Increased funding is available this year through a variety of home energy programmes to make homes warmer and more efficient, supporting efforts to tackle fuel poverty whilst helping householders manage their energy bills.

More than £160 million of funding is being invested in 2021/22 to help transform Scotland’s homes and buildings.

This includes:

• £50m for Warmer Homes Scotland, the Scottish Government scheme helping households in fuel poverty make their homes warmer and more affordable to heat
• £30m in green heating and energy efficiency projects in social housing
• £21m through the Home Energy Scotland Loan and Cashback Scheme to enable homeowners to apply for up to £7,500 in cashback if they take out a loan to install green heating systems, such as a heat pump, as well as up to £6,000 towards eligible energy efficiency measures to reduce poor energy efficiency.
• £64m for Area Based Schemes targeting communities blighted by fuel poverty and improving energy efficiency, reducing costs and carbon emissions from heating their homes.

Mr Harvie said: “Everyone needs a safe, warm place to call home. I know that the energy price rises will be causing many people to worry about the cost of their fuel bills so it is important that people struggling with energy bills get the information and support they need.

“We urgently need to see increased action from the UK Government to support people who will struggle with rising energy bills and costs of living, this winter and beyond. The Scottish Government is in the meantime upping its investment in energy efficiency programmes that are making a real, tangible difference for people in Scotland. This includes increased funding this year for our Warmer Homes Scotland scheme and I would urge anyone struggling to heat their homes to call the Home Energy Scotland service for advice and support.

“Over 150,000 households now live in homes which are warmer and cheaper to heat thanks to investment by the Scottish Government. We estimate that these households can expect to save an average of £300 a year on their fuel bills whilst reducing carbon emissions by a collective 3.4 million tonnes over the lifetime of these improvements.”