Scottish Government backs fuel banks
19 January 2021 at 12:16:00
The money, which has been awarded from a £7 million fund to tackle fuel poverty, will be used to help fund Fuel Bank Foundation's 25 fuel bank centres across Scotland.
Fuel banks provide financial support to more than 40,000 vulnerable people who can't afford to top-up their pre-payment energy meters and are at risk of self-disconnection. The funding will also help provide support for households in remote or rural locations that are reliant on solid fuel.
Since 2016, when the first fuel bank was opened in Glasgow South East, more than £500,000 of emergency fuel credits have been awarded to people in fuel poverty.
According to fuel poverty charity Energy Action Scotland, a quarter (24.6%) of households in Scotland are currently in fuel poverty, with 12.4% in extreme fuel poverty.
