Scottish Government unveils £4.5m fuel poverty fund for social landlords
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More than 1,600 households in the social rented sector will be fitted with measures to make them warmer and cheaper to heat, with the announcement of a £4.5 million fuel poverty fund from the Scottish Government.
Unveiled by Housing Minister Margaret Burgess, the Green Homes Cashback Scheme will provide funding to 24 registered social landlords and local authorities towards the cost of fitting energy efficiency measures in their properties across Scotland.
Mrs Burgess said: “This £4.5m fund will not only improve the quality of social rented properties up and down the country but it will make a real difference to families who are struggling to make ends meet.
“It is scandalous that fuel poverty exists in an energy rich country like Scotland, that’s why this Government has spent almost a quarter of a billion pounds over a three year period on energy efficiency measures.
“Through the Green Homes Cashback Scheme we are helping social landlords and councils upgrade their properties with energy efficiency measures, which will in turn will save residents’ money on fuel bills and cut emissions.”
Mrs Burgess made the announcement ahead of today’s Housing Supply Debate which will set out the key progress that’s been made to deliver more and better housing across Scotland.
The Housing Minister added: “Making sure everyone in Scotland has access to good quality housing is a vital part of the Scottish Government’s drive to secure economic growth, promote social justice, strengthen communities and tackle inequality.
“Despite challenging economic conditions and Scottish budgets being cut, our rate of house building per head continues to outperform other parts of the UK.
“In fact we have boosted housing supply budgets by investing £1.7 billion in affordable housing over the lifetime of this Parliament. Through our partners in councils and housing associations, we have now delivered more than 21,000 affordable homes and are two-thirds of the way towards our target of 30,000.
“We have delivered over 4,000 new council houses since 2009 and helped over 2,900 households get on the property ladder through the Help to Buy (Scotland) scheme.
“But we are also committed to preserving Scotland’s social housing stock, which is why we are abolishing the Right to Buy, which will protect up to 15,500 social houses from sale and safeguard social housing for future generations.
“However it’s not just about supporting people into sustainable homes, we are also protecting vulnerable tenants from the impacts of the most damaging welfare reforms, which is why we have protected 71,000 households by investing £55m to mitigate the harmful impact of the ‘bedroom tax’.”
The Green Homes Cashback funding of £4.5 million will be allocated as follows:
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