The true extent of the energy crisis across Scotland's communities

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The true extent of the energy crisis across Scotland's communities

Article by Derek Mitchell, CAS Chief Executive, first published in the Herald on 15 February 2025.

Stricter rules from Ofgem were introduced in November 2023 to help people clear energy-related debt. The rules stopped energy suppliers retrieving debt by installing the meters in homes that didn't have them.  

Great news, problem solved, right? Wrong. 

Fast forward to now and the picture is clear. Our energy markets are broken and people across Scotland are still living with constant dread around how to pay to keep their homes warm and the lights on. 

Our network of CABs support hundreds of people every day that are experiencing energy-related issues and work with them to take the burden of debt away from them.  

We work closely with our network to get to the heart of the issues and in turn, raise awareness and advocate for change; most recently via our Worried This Winter? Let’s Chat campaign. 

As part of this, we polled the public to find out the true extent of the energy crisis across Scottish communities. And the results were stark.  

More than two fifth (42%) of people in Scotland are worried about energy costs. Almost two thirds (62%) have cut back on household spending due to rising energy costs.  

And nearly three in five people (56%) say they have not been heating all of their rooms or turning down thermostats, during what has been a very cold winter. There's also been a 51% increase in worry around energy debt for those aged 45-54. 

Overall, these numbers are slightly down compared to the previous year, but they still highlight the issue that people are trapped in a circle of energy-related debt.  

In addition to the stats, evidence from our CABs clearly shows that the issue is very much alive and people across Scotland are worried about meeting the most basic and essential needs.  

Just last week we used this evidence from our network to call on Ofgem to bring in a new debt relief scheme to people in energy debt.  

So, with temperatures continuing to drop and a few weeks left of the campaign period, it’s worth a reminder of what we’ve done and why.  

We worked closely with spoken word artist, Kevin McLean, who created a poem that captured the experiences of real people worried about energy costs.  

Kevin’s performance of the poem is currently running on STV but if you haven’t managed to catch-up on TV this week, you can watch it below: 

Having someone talk so powerfully about the real emotions of real people has already had a significant impact. CAB advisers across the country say people have mentioned the poem when they come to seek help – and that of course is what the campaign is all about.   

Huge numbers of people in our communities are experiencing real harm – not just physically but mentally as well – because they can’t afford these high fuel bills. For many, visiting their local CAB has been a lifeline. 

Our specialist advisers can provide face-to-face advice, go through the situation and work out the next steps. They will help communicate with energy suppliers, set up a manageable repayment plan or explore eligibility for any grants or discounts. All free, confidential and impartial. 

So, in the last two weeks of the campaign you can help us spread our message to anyone you think needs to hear it. 

Worried This Winter? Chat to Us.  

Why we need an energy debt relief scheme

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Why we need an energy debt relief scheme

Article by David Hilferty, CAS Director of Impact, first published in the Herald on 07 February 2025.

Last week we called on the energy regulator, Ofgem, to bring in a new debt relief scheme for people in energy debt.

This follows years of soaring energy bills which have had a simply devastating impact on households across the country.

Across the Citizens Advice network, we see the real-life cases of people who are hit hardest by energy debt. Many were already pushed to breaking point by the pandemic and then the cost of living crisis which followed. With the spiralling energy bills of the last couple of years, this has had a cumulative and compounding impact.

Typical household energy bills increased by 54% in April 2022 and by 27% in October 2022. Lower wholesale prices have led to some falls in prices, but bills remain around 29% above what they were in winter 2021/22. For most people, that is a massive increase to have to cope with. For those who were already struggling, it’s impossible.

As we set out to the regulator this week, the average energy debt that people bring to their local Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) in Scotland was £2,500. Worryingly, this figure is 8% higher than the previous year. In rural Scotland, the problem is even worse – average energy debt stands at £3,130, 30% higher than the average energy debt overall.

The human impact of this is stark. By now we’re all far too familiar language around people who are forced to choose between heating and eating. Let’s be clear what that means. People are going without heat – even in the depths of a freezing winter like this one. Some have no choice, having been cut off. People switching their lights off, sitting in the dark, or going to bed in the afternoon and staying there till morning. This includes households with children, pensioners or disabled people. 

In our message to Ofgem we highlighted the case of Helen, who retired early to care for her terminally ill husband, who subsequently passed away. This put Helen under serious financial pressure and she accrued energy arrears of almost £2,700, which had a significant negative impact on her mental health. One case, but not untypical of the ones our advisers see every day. The extent of the problem is unjustifiable and unjust. And it shows no signs of easing.  

We believe the case for an energy debt relief scheme is now inarguable. Only bold, targeted and urgent action will begin to undo the harm that far too many are facing.  

What would a debt relief scheme look like?  We’ve urged Ofgem to engage the UK Government to obtain funding for an enduring system of support that will reverse the current situation. We believe it should include debt-matching and debt write-offs.  

Yet this measure is only part of the solution. When debt is unavoidable, the problem is rooted within markets not people. So alongside the debt write off scheme, we have been advocating for a new social tariff for energy to keep bills affordable.

This situation is well beyond the point of tinkering at the edges. For far too many people, energy is far too expensive – something of a luxury when it is in reality an absolute essential.

Energy affordability is a long-term problem that necessitates long-term, far-reaching solutions. Without that, huge numbers of people in Scotland will continue to endure further harm. 

Congratulations to Natasha Gilmour MBE

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Congratulations to Natasha Gilmour MBE

Article first published on 11 January 2025.

A huge congratulations to Natasha Gilmour, Head of Citizens Advice Scotland's Extra Help Unit, on receiving an MBE in the King’s 2025 New Year Honours for her outstanding services to vulnerable consumers.

Under Natasha's leadership, the Extra Help Unit has provided invaluable support to people experiencing complex energy issues, ensuring they receive the assistance they need.

This honour reflects Natasha's unwavering commitment to improving the lives of thousands across the UK, and we extend our heartfelt congratulations to her on this well-deserved recognition.

I netted an MBE, but it's all about teamwork

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I netted an MBE, but it's all about teamwork

Article by Natasha Gilmour of the Extra Help Unit at CAS, first published in The Herald on 11 January 2025.

Growing up in Dumfries, I was always interested in fitness and health, and spending time with family and friends. In fact, I spent most of my youth playing badminton.

At school, I always believed in people getting access to help and support when they needed it. When I left to go to university, I studied consumer and management studies before securing a job as a caseworker at Ofgem. It was here that I embarked on further study with a focus in health education as the links between fuel poverty and health were undeniable.

I continued to progress through different roles, and in 2008 became head of the Extra Help Unit (EHU) at Consumer Focus, with responsibilities moving to Citizens Advice Scotland in 2014. The EHU is an essential service that helps people in vulnerable circumstances with energy-related problems including bills, debts, energy meters and suppliers.

The EHU is an inclusive and person-centred statutory service that supports customers and micro-businesses across Great Britain. And while local CABs resolve many straight-forward problems, we focus more on complex cases. We work collaboratively with suppliers to get the best possible outcomes for people and also identify or refer compliance concerns to Ofgem, holding energy suppliers and the industry accountable.

Moving to Citizens Advice Scotland back in 2014, it seemed like a great opportunity to work for a charity, which I’d never worked for before. Eleven years after working at CAS, I’m totally shocked. I didn’t choose this career path for anything other than to do my part in helping vulnerable people. So, to be awarded an MBE for my services and effort is surreal.

Last week I saw my name on the New Year Honours list, and I can’t express how proud I am. Since the first day I stepped through our Glasgow office doors, I’ve helped build a team of 75 experts that deliver truly life-changing outcomes.

The EHU team never fail to amaze me, even through the toughest of challenges, we come together, we are resilient and have weathered many storms and still manage to smile. We’ve continued to innovate and recently implemented AI to help us identify and prioritise those most in need and we have secured the ISO Inclusive Service Kitemark.

To date, we’ve handled more than 175,000 cases and secured almost £31 million in financial redress for people in vulnerable circumstances.

That’s people who, without this support, would continue to be filled with anxiety and worry over how they can heat their homes and pay their bills. Unfortunately the number of cases we receive continues to rise, especially as we head into a chilly January and people need to stay warm.

Thanks to the EHU, we’re here to listen and support people in crisis as we work towards lifting people out of fuel poverty. But we aren’t the solution. Our energy markets are broken and urgent change is needed by the governments to ensure everyone lives a decent, dignified and healthy life.

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Natasha Gilmour is head of the Extra Help Unit at Citizens Advice Scotland.

Worried about fuel bills this winter? Let's chat

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Worried about fuel bills this winter? Let's chat

Article by CAS CEO Derek Mitchell on our winter energy campaign, first published in The Herald on 07 December 2025.

We heard a lot recently about financial pressures and difficult decisions during the Scottish budget.

Let’s be clear though, those experiencing the toughest financial pressures and most difficult decisions every day are people like those the Citizens Advice network supports across Scotland.

With Christmas just a few weeks away, some people might be thinking about last minute stocking fillers. But for thousands of others, they’re thinking about meeting the most basic and essential needs. They are worried about keeping their homes warm and how to put food on the table.  

That’s why we want anyone worried about energy bills and how they’ll afford the essentials to know that we’re here to help.  

To raise awareness of the free, impartial support that’s available and break down the stigma of asking for help, we’ve launched our new campaign, Worried this winter? Let’s chat. Running from now until February 2025, we want to reflect the real experiences of people impacted by rising energy costs.  

To do this, we’ve been working closely with five CABs across Scotland to run local focus groups and learn first-hand about people’s experiences. 

From feelings of embarrassment and anxiety to dread and misery, the picture was clear: more needs to be done to support communities worried about the cost of energy this winter.  

Across our network, support on energy debt is one of the most common reasons people walk through their local CAB doors. But taking that first step can be daunting. We want people to know there’s no need to feel embarrassed and that our advisors are here to help, not judge.  

To get our message across, we worked with Scottish poet Kevin McLean to create a poem on the experiences of households with energy debt. With a focus on the emotions and feelings experienced, the poem will be used to encourage more people to get advice whether they are currently in debt or struggling to keep up with payments. 

While this campaign is just a small step towards breaking down the barriers to support, we need to highlight the stark reality many people face this winter. If this is you or someone you know, please know the Citizens Advice network is here to help.  

We are known for the advice we give to hundreds of thousands of people every year but we also have a responsibility to raise awareness and advocate for structural change. And we’ll continue to do all we can to ensure systematic change so we can continue to deliver life-changing outcomes for people across Scotland. 

For the energy rates we pay we deserve a first-class service. And we're not getting it.

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For the energy rates we pay we deserve a first-class service. And we're not getting it.

Article by Christine Lang, CAS project manager. First published in The Herald on 19 November 2024.

Working in the Citizens Advice network I regularly hear from our CAB advisers about the difficulties people face when dealing with their energy suppliers. However, it wasn’t until I moved house myself this year that I found out first-hand how complicated this can be. 

On the day I moved in, in April, I gave my energy supplier meter readings for my new house. The readings I gave, however, didn’t match what the energy supplier ‘expected’ because the previous owner hadn’t given meter readings for some time. Despite me repeatedly sending the same photos, which had a time and date stamp on them, my supplier was unable to send me accurate bills. Then about a month later, when this hadn’t been resolved, the company explained they would have to start a dispute with the previous owner’s energy supplier. I was told in June that this would take one to two weeks to resolve.

Four weeks later, in July, still no resolution, so I put in a complaint. Then there was an ‘aha’ moment when the supplier said they’d realised what the problem was: that there was no final meter reading from the previous owner (which wasn’t news to me). In August I had to remind them that they were meant to be looking into this. Yet again, they promised to do so, and by September I thought things were almost resolved. But they weren’t.

Now, more than five months after moving, I still haven't had correct bills and there have been nearly 100 emails back and forward (and I really wish that was an exaggeration). In addition, I’ve been confused by the terminology being used, e.g. they keep talking about switching. To me, switching is when I switch energy supplier, but now it’s being used because the house has switched energy suppliers.

I’m very lucky that colleagues have been helping me but you shouldn’t have to work for CAS to be able to understand this process. In fact, I would have ignored some of the letters if it wasn't for my colleagues’ very helpful advice not to do that.

All of this made me realise more than ever that the work the energy advisers do is made more complicated by the energy suppliers’ inability to resolve basic issues. It really does feel like the onus is on me, as the bill payer, to keep chasing this up, rather than them to resolve it.  If I wasn’t so determined to agree a solution I could have paid hundreds of pounds I didn’t need to just to make the problem go away. 

All I want is for the energy supplier to send me a bill that I understand and resolve the issues when they said they would. It doesn’t feel like a lot to ask.  

Moving house is stressful enough without this. And of course, there are people more vulnerable than me, e.g. elderly, disabled or struggling to manage their energy bills. It’s been a sharp reminder that we deserve a better service for the energy rates we pay, and also that we should all look out for our relatives and friends who are caught in these disputes and make sure they know the CAB network is there to help them with free, confidential and impartial advice. 

Fuel poverty warning for pensioners this winter

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Fuel poverty warning for pensioners this winter

Article by Stephanie Millar from the CAS social justice team, first published in The Herald on 07 September 2024.

The UK Government recently announced stark changes to winter energy support that means many hundreds of thousands of pensioners will have less money to pay for fuel costs. This was followed by Ofgem’s quarterly price cap announcement that an average household’s energy bills will be £1,717 a year, an increase of 10% this winter.

Pensioners will have higher energy bills this winter but less money to pay them. Many will be pushed into fuel poverty.

A complex combination of factors combined with the removal of a crucial benefit will cause financial hardship for many people. There is a very real risk that older people who are just managing will now experience fuel poverty.

Fuel poverty rates for pensioner households in Scotland are already significantly higher than for younger households. Remote rural parts of Scotland have a higher proportion of pension age people. And housing stock in remote rural areas can be less energy efficient and that older people can need to heat their homes more.

As of this year, Winter Fuel Payment, which is paid at a rate of either £100 or £300 depending on someone’s circumstances, will only be paid to pensioners who are in receipt of Pension Credit or other means-tested low-income benefits.

Pension Credit is paid to pensioners on a low income and is worth a maximum of £3,900 extra a year. If you have an income of less than £218.15 a week as a single pensioner or £332.95 as a couple you could be eligible for Pension Credit.

Pension Credit doesn’t only result in entitlement to Winter Fuel Payment, it also means people can get a Warm Home Discount, worth £150, and the Winter Heating Payment, worth £58.65.

It’s likely that the tightening of the eligibility criteria will affect around 900,000 pensioners in Scotland, who face the cliff edge of the eligibility of such an important benefit. We know that a sizeable number of pensioners who could be eligible for Pension Credit don’t claim it. The Department for Work and Pensions estimates this to be 880,000 people UK wide. Often people don’t claim benefits they are entitled to because they aren’t aware of them or claiming is too complicated, but people can also feel stigma around claiming benefits.

Our advisers are already seeing people concerned they may struggle due to the removal of Winter Fuel Payment. Just this month an adviser told us of Helen who receives only a state pension and a small occupational pension and is only £3 above the Pension Credit limit. These are the people who will struggle – the group with an income too high for Pension Credit, but only just.

A more nuanced approach is needed. We cannot ignore there is a very real need for heating support for older people far beyond the now hugely limited Winter Fuel Payment. Citizens Advice Scotland has been advocating for a social tariff, which discounts energy bills for those on the lowest incomes, or for people with unavoidably high energy use, such as disabled people. Securing this will take time so in the meantime, for people on low incomes, checking entitlement to Pension Credit will be the most important action to take.  

Our message to you now? Talk to your relatives, your friends and neighbours. If you think this might be you? Get advice, get a benefit check, claim your entitlement. Don’t lose out.

These levels of energy debt are not normal. Action is needed now

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These levels of energy debt are not normal. Action is needed now

Article by Matthew Lee, CAS Energy spokesperson, first published in The Herald on 13 July 2024.

The recent news that Ofgem has reduced the price cap on energy bills may give the impression that the energy crisis is coming to an end. But sadly it’s not that simple. Even with this reduction, average bills for typical consumers remain significantly higher than pre-crisis levels. And people with unavoidably high energy costs, including for example people who use medical equipment, will be paying well above the average. Moreover, analysts predict that the price cap will rise again this winter. Now is not the time for complacency.

Energy has shifted from being a necessity to a luxury. People using pre-payment meters are vulnerable to ‘self-disconnection’. This euphemism means they have run out of money to top up their meters so they just go without heating, hot water and electricity. Some will ask their energy suppliers to add credit to their meters, but while that solves the immediate problem, it means they build up debt. Consumers who pay by monthly bills, especially those who don’t use Direct Debit, face the same problem. If money is tight and they miss paying a bill, they begin to rack up debt.

There’s a vast amount of debt in the GB energy market. Ofgem estimates it is around £3 billion. On average, Scottish CAB clients have £2,300 of energy arrears. For clients in rural areas, the average is £3,000.

I heard recently of a client who came to her local CAB because she had £5,000 of energy debt. Her supplier wanted £420 per month – a third of her monthly salary – to cover her ongoing usage and arrears. Devoting that much of her financial resources to a single household expense was impossible.

Perhaps others will be able to scrimp and save their way to re-paying their debt. However, for people whose income doesn’t cover life’s essentials, re-paying energy debt like this is a distant dream. This situation is unsustainable for consumers and suppliers alike. It also exposes the unacceptable levels of poverty and inequality in Scotland.

The problems with energy debt and affordability may seem impossible to solve. But the election of a new Government that sought a mandate for change provides the opportunity to take a fresh approach to the energy market. While the new Prime Minister and Chancellor have signalled that they will be cautious with public finances, they must consider the economic and social costs of not tackling energy debt and affordability problems.

There are no quick fixes. Instead, the Government must implement a series of policies that will usher in long-term solutions to entrenched problems. Consumers who have fallen behind on their energy bills need access to real practical support, like debt write-off schemes. Debt relief will be sustainable only if energy bills become cheaper. There needs to be a social tariff in the energy market, which provides a discount on bills for people living on low incomes. Reducing standing charges can also play a role in cutting bills for households that use low amounts of electricity.

There is a lot to do and none of it is easy. However, political leadership is about a willingness to take on big problems and implement transformational changes. The new Government has both an opportunity and a responsibility to solve the challenges of energy debt and affordability. The time to grasp this is now.

New heat technologies mean cheaper bills and less pollution - but good advice is essential

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New heat technologies mean cheaper bills and less pollution - but good advice is essential

Article by Dr Matthew Lee, CAS energy spokesperson, first published in The Herald on 01 June 2024.

Scotland is a cold country, with many homes that are energy inefficient, and poor energy efficiency is one of the main drivers of fuel poverty. The latest Scottish Government estimate is that a staggering 31% of Scottish households are in fuel poverty. In 2023/24, the Scottish CAB network provided over 24,000 pieces of advice on fuel vouchers and trust fund applications – a useful proxy for fuel poverty – which represented a 23% increase on the previous year.

Improving the energy efficiency of Scotland’s buildings will help to tackle fuel poverty and meet our Net Zero targets. But how do we go about making our homes more efficient and ultimately cheaper to heat? 

There are a number of options available, but heat pumps are rising to the top of that list. People who want to move to these new systems can often feel intimidated by the prospect of making such a change, but this is where access to free, impartial and good quality advice is essential. CABs can help identify funding streams to reduce the costs of installation and offer other support that can make the move easier.  

After doing the initial research, people who are ready to switch to a heat pump can contact local installers. It is worthwhile contacting multiple installers and getting quotes for the necessary work. Checking out reviews of the installers online may help ensure they are competent and trustworthy. Speaking to family, friends and neighbours might also help identify a good heat pump installer. Like any other home improvement, people might have an initial chat with installers by phone or email, followed by them visiting the property to get more detailed information. It is important to ask questions about the installation process and post-installation maintenance before agreeing to go ahead. Doing this due diligence early on reduces the chances of things going wrong further down the line.  

It would be disingenuous to suggest that installing a heat pump right now is cheap. However, funding is available, including Scottish Government grant and loan funding available through Home Energy Scotland. Through this scheme, homeowners can get a £7,500 grant and a further £7,500 interest-free loan to fund the cost of heat pump installation. People in rural areas can get an enhanced grant for £9,000 plus the interest-free loan, and similar interest-free loans are available for private rented sector landlords. It is important to remember that as heat pumps become more common across Scotland, the cost of installing them will fall. In the meantime, Citizens Advice Scotland is urging the Scottish Government to maintain or extend support for early adopters of heat pumps.

People making the switch to heat pumps should seek funding from trusted sources. They should be careful about companies making big promises regarding access to green funding. Over the past 12 months, there has been an 85% increase in people seeking advice from the CAB network about renewable and energy efficiency scams. If an offer seems too good to be true, it almost certainly is. Any legitimate firm will be able to answer questions and provide evidence about the claims they make. Government-backed schemes and reputable lenders offering green loans are safer port of call when looking for heat pump funding.

Heat pumps are not the only technology that can help reduced the carbon emissions from buildings. A one-size-fits-all approach to new heating systems will not work. An important way of making the move to net zero fair is to ensure that people adopt technologies that are suitable to their properties. A key question is whether a heat pump is right for a tenement flat. The way these properties have been built means the cost and disruption of retro-fitting them to make a heat pump worthwhile is prohibitive.  

Instead, tenements in densely populated areas could switch to a heat network, which supplies heat from a central point to all the buildings in the network. So, rather than having a gas boiler in their property, heat network customers have a heat interface unit that allows them to adjust the temperature (although boilers and heat interface units can look similar). A key difference of being on a heat network is that consumers can’t switch gas supplier as they would if they were on mains gas. The heat network market has minimal regulation currently, although the UK Government, the Scottish Government and the energy regulator Ofgem are moving towards introducing a tighter regulatory framework. 

The prospect of switching to a heat pump or heat network may feel daunting. But doing some initial legwork, seeking out robust advice and thinking carefully before committing to a specific installer will take much of the worry out of switching to this new technology. The benefits  for individual households include better energy efficiency, cheaper bills and more comfort homes. Society in general will benefit too from less fuel poverty and decreased carbon emissions.  

By giving people accurate and unbiased information, advice organisations like the CAB network can play a leading role in the transition to net zero. But it will be a challenging. There is already unprecedented demand for advice from our network. As we help people with today’s problems – not least increased bills and energy debt – we need to get ready to provide advice for emerging issues like moving to new heating technologies. Building that capacity requires proper funding and scaling up of our resources. 

A major milestone for a remarkable part of the CAS network

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A major milestone for a remarkable part of the CAS network

Article by Natasha Gilmour, head of the CAS Extra Help Unit, first published in the Herald on 15 June 2024.

Many of you may not know that Citizens Advice Scotland is the home of an essential service that supports people in vulnerable circumstances across Scotland, England and Wales and which is just about to celebrate its 10th anniversary under our stewardship.

The Extra Help Unit (EHU) is a statutory service dedicated to supporting people who have problems with their energy supplier e.g. bills, debts, problem meters and service issues. The CAB itself can resolve many of the simpler cases but the EHU is for those more complicated situations where the person requires, well, extra help.    

If someone is in crisis over their energy bills it can really destroy their lives. When people reach the EHU they are often distressed, fatigued and embarrassed that they can’t afford their bills.

Over the past decade the Unit has handled over 170,000 complex cases, securing over £27 million in direct financial gain for its clients. I’m immensely proud of all of our staff – past and present. Their unwavering dedication and drive to deliver our service with extraordinary empathy and sensitivity is evident in the feedback we get from consumers, with over 90% being happy with the overall quality of service and comments such as:

I can honestly say, they saved my life

And helping people in crisis is not the EHU’s only role. Like the CAB network as a whole, we gather data from that casework and use that unique knowledge of peoples’ lived experience to advocate for meaningful changes in the energy market. Working in collaboration with others is key to achieving change and the EHU holds quarterly supplier liaison meetings which is attended by our policy colleagues across the UK and Scottish Governments to raise awareness of energy trends. The EHU also works closely with Ofgem, the energy regulator, to provide evidence and unique insights into the poor performance of energy suppliers.

This advocacy work has contributed to a number of compliance investigations and reviews of industry-wide policies such as back-billing, and more recently the EHU has evidenced the devastating increase in cases where consumers can’t afford to top up their prepayment meter, and the enforced installation of these meters.  

At its core, the EHU is a person-centred and inclusive service, striving every day to achieve positive outcomes for people in vulnerable circumstances. Through the tireless efforts of colleagues, it has championed the rights of every energy consumer in their time of vulnerability.

The unit continues to innovate. We’re currently working with Helpfirst to design technology that will help us prioritise our workloads, and we’ve already achieved an Inclusive Service Kitemark. Last year we won Energy Action Scotland’s Fuel Poverty Heroes Award and, as well as celebrating our 10th anniversary, I’m thrilled to announce that the EHU is a finalist in this year’s national Energy Awards, in the Energy Champion of the Year team category. That result will be announced on 3rd July. Fingers crossed. It would certainly be well deserved.  

So, what with all that and our 10th birthday cake ready to have its candles lit, I hope you’ll join me in celebrating this very necessary Scottish-based organisation. Happy anniversary, EHU. Here's to another ten years of remarkable achievements, to the dedication and professionalism of the staff and to the countless lives they have transformed for the better. 

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