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Publications

  1. Publication date:
    September 2024
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  2. Research from Citizens Advice Scotland
    Isabella Williams
    Publication date:
    June 2024

    Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) received funding from SGN (Scotland Gas Networks) to provide policy insight and expertise on vulnerability in the context of fuel poverty and the just transition to net zero. The research was carried out with a focus group of CAB advisers and the launch of the Lived Experience of Vulnerability pilot during which four CAB clients were interviewed on matters relating to their lived experiences of fuel poverty.  

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  3. Publication date:
    June 2024

    Citizens Advice Scotland has responded to Ofgem's Call for Input on affordability and debt. The key points are:

    • CAS supports a write-off of energy debt and the implementation of a social tariff
    • Our data shows the scale and harm of energy debt is getting worse.
    • The average energy debt clients present to the CAB network is around £2300. For clients in rural areas, it is around £3000.
    • CAS recommends that Ofgem looks at how other regulators help customers in debt. 

    You can download and read the full response below. 

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  4. Publication date:
    May 2024

    An evaluation of the "Stressed About Debt?" campaign, which ran from February 2024 until the start of April 2024. 

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  5. Publication date:
    May 2024
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  6. Publication date:
    April 2024

    An evaluation of the Worried This Winter? energy support campaign, which ran from November 2023 until the end of January 2024. 

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  7. Publication date:
    March 2024

    Citizens Advice Scotland has responded to the Scottish Government’s Heat in Buildings consultation. 

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  8. Publication date:
    January 2024
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  9. Publication date:
    June 2023

    An evaluation of the 2022-23 Big Energy Saving Winter campaign 

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  10. Stephanie Millar
    Publication date:
    March 2023

    Citizens Advice Scotland responded to the Ofgem consultation on prepayment meters. 

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  11. Publication date:
    February 2023
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  12. Publication date:
    January 2023
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  13. Grace Remmington
    Publication date:
    May 2022

    The Warm Home Discount scheme provides important funding for the short-term relief of fuel poverty. However, a combination of research and evidence from the Citizens Advice network in Scotland has previously found that while the Warm Home Discount is seen as vital by those who receive it, it is not adequately reaching those who need it most. Whilst CAS welcomes proposals for a scheme for Scotland for 2022-26, we have raised concerns that the proposals do not go far enough to address the issues of the previous scheme years.

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  14. Alastair Wilcox
    Publication date:
    February 2022

    CAS is enthusiastic about the potential for the devolution of winter heating benefits to drive a meaningful improvement in the rates and lived experience of fuel poverty in Scotland. Done well, devolution of Cold Weather Payments (CWPs) and the Winter Fuel Payment (WFP), taken alongside the assistance provided by the Warm Home Discount (WHD) scheme, the Scottish Government’s fuel poverty and energy efficiency programmes, and additional support for vulnerable households such as the Child Winter Heating Assistance, could create a coherent package of measures which work together more effectively to reduce inequality and improve the health and wellbeing of citizens most vulnerable to the effects of living in a cold home.

    We agree that reforms to the existing CWP scheme could deliver greater consumer benefits than the scheme that currently exists. However, we do not agree that the Scottish Government’s proposals for Low Income Winter Heating Assistance (LIWHA) achieve this. Indeed, we are concerned that for many consumers, LIWHA will often make fuel poverty, and in particular extreme fuel poverty, worse. Evidence also strongly suggests that in a cold winter, LIWHA is likely to prove prejudicial to the health of many vulnerable low income households. We are extremely concerned about the negative consumer outcomes this will deliver, including the impact on winter mortality. CAS cannot support a policy that holds significant potential to increase inequality and endanger the health and wellbeing of consumers in Scotland, and as a result we cannot support the Scottish Government’s proposals for LIWHA in their current form. We are however mindful of the tight deadlines to which the Scottish Government is working to deliver the devolution of CWPs before the end of 2022. We therefore propose a practical series of evidence-led actions that we believe would safely deliver a Minimum Viable Product to the required timeframes which significantly improves on the current CWP scheme and to which future improvements can be made as time and resources allow

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  15. Rebecca King and Michael O'Brien
    Publication date:
    November 2021

    The Fuel Poverty (Targets, Definition and Strategy) (Scotland) Act 2019 requires the Scottish Government to publish a fuel poverty strategy, outline what steps will be taken to meet fuel poverty targets and identify the characteristics of households likely to be in fuel poverty or for whom getting out of fuel poverty presents particular challenges.

    The Citizens Advice network in Scotland gathers demographic data on those who contact their local Citizens Advice Bureau for support as well as information on the types of issues on which people seek advice, including fuel poverty. This demographic data allows for examination of CAB clients who have protected characteristics and whether they are more or less likely to seek advice on fuel poverty-related issues.

    This report analyses that data within the policy context, considers other relevant literature, and makes a number of recommendations.

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  16. Publication date:
    November 2021
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  17. Publication date:
    October 2021

    This year the eyes of the world will be upon Glasgow for COP26, as parties and delegates try to accelerate action on climate change. Citizens Advice Scotland supports Net Zero and we want to see a just transition that creates good quality jobs and doesn’t increase the burden on the poorest consumers. That Net Zero must also be tangible and accessible to the poorest consumers is a theme that has run through much of our policy and research work in the run-up to COP26, highlights of which are set out in this document.

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  18. Publication date:
    October 2021

    In May 2019, The Scottish Government committed to establishing an independent Energy Consumers Commission (ECC) to enhance the voice of consumers who reside in Scotland within the energy market. The Commission was formed in July 2020 consisting of representatives with a wealth of experience in national consumer advocacy and advice bodies, academia and local groups serving energy consumers in their communities.

    The Priority Services Register (PSR) is a record held by energy suppliers and network operators which enables them to provide additional support services to consumers in vulnerable situations.

    Ofgem practices principles-based regulation in relation to vulnerability, and although suppliers and network operators broadly determine who can benefit from their PSRs, a level of consistency is ensured across the industry by a common framework of needs codes and vulnerability flags.

    Previous research has found that the strength and depth of priority services, and those they seek to support, varies both between different PSR holders, and across different parts of Great Britain.

    This briefing, based on research commissioned from Changeworks, examines how experiences of the PSR vary in Scotland in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the early stages of the transition to low carbon heating and electric vehicles. It also summarises the Commission’s recommendations on how the services offered and/or the range of vulnerabilities provided for under PSRs and other energy industry vulnerability initiatives can be improved.

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  19. Publication date:
    October 2021

    In May 2019, The Scottish Government committed to establishing an independent Energy Consumers Commission (ECC) to enhance the voice of consumers who reside in Scotland within the energy market. The Commission was formed in July 2020 consisting of representatives with a wealth of experience in national consumer advocacy and advice bodies, academia and local groups serving energy consumers in their communities.

    Eradicating fuel poverty has been a policy priority for the Scottish Government since 2016, and has been a statutory obligation since the passage of the Fuel Poverty (Targets, Definition and Strategy) (Scotland) Act in 2019. While fuel poverty has been formally defined since 2019, and a fuel poverty strategy is expected in 2021, fuel debt has not been given the same attention by researchers and policy makers.

    Fuel debt is likely to become more prevalent and more unmanageable this winter as energy prices rise, and financial support such as the £20/week Universal Credit uplift and furlough end. This briefing, based on research commissioned from Changeworks, examines how fuel debt differs from fuel poverty, what key issues exist in Scotland, and the Commission’s recommendations on how to address rising levels of fuel debt.

  20. Grace Remmington and Rebecca King
    Publication date:
    August 2021

    The Warm Home Discount scheme provides important funding for the short-term relief of fuel poverty. However, a combination of research and evidence from the Citizens Advice network in Scotland has previously found that while the Warm Home Discount is seen as vital by those who receive it, it is not adequately reaching those who need it most. This consultation proposes a number of potentially positive changes to the operation of the Warm Home Discount scheme, alongside a 4-year extension to March 2026.

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