The government’s home insulation and energy efficiency scheme will take almost 100 years to insulate all the eligible homes in Scotland at current rates.
This is the claim made by the Scottish Liberal Democrats after a response by Scottish Government minister Patrick Harvie to a question raised in parliament by Willie Rennie MSP.
Mr Rennie asked how many households were eligible for the Warmer Homes Scotland scheme which provides energy efficiency measures such as wall and loft insulation. Mr Harvie responded that the number of households eligible depends on how many households are in receipt of benefits at any time – and that number fluctuates.
But at December 2022 an estimate of around 208,000 households were entitled to the support. In Phase 2 that number has risen to around 433,000. Since 2015 36,275 households have received support, and the Scottish Liberal Democrats have calculated that at current rates it would take 97 years for those who need help now to receive it.
Mr Rennie said: “Improving home insulation can be a win-win, cutting emissions and bringing down bills but getting your property up to scratch can be complicated and expensive.
“At the moment, the Scottish Government support scheme is a complete failure. There is little point in having a programme that will take almost 100 years to get the job done.
“Many of those who this could benefit now, will never see it. What’s even worse is that half the households in fuel poverty aren’t even eligible.
“Ministers seem content to plod along but climate change will not wait. We need more engineers, more tradespeople and more ambition if we are to achieve our climate goals. The SNP-Green government need to explain why they are so slow to insulate people’s homes.”
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