahead of OfGem’s next energy price cap announcement on 26 August.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “I know that this is an incredibly unsettling time for households and energy consumers across Scotland and the Scottish Government will continue to do everything we can to support those affected.

“There is a not a single solution to this problem and government, industry and the third sector in Scotland needs to work collaboratively together to ensure the right support is in place for householders and businesses during this challenging winter. This could include improving the availability of help and advice and considering a more compassionate approach to debt management.

“However, it remains the case that the powers and resources needed to tackle this emergency on the scale required – access to borrowing, welfare, VAT on fuel, taxation of windfall profits, regulation of the energy market – lie with the UK Government.

“Only the UK Government can access and make available resources on the scale required. They need to take action, now. As I said last week, a first step would be to cancel the energy price cap rise this autumn.”

Peter Kelly, Director, The Poverty Alliance said: “We are pleased that the First Minister will be convening this summit of energy companies, along with the Poverty Alliance and Energy Action Scotland.

“Across the country, people are increasingly being swept up amid a rising tide of hardship. But with the energy price cap due to increase in October, that tide threatens to become a flood.

“Households up and down Scotland are terrified of what the colder months will bring and the likelihood is that – without further action – lives and life chances will be at risk. The situation could scarcely be more urgent.

“But it is a situation we can do something about, by taking action to protect people most at risk of poverty and deeper hardship. It is that much-needed and urgent action that we are hoping the summit can bring about.”

Frazer Scott, CEO of Energy Action Scotland said: “With our colleagues at the Poverty Alliance, we welcome the First Minister’s intervention in gathering energy companies together to talk about how we can best support households struggling to afford spiralling energy bills.

“Fuel poverty will affect over one million Scottish households this winter requiring urgent intervention focussed on targeting those most in need.

“Cold, damp homes affect health and wellbeing and will put thousands of lives at risk as well as adding additional pressure to the NHS, making this a vital intervention for Scotland.”

The Scottish Government estimates that 906,000 or 36% of all households will be in fuel poverty in October 2022, based on an Ofgem price cap of £2,800 and taking into account previously announced government mitigations.

Social Security Scotland’s Local Delivery team hits 10,000 appointments milestone

Minister praises impact of specially-trained advisers

A team dedicated to providing support to people applying for benefits has marked its 10,000th appointment in its first year of operation.

Social Security Scotland’s Local Delivery service was launched to offer support to people in their homes, at a convenient place within communities, by videocall or by phone.

Minister for Social Security, Ben Macpherson, said the milestone reached showed how Scotland was “doing things differently” in its approach to supporting people applying for benefits.

He hailed the success of the Local Delivery service as a source of pride during a visit to Parkhead Pantry in the East End of Glasgow.

Local Delivery representatives host a community stall at the Pantry – one of many ways they provide support for people who visit the venue.

Ben Macpherson said: “During its first year of operation, Social Security Scotland’s Local Delivery service has already made a very positive impact by helping thousands of people to access support they are entitled to.

“The Local Delivery service is a great example of how Social Security Scotland is doing things differently in how we deliver devolved benefits – by pro-actively offering people face-to-face support in communities across Scotland.

“Our specially-trained client support advisers can be proud of what they have achieved so far, in establishing a service that has already made an important difference and will help thousands of more people in the years ahead.”

The Local Delivery service, launched in November last year, provides face-to-face support from staff in all 32 Scottish Local Authority areas.

People can book in-person meetings with an adviser at home, in their local community or on either video or phone calls. They can answer queries and help clients with form filling.

During the visit Mr Macpherson met Aileen McGuire, the chief executive of Parkhead Housing Association which hosts the pantry at its Parkhead Schoolhouse building.

Ms McGuire said: “Having direct access to this Social Security Scotland has made such a positive difference to our tenants and residents in Parkhead, we are seeing the real benefits of partnership and collaborative working.

“There’s always an advantage to having face-to-face contact. A lot of our tenants feel more comfortable having direct contact, having somebody in person to explain things really does helps.”