Scottish House Condition Survey: 2021 Key Findings
Figures from the 2021 survey, including updated fuel poverty rates, energy efficiency ratings and data on external disrepair.
This document is part of a collection
3 Fuel Poverty
Key Points
- The figures presented in this report are a best estimate of fuel poverty and extreme fuel poverty rates from the 2021 External+ Scottish House Condition Survey (SHCS). These estimates are not comparable to those from previous waves of the SHCS due to the change in the mode of approach and data collection in 2021, as well as the bias in the 2021 sample. It is likely that fuel poverty rates are being underestimated due to the over representation of higher income households in the social survey and the mode effects due to the changes to the physical survey that are driving the increases in energy efficiency ratings. For further details see Chapter 6.
- Furthermore these estimates pre-date the large increases in energy prices that occurred in 2022 [6].
- 495,000 households (19.6% of all households) were estimated to be in fuel poverty, of which 241,000 (9.5% of all households) were in extreme fuel poverty.
- The actual median fuel poverty gap for fuel poor households was £690.
- The median fuel poverty gap (adjusted for 2015 prices) for fuel poor households was £620.
- Overall rates of fuel poverty differed between the social (34%) and private sector (15%). Similarly households in the social sector were more likely to be in extreme fuel poverty (15%) compared to households in the private sector (8%).
- 41% of households using electricity as their primary heating fuel were fuel poor, higher than for households using gas (16%), oil (23%) and other fuel types (22%) as their primary heating fuel.
- A higher proportion of households with a pre-payment meter (PPM; electricity, gas or both) were in fuel poverty compared to those without a PPM; 33% compared to 17% respectively.
- Fuel poverty and extreme fuel poverty have a strong association with income, with rates increasing as annual household income decreases. For example 79% of households with an annual income less than £15,000 were in fuel poverty compared to 20% of households earning between £15,000 and £24,999 annually.
- For both fuel poor and extreme fuel poor households, the lowest rates of fuel poverty are associated with higher energy efficiency standards. 16% of dwellings rated EPC band C or better were fuel poor, compared to 43% in bands F or G.
- Although low income is associated with fuel poverty, it is not equivalent. 76% of fuel poor households were also income poor in 2021 whilst the other 24% would not be considered income poor.
3.1 Definition and Measurement of Fuel Poverty
Under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 (section 88), the Scottish Government was committed to eradicating fuel poverty as far as practicably possible by November 2016. In June 2016, the Minister for Local Government and Housing informed Parliament that, based on the advice received from experts, it was unlikely that the statutory fuel poverty target would be met. This was confirmed by 2016 and 2017 fuel poverty rates, under the old definition of fuel poverty, of 26.5% and 24.9% respectively.
The Fuel Poverty (Targets, Definition and Strategy)(Scotland) Bill was introduced to the Scottish Parliament on 26 June 2018 and the Fuel Poverty (Targets, Definition and Strategy)(Scotland) Act 2019 received Royal Assent on 18th July 2019. This includes a new definition of fuel poverty based on advice from an independent panel of experts and further scrutiny and amendment by the Scottish Parliament.
This was followed by The Fuel Poverty (Enhanced Heating) (Scotland) Regulations 2020 which received royal assent in February 2020 and defined the heating regimes to be used in the measurement of fuel poverty.
As set out in section 3 of the Fuel Poverty (Targets, Definition and Strategy) (Scotland) Act, a household is in fuel poverty if, in order to maintain a satisfactory heating regime, total fuel costs necessary for the home are more than 10% of the household’s adjusted net income (after housing costs), and if after deducting fuel costs, benefits received for a care need or disability and childcare costs, the household’s remaining adjusted net income is insufficient to maintain an acceptable standard of living. The remaining adjusted net income must be at least 90% of the UK Minimum Income Standard (MIS) to be considered an acceptable standard of living, with an additional amount added for households in remote rural, remote small town and island (RRRSTI) areas.
Extreme fuel poverty follows the same definition except that a household would have to spend more than 20% of its adjusted net income (after housing costs) on total fuel costs to maintain a satisfactory heating regime.
It is important to note that households in extreme fuel poverty are also considered to be in fuel poverty and consequently represent a subset of the total number of fuel poor households.
Where a household is in fuel poverty, the fuel poverty gap is the annual amount that would be required to move the household out of fuel poverty. This is either:
- the amount required so that the fuel costs necessary for the home are no longer more than 10% of the household’s adjusted net income (after housing costs), or
- the amount required which, after deducting fuel costs, benefits received for a care need or disability [7] and childcare costs, means the household’s remaining adjusted net income is sufficient to maintain an acceptable standard of living.
The figure taken to determine the gap for each household is the lower of the two options.
The Fuel Poverty (Targets, Definition and Strategy) (Scotland) Act 2019 also set targets to eradicate fuel poverty. The 2040 targets are that:
- no more than 5% of households in Scotland would be in fuel poverty
- no more than 1% of households in Scotland would be in extreme fuel poverty
- the median fuel poverty gap of households in Scotland in fuel poverty would be no more than £250 at 2015 prices (adjusted to take account of changes in the value of money).
The figures presented in this report are a best estimate of fuel poverty rates, extreme fuel poverty rates and the median fuel poverty gap under this definition of fuel poverty, using data collected through the 2021 External+ SHCS. It should be noted that these estimates are not comparable to those from previous waves of the SHCS due to the change in the mode of approach and data collection in 2021 as well as bias in the 2021 sample. For further details see Chapter 6. Furthermore these estimates pre-date the very high increases in energy prices that occurred in 2022.
The Fuel Poverty (Enhanced Heating) (Scotland) Regulations 2020 and Fuel Poverty (Additional Amount in respect of Remote Rural Area, Remote Small Town and Island Area) (Scotland) Regulations 2020 came into force on the 26th February 2020. These regulations set out the types of households to which the enhanced heating regimes are appropriate and specify a person who is to determine the uplifts to the UK MIS for households living in RRRSTI areas. The estimates in this report are the first set of fuel poverty estimates fully compatible with all of the elements of the new definition in the Fuel Poverty (Targets, Definition and Strategy) (Scotland) Act 2019 including the regulations above.
The estimates in this report include an uplift to the UK MIS for households living in RRRSTI areas, as determined by the Centre for Research in Social Policy, Loughborough University. The uplifts that were applied to the UK MIS for households in RRRSTI are based on those reported in The Cost of Remoteness: Reflecting higher living costs in remote rural Scotland. The uplifts range from 14% to 37% depending on household type and location. A full breakdown of the uplifts is shown in Table 3.1.
The UK MIS values used in this report are based on the full 107 MIS household budgets for detailed family types provided by Loughborough University [8] [9]. Under this approach each household receives a MIS value based on the characteristics of the household including the age of the adults and children, and if adults in the household are in a relationship. See the section on methodological changes for further details.
For statistics in this publication heating regimes are set based on the Fuel Poverty (Enhanced Heating) (Scotland) Regulations 2020, which specifies the households for which enhanced heating temperatures and/or hours are appropriate.
Enhanced heating temperatures are 23°C in the living room and 20°C in other rooms.
Standard heating temperatures are 21°C in the living room and 18°C in other rooms.
Enhanced heating hours are 16 hours a day during the week and at the weekend.
Standard heating hours are 9 hours a day during the week and 16 hours a day during the weekend.
A satisfactory heating regime is defined as follows.
Enhanced heating temperatures and enhanced heating hours (enhanced heating regime 1) are appropriate for households where the dwelling is frequently occupied during the morning or afternoon or both on weekdays by any member of the household when it is cold and any member of the household meets one or more of the following criteria: is aged 75 or over; has a long-term sickness or disability; or is in receipt of benefits received for a care need or disability.
Enhanced heating temperatures and standard heating hours (enhanced heating regime 2) are appropriate for households where the dwelling is not frequently occupied during the morning or afternoon or both on weekdays by any member of the household when it is cold and any member of the household meets one or more of the following criteria: is aged 75 or over; has a long-term sickness or disability; or is in receipt of benefits received for a care need or disability.
Standard heating temperatures and enhanced heating hours (enhanced heating regime 3) are appropriate for households where the dwelling is frequently occupied during the morning or afternoon or both on weekdays by any member of the household when it is cold and any member of a household has a child aged 5 years old or under and the household is not a household for which enhanced heating regimes 1 or 2 are appropriate.
For all other households, standard heating temperatures and standard heating hours (the standard heating regime) apply.
Although space heating is the largest component of the energy spend which underpins the fuel poverty estimate, there are other types of energy use that are also taken into account, such as water heating, lighting and appliance use, and cooking. All types of energy expenditure are estimated on the basis of a standard set of behavioural assumptions and do not reflect the actual energy use of the household, which may vary considerably depending on personal preference and priorities relative to other types of household expenditure.
Figure 3.1 shows that, on average, around 75% of the modelled household energy demand was from space heating, 12% from water heating, 10% from lighting and appliance usage, and 3% was accounted for by cooking.
Figure 3.1: Mean Modelled Household Energy Consumption by End Use
Data Source: Table FP1 in 'Fuel Poverty' tables.
The energy costs of maintaining a satisfactory heating regime and other uses of energy are modelled using data from the physical inspection of dwellings and the household interview conducted as part of the SHCS, as well as information on consumer fuel prices. However readers should be mindful of the impact that the change in mode for the 2021 external+ SHCS has had on data quality in relation to the outputs from the energy modelling. This is discussed in detail in Chapter 6 of this report. The methodology for modelling the cost of energy use was updated for the 2014 Key Findings report and details were provided in the accompanying 2014 Methodology Notes.
The current report continues to use this improved method for setting the cost of the domestic energy requirement. A further small improvement introduced in the 2016 survey about pre-payment meters for energy supply is also continued, which has allowed us to improve the accuracy of fuel price information for pre-payment meter users, who are more common among lower income groups which are at higher risk of fuel poverty. In the 2021 External+ SHCS, 14% of households had a pre-payment meter (mains gas, electricity, or both).
In 2019, two further small improvements were introduced. Firstly, more detailed information on combi boilers have been included to improve the accuracy of calculations surrounding hot water losses.
Secondly, a household’s lights and appliances are now assigned as using an off-peak tariff if an off-peak meter is present, even if there is no form of electric heating in the dwelling. Previously, where a household did not have a form of electric heating, the lights and appliances were assumed to use standard electricity. This change does not affect the energy consumption of a dwelling, only the fuel prices applied to the energy associated with lighting and appliance use. Figure 3.1 shows that, on average, around 10% of the modelled household energy demand was from lighting and appliance usage.
From 2021 onwards, the BRE Domestic Energy Model (BREDEM) used to model fuel poverty energy consumption and annual running costs used postcode district-level external weather data, whereas previously this was based on regional data. This means that colder more exposed households may require more energy to keep their homes warm, while households in more sheltered or warmer locations may need less. For further details see the Technical Notes and Definitions.
The cost of the energy requirement includes an allowance for the bill rebate provided under the Warm Home Discount (WHD) scheme[10]. It no longer includes the £12 contribution of the Government Electricity Rebate (GER) as the scheme only ran for two years (2014 and 2015).
3.2 Methodological changes to fuel poverty estimates
This report is the first to include fuel poverty estimates which fully meet the definition of fuel poverty as laid out in the Fuel Poverty (Targets, Definition and Strategy)(Scotland) Act 2019, the Fuel Poverty (Enhanced Heating) (Scotland) Regulations 2020 and Fuel Poverty (Additional Amount in respect of Remote Rural Area, Remote Small Town and Island Area) (Scotland) Regulations 2020. Due to this (and also due to the change in the mode of approach and data collection, as well as bias in the sample in 2021 - for further details see Chapter 6), the rates of fuel poverty in this publication are not comparable to the estimates for 2012 to 2019 in the 2019 SHCS key findings report.
Estimates of the household’s necessary energy consumption and running costs are now based on the four heating regimes set out in the Fuel Poverty (Enhanced Heating) (Scotland) Regulations 2020. Previously households were placed on either the enhanced heating temperatures and hours regime or the standard regime, as described in section 4.1 of the 2019 SHCS key findings report.
The UK Minimum Income Standard (MIS) household budgets used are now based on the full 107 MIS household budgets produced by Loughborough University. Estimates from 2012-2019 used the 11 publicly available MIS budgets. Using the full 107 MIS budgets means that households are now given a MIS value more specific to their household characteristics.
Specifically this means that budgets now reflect the costs associated with children of different ages (babies aged 0-1; preschool children aged 2-4; primary school aged 5-11; and secondary school children aged 12-15) as well as differentiating between two adults living together in a relationship and two adults living together but not in a relationship.
For example under the previous methodology a household with two adults and two children would have an annual household budget of £23,500 whereas under the new methodology they would be given a budget ranging from £23,000 to £29,100 depending on the ages of children in the household.
The uplifts applied to MIS budgets for remote rural, remote small town and island (RRRSTI) areas now use the values provided in report The Cost of Remoteness: Reflecting higher living costs in remote rural Scotland. These range from 14% to 37% with differences between household types, mainland and island locations. Previous estimates used uplifts, based on the approach taken by the 2017 Scottish Fuel Poverty Definition Review Panel which used average data from the MIS for remote rural Scotland published by Highlands and Island Enterprise in 2013. In the 2019 SHCS the uplift for working age single or couple households was 15%, for pensioner single or couple households it was 19% and for family households it was 27.5% with no difference between island and mainland locations.
Childcare costs have been recorded in the survey since 2018. From 2021 childcare costs have been imputed when missing and are now included in the fuel poverty calculations.
Since 2018 the SHS has collected information on the income of up to three other adults in addition to the highest income householder and/or their spouse. For 2021, the income after housing costs used in the fuel poverty calculations includes the income of these other adults, whereas previously only the income the highest income householder and/or their spouse was included.
The housing costs used in the fuel poverty calculations for 2021 include imputed housing costs (when housing costs are missing) whereas previously these were assumed to be nil. Imputation is already carried out on the income data in the SHS when it is missing and from 2019[11] this has been extended to housing costs. Mortgage and rent payments were primarily imputed by hierarchical hot deck imputation, the method used for imputing many of the components of household income. For further details see the supporting document accompanying the 2019 SHS methodology and fieldwork outcomes report.
For future key findings reports from the SHCS, we will consider whether it would be appropriate to revise estimates of fuel poverty for 2019 to account for some of these methodological improvements, e.g. including the income of other adults, using the more detailed 107 MIS household budgets, better accounting for the uplifts to these for households in RRRSTI areas and including imputed housing costs (or accounting for missing housing costs).
3.3 Fuel Poverty and Extreme Fuel Poverty
An estimated 19.6% of all households were in fuel poverty, around 495,000 households (see Table 3.2).
Around 241,000 of these households (9.5% of all households) were living in extreme fuel poverty (see Table 3.2).
3.4 Fuel Poverty Gap
Where a household is in fuel poverty, the fuel poverty gap is the annual amount that would be required to move the household out of fuel poverty.The fuel poverty gap is presented as the median gap before adjustment and the median gap adjusted to 2015 prices. The median gap before adjustment presents the actual amount that fuel poor households require to move out of fuel poverty. The adjusted median gap figures have been presented in order to assess progress against the 2040 fuel poverty gap target. The adjustment has been made in alignment with the increases or decreases in the annual average consumer prices index (CPI) over the period from 2015 to the year which the figure relates to.
The 2021 External+ SHCS found that the median fuel poverty gap for fuel poor households was £690 (Table 3.3).
The median fuel poverty gap (adjusted for 2015 prices) for fuel poor households was £620.
3.5 Characteristics of Fuel Poor Households
Fuel poverty is affected by four key drivers: levels of household income, the price of fuel used to meet space and water heating requirements, the energy efficiency of housing, and the use of fuel in households [12]. The following sections present the fuel poverty rate broken down by three of these drivers (income, fuel used, energy efficiency) as well as other key household and dwelling characteristics.
3.5.1 Household Characteristics
Table 3.4 shows fuel poverty rates by a number of household characteristics.
Overall rates of fuel poverty differed between the social (34%) and private sector (15%). The highest rates of fuel poverty by tenure are found in the social sector where 37% of households renting from a local authority and 30% of households renting from a housing association are fuel poor. Similarly, 30% of private rented sector households are fuel poor. In comparison, only 9% of those with a mortgage and 14% of those who own outright are assessed to be fuel poor.
Fuel poverty has a strong association with income, and households in the lower income bands have the highest rates of fuel poverty: 79% for the bottom income band (less than £15,000 annually) and 20% for the 2nd bottom band (£15,000 - £24,999 annually). For comparison, the fuel poverty rate for households earning between £35,000 and £44,999 annually was found to be 1%.
Fuel poverty rates generally decrease as council tax bands increase from band A (38%) to band F (11%) and bands G to H (14%).
Table 3.5 shows how the level of fuel poverty varies across dwelling characteristics.
The lowest rates of fuel poverty are associated with higher energy efficiency standards. 16% of households living in dwellings rated EPC band C or better were fuel poor compared to 43% of households living in dwellings rated EPC band F or G. Similarly, dwellings constructed post 1982 have the lowest rates of fuel poverty at 12%.
Detached and semi-detached houses had the lowest rates of fuel poverty, at 14% and 13% respectively, despite having lower energy efficiency ratings than the national average (Table 2.10), likely reflecting higher household incomes. The fuel poverty rate for rural (23%) households was similar to the fuel poverty rate for urban (19%) households. However, the rate of fuel poverty for remote rural households (29%) is higher than for all other areas.
The rate of fuel poverty among households using electricity as primary heating fuel was 41%, higher than for households using gas (16%), oil (23%) and other fuel (22%) as their primary heating fuel. This reflects the higher per unit cost of electricity relative to gas, and oil.
A higher proportion of households in the 15% most deprived areas were in fuel poverty compared to other areas of Scotland; 30% compared to 18% respectively.
A higher proportion of households with a pre-payment meter (PPM; electricity, gas or both) were in fuel poverty compared to those without a PPM; 33% compared to 17% respectively.
|
Dwelling Characteristics |
Category |
Fuel Poor Dwellings (%) |
Fuel Poor Dwellings (thousands) |
Sample size (number) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Dwelling Type |
Detached |
14% |
82 |
961 |
|
Dwelling Type |
Semi-detached |
13% |
68 |
625 |
|
Dwelling Type |
Terraced |
22% |
116 |
588 |
|
Dwelling Type |
Tenement |
25% |
145 |
604 |
|
Dwelling Type |
Other flats |
26% |
84 |
366 |
|
Dwelling Age |
pre-1919 |
21% |
103 |
651 |
|
Dwelling Age |
1919-1944 |
17% |
48 |
347 |
|
Dwelling Age |
1945-1964 |
24% |
128 |
562 |
|
Dwelling Age |
1965-1982 |
24% |
132 |
647 |
|
Dwelling Age |
post-1982 |
12% |
83 |
937 |
|
Heating Fuel |
Gas |
16% |
339 |
2,387 |
|
Heating Fuel |
Oil |
23% |
34 |
261 |
|
Heating Fuel |
Electric |
41% |
109 |
418 |
|
Heating Fuel |
Other |
22% |
13 |
78 |
|
EPC Band |
A - C |
16% |
207 |
1,532 |
|
EPC Band |
D |
20% |
183 |
1,115 |
|
EPC Band |
E |
29% |
73 |
375 |
|
EPC Band |
F - G |
43% |
33 |
122 |
|
Location |
Large urban areas |
19% |
183 |
942 |
|
Location |
Other urban areas |
18% |
157 |
1,007 |
|
Location |
Accessible small towns |
19% |
41 |
297 |
|
Location |
Remote small towns |
25% |
19 |
144 |
|
Location |
Accessible rural |
19% |
53 |
395 |
|
Location |
Remote rural |
29% |
42 |
359 |
|
Location (grouped) |
Urban |
19% |
400 |
2,390 |
|
Location (grouped) |
Rural |
23% |
95 |
754 |
|
Most deprived 15% |
No |
18% |
383 |
2,797 |
|
Most deprived 15% |
Yes |
30% |
112 |
347 |
|
Gas Grid Coverage |
Off Gas Grid |
19% |
406 |
2,386 |
|
Gas Grid Coverage |
On Gas Grid |
21% |
89 |
758 |
|
Pre-payment Meter |
No |
17% |
377 |
2,754 |
|
Pre-payment Meter |
Yes |
33% |
117 |
387 |
|
All dwellings |
All dwellings |
20% |
495 |
3,144 |
3.6 Characteristics of Extreme Fuel Poor Households
3.6.1 Household Characteristics
Table 3.6 shows extreme fuel poverty rates by a number of household characteristics.
Overall rates of extreme fuel poverty were higher in the social sector (15%) than in the private sector (8%) in 2021.
As with fuel poverty overall, extreme fuel poverty has a strong association with income. Households in the lowest income band (<£15,000 annually) have the highest rate of extreme fuel poverty (48%) dropping to 1% for households in the £25,000 - £34,999 annual income band.
|
Household Characteristics |
Category |
Extreme Fuel Poor Households (%) |
Extreme Fuel Poor Households (thousands) |
Sample size (number) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Tenure |
Owned outright |
8% |
74 |
1,327 |
|
Tenure |
Mortgaged |
5% |
30 |
760 |
|
Tenure |
LA |
15% |
51 |
371 |
|
Tenure |
HA |
15% |
34 |
273 |
|
Tenure |
Private rented |
15% |
52 |
413 |
|
Tenure (grouped) |
Private Sector |
8% |
156 |
2,500 |
|
Tenure (grouped) |
Social Sector |
15% |
84 |
644 |
|
Household Type |
Older households |
11% |
97 |
1,157 |
|
Household Type |
Families |
7% |
34 |
547 |
|
Household Type |
Other households |
9% |
110 |
1,440 |
|
Annual Income |
< £15,000 |
48% |
205 |
509 |
|
Annual Income |
£15,000 - £24,999 |
5% |
32 |
787 |
|
Annual Income |
£25,000 - £34,999 |
1% |
3 |
633 |
|
Annual Income |
£35,000 - £44,999 |
[c] |
[c] |
456 |
|
Annual Income |
£45,000+ |
[c] |
[c] |
759 |
|
Council Tax Band |
Band A |
17% |
79 |
510 |
|
Council Tax Band |
Band B |
11% |
58 |
630 |
|
Council Tax Band |
Band C |
7% |
31 |
511 |
|
Council Tax Band |
Band D |
7% |
25 |
441 |
|
Council Tax Band |
Band E |
5% |
17 |
523 |
|
Council Tax Band |
Band F |
6% |
14 |
309 |
|
Council Tax Band |
Band G – H |
11% |
17 |
220 |
|
All households |
All households |
10% |
241 |
3,144 |
3.6.2 Dwelling Characteristics
Table 3.7 shows how the level of extreme fuel poverty varies across dwelling characteristics.
Levels of extreme fuel poverty among households using electricity as their primary heating fuel were higher, at 25%, than for households using any other fuel as their primary heating fuel. In addition, households using oil as their primary heating fuel have higher extreme fuel poverty rates than households using gas (14% compared to 7%).
The lower rates of extreme fuel poverty are associated with higher energy efficiency standards. Only 6% of households living in dwellings rated EPC C or better were in extreme fuel poverty.
The rates of extreme fuel poverty for households outwith coverage of the gas network (14%) are higher than for households within coverage of the gas network (9%).
Levels of extreme fuel poverty were higher in rural areas (15%) compared to urban areas (9%) in 2021. Fuel poverty rates were highest for remote rural households (21%) and lowest for other urban (8%) and accessible small towns (8%).
|
Dwelling Characteristics |
Category |
Extreme Fuel Poor Dwellings (%) |
Extreme Fuel Poor Dwellings (thousands) |
Sample size (number) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Dwelling Type |
Detached |
9% |
54 |
961 |
|
Dwelling Type |
Semi-detached |
8% |
39 |
625 |
|
Dwelling Type |
Terraced |
9% |
47 |
588 |
|
Dwelling Type |
Tenement |
11% |
67 |
604 |
|
Dwelling Type |
Other flats |
11% |
34 |
366 |
|
Dwelling Age |
pre-1919 |
12% |
60 |
651 |
|
Dwelling Age |
1919-1944 |
7% |
21 |
347 |
|
Dwelling Age |
1945-1964 |
11% |
57 |
562 |
|
Dwelling Age |
1965-1982 |
12% |
66 |
647 |
|
Dwelling Age |
post-1982 |
5% |
37 |
937 |
|
Heating Fuel |
Gas |
7% |
147 |
2,387 |
|
Heating Fuel |
Oil |
14% |
20 |
261 |
|
Heating Fuel |
Electric |
25% |
66 |
418 |
|
Heating Fuel |
Other |
12% |
7 |
78 |
|
EPC Band |
A - C |
6% |
82 |
1,532 |
|
EPC Band |
D |
9% |
84 |
1,115 |
|
EPC Band |
E |
18% |
45 |
375 |
|
EPC Band |
F - G |
39% |
30 |
122 |
|
Location |
Large urban areas |
9% |
82 |
942 |
|
Location |
Other urban areas |
8% |
70 |
1,007 |
|
Location |
Accessible small towns |
8% |
16 |
297 |
|
Location |
Remote small towns |
15% |
11 |
144 |
|
Location |
Accessible rural |
12% |
32 |
395 |
|
Location |
Remote rural |
21% |
29 |
359 |
|
Location (grouped) |
Urban |
9% |
179 |
228 |
|
Location (grouped) |
Rural |
15% |
61 |
82 |
|
Most deprived 15% |
No |
9% |
199 |
2,797 |
|
Most deprived 15% |
Yes |
11% |
42 |
347 |
|
Gas Grid Coverage |
Off Gas Grid |
9% |
180 |
2,386 |
|
Gas Grid Coverage |
On Gas Grid |
14% |
60 |
758 |
|
Pre-payment Meter |
No |
9% |
196 |
2,754 |
|
Pre-payment Meter |
Yes |
13% |
45 |
387 |
|
All dwellings |
All dwellings |
10% |
241 |
3,144 |
3.7 Fuel Poverty and Income Poverty
Although fuel poverty is correlated with low income, it is not equivalent to income poverty. This section provides an analysis of how fuel and income poverty relate in the household population.
According to the official poverty definition, individuals are considered to be in relative (income) poverty if their equivalised net household income is below 60 per cent of the median income in the same year. Official poverty estimates are calculated using the Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) Family Resources Survey (FRS). The latest estimates for Scotland were published on 23 March 2023 and relate to 2019/22.
It is possible to use the SHCS to determine how fuel poverty and income poverty relate. The main caveat to note is that the SHS is not designed to capture income as comprehensively as other formal surveys of income, e.g. the FRS. Household income is collected in the SHS on a self-reported basis. Therefore figures in this section may not align with National Statistics on household income and inequality.
For 2021 we use the published equivalised income [13] after hosing costs poverty threshold from the Scottish data in the 2021/2022 FRS [14] of £300 per week.
As Table 3.8a shows, over three quarters of fuel poor households would be considered poor in terms of their income (76% or 378,000) while less than one quarter have incomes above the relative poverty threshold (24% or 117,000 households).
Table 3.8b shows the fuel poverty rate by income poverty status. 82% of income poor households were fuel poor.
| Income Poverty Status | Fuel Poverty Rate (%) | Sample size (number) |
|---|---|---|
| Income Poor | 82% | 540 |
| Not Income Poor | 6% | 2,604 |
| All | 20% | 3,144 |
Figure 3.2 is an Venn diagram which sets out this information graphically. As shown in the diagram the majority of fuel poor households (378,000) are also in income poverty. Conversely, 117,000 households are estimated to be fuel poor only (and not income poor), and 85,000 households are estimated to be income poor but not fuel poor.
This chart demonstrates, that while low income is associated with fuel poverty, it is not equivalent. Around 24% of fuel poor households (117,000 households) would not be considered income poor. Similarly, 18% of income poor households (85,000 households) would not be considered fuel poor.
Figure 3.2: Fuel Poor and Income Poor Households, SHCS 2021
Data Source: Table FP8 in 'Fuel Poverty' tables.
Table 3.9 provides further information about the characteristics of the households who fall into the different sub-groups.
Households that are both income poor and fuel poor tend to live in more energy efficient dwellings than other fuel poor households, potentially because of high energy efficiency standards in the social rented sector. They are more likely to use gas for heating, live on the gas grid and live in urban locations compared to other fuel poor households. These characteristics point to low income as a key reason for their experience of fuel poverty.
Conversely, households who are not income poor but experience fuel poverty have a higher likelihood of living in low energy efficiency properties, using electricity for heating, and living in rural areas compared to fuel poor and income poor households and Scotland overall.
|
Dwelling Characteristics |
Category |
Fuel Poor & Not Income Poor (%) |
Fuel Poor & Income Poor (%) |
All Fuel Poor (%) |
Not Fuel Poor & Income Poor (%) |
All Scotland (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
EPC Band |
A - C |
24% |
47% |
42% |
86% |
52% |
|
EPC Band |
D |
38% |
37% |
37% |
14% |
35% |
|
EPC Band |
E-G |
38% |
16% |
21% |
[c] |
13% |
|
Household Type |
Older households |
35% |
34% |
34% |
30% |
35% |
|
Household Type |
Families |
15% |
16% |
15% |
45% |
18% |
|
Household Type |
Other households |
49% |
51% |
50% |
25% |
47% |
|
Location |
Urban |
73% |
83% |
81% |
93% |
83% |
|
Location |
Rural |
27% |
17% |
19% |
7% |
17% |
|
Heating Fuel |
Gas |
50% |
74% |
68% |
95% |
81% |
|
Heating Fuel |
Oil |
10% |
6% |
7% |
[w] |
6% |
|
Heating Fuel |
Electric |
37% |
18% |
22% |
[w] |
11% |
|
Heating Fuel |
Other |
4% |
2% |
3% |
[c] |
2% |
|
Gas Grid |
Off Gas Grid |
25% |
13% |
16% |
1% |
12% |
|
Gas Grid |
On Gas Grid |
75% |
87% |
84% |
99% |
88% |
|
All dwellings |
Sample size (number) |
179 |
450 |
629 |
90 |
3,144 |
Footnotes
[6] We have undertaken fuel poverty scenario modelling based on data from the 2019 SHCS to estimate the number of households in Scotland that are likely to now be in fuel poverty, by applying up to date increases in fuel prices, price caps and various government support interventions. From April 2023 with the price cap for the typical dual-fuel household paying by direct debit set at £2,500 under the Energy Price Guarantee and removal of the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme we estimate that there will be 920,000 fuel poor households (37% of all households), of which 720,000 (29% of all households) will be in extreme fuel poverty.
[9] MIS budgets are updated annually based on a public consultation where groups are asked to identify goods and services that people need inside and outside the home to meet an acceptable living standard. New research is conducted yearly alternating between households without children and households with children. For a complete description of the MIS methodology see section 1 and 2 of the full report A Minimum Income Standard for the UK in 2022.
[10] Eligible households receive a £140 discount on their electricity bills. Households qualify if they receive the guarantee credit element of pension credit (core group) or they are on a low income and meet their energy supplier’s criteria (broader group).
[11] Though housing costs were imputed when missing for the 2019 SHS, these were not available in time to include in fuel poverty calculations for 2019.
[12] The use of fuel in a household impacts on a household's lived experience of fuel poverty, but does not affect the measurement of fuel poverty which considers the energy required to meet a the households statutory heating regime as set out in section 3.1, not the actual amount of energy used.
[13] Income is equivalised to that of a couple with no children
[14] Table 13c
Contact
Email: shcs@gov.scot
There is a problem
Thanks for your feedback