Fuel Insecurity Fund: FOI release

Information requested

Please could you provide an annual breakdown of money distributed through the Fuel Insecurity Fund from 2020/21 to 2022/23.

Response

The answer to your question is as follows:

The Fuel Insecurity Fund ("the Fund") was first established in the winter of 2020, as part of the Scottish Government's wider Winter Support Fund, to help households struggling with their energy costs who were at risk of severely rationing, or self-disconnecting entirely.

In the financial year 2020-2021 the Fund was allocated a £7 million budget with a final spend of £3.595 million. This was due to the late start of the emergency fund (December 2020 onwards) which had to be developed from scratch.

In 2021-2022, the Fund had a £10 million budget, and distributed the full amount.

In 2022-2023, the Fund initially had a budget of £10 million that was then doubled to £20 million at the Emergency Budget Review. The full £20 million allocated to Fund partners was drawn down fully in that financial year.

For the current year 2023-2024, the Fund has a budget of £30 million.

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