The Scottish Government has set up a new group to tackle fuel poverty in rural areas of the country.
The Scottish Rural Fuel Poverty Task Force, which will have its inaugural meeting in Inverness today, will explore the issues facing those living in fuel poverty and prepare a report on its findings over the next year.
Housing Minister Margaret Burgess made the announcement as part of her summer tour to Orkney where she met the Council to discuss the Home Energy Efficiency Programmes for Scotland: Area Based Schemes (HEEPS:ABS).
It comes after nearly a year after the Press and Journal launched its Fair Fuel campaign.
In October, we began highlighting the regional transmission charging system which leaves families in northern Scotland paying the highest bills in the country.
The latest Scottish House Condition Survey statistics found that 58 per cent of households in Orkney were classified as being in fuel poverty in December 2013, compared to the national fuel poverty level of 39.1 per cent.
Mrs Burgess said: “People in rural areas can often struggle to heat their homes because their properties tend to be more exposed to wind and weather and are more expensive to heat as the majority are not connected to mains gas supplies.
“By making sure people in the islands and in more rural parts of the country have the same chances to make their homes warmer, cheaper and easier to heat, we are tackling the inequalities that exist in our country.”
The new group will be chaired by Di Alexander, chair of the Rural and Highlands Housing Associations’ Forum.
He said: “Affordable warmth is still presenting a major problem for far too many rural and island households, especially those living in doubly disadvantaged off-gas areas.
“The job of the Task Force is to come up with practicable and deliverable solutions to all aspects of the problem and I’m delighted that we will have so much problem-solving experience to draw upon when we set to our task.”
Councillor Steven Heddle, convener of Orkney Islands Council, said: “With over half of Orkney’s households spending more than a 10th of their income to stay warm, tackling fuel poverty is a priority for us.”