Fuel Poverty (Targets, Definition and Strategy) (Scotland) Act 2019

Reporting on fuel poverty

9 Preparation of periodic reports

(1) The Scottish Ministers must, for each reporting period, prepare a report setting out—

(a) the steps that have been taken during the reporting period for the purpose of meeting the fuel poverty targets (including the costs of those steps),

(b) the steps that have been taken in the reporting period to address the four drivers of fuel poverty for the purpose of meeting the fuel poverty targets,

(c) the progress made in the reporting period towards meeting the fuel poverty targets (including what progress has been made in removing low levels of energy efficiency as a driver of fuel poverty),

(d) the steps that the Scottish Ministers propose to take in the next reporting period in order to meet the fuel poverty targets (including any additional funding required to take those steps), and

(e) the steps that the Scottish Ministers propose to take in the next reporting period to address the four drivers of fuel poverty for the purpose of meeting the fuel poverty targets.

(2) A report under subsection (1) must also set out, with respect to meeting the 2040 target in relation to each local authority area in Scotland—

(a) the steps that have been taken during the reporting period for the purpose of meeting that target,

(b) the progress made in that period towards meeting that target, and

(c) the steps that the Scottish Ministers propose to take or consider should be taken in the next reporting period in order to meet that target.

(3) A report under subsection (1) may include such other information as the Scottish Ministers consider appropriate.

(4) Subsection (1) does not apply to a reporting period that ends on or after 31 December 2040.

(5) The reporting periods are—

(a) the period of 3 years beginning with the day on which the first fuel poverty strategy is published under section 8,

(b) each subsequent period of 3 years.

(6) For the purposes of subsections (1)(d) and (2)(c), where the next reporting period would include any period after 31 December 2040—

(a) those paragraphs are to be read as a requirement to set out the steps that the Scottish Ministers propose to take or consider should be taken in the next reporting period in relation to fuel poverty, and

(b) it is immaterial for the purposes of calculating the next reporting period that a report will not require to be prepared at the end of that reporting period by virtue of subsection (4).

(7) For the purpose of subsection (1), “four drivers of fuel poverty” has the same meaning as in section 14(10).

10 Consultation on periodic reports

(1) In preparing a report under section 9, the Scottish Ministers must consult such persons as they consider appropriate.

(2) The persons consulted under subsection (1) must include—

(a) individuals who are living, or have lived, in fuel poverty,

(b) local authorities,

(c) disabled people,

(d) people with long-term illness,

(e) older people,

(f) individuals living in rural areas, and

(g) the Scottish Fuel Poverty Advisory Panel.

11 Publication and laying of periodic reports

The Scottish Ministers must—

(a) publish each report prepared under section 9, and

(b) lay a copy of it before the Scottish Parliament,

before the end of the financial year in which the reporting period ends.

12 Report on the 2040 target

(1) The Scottish Ministers must, no later than 31 March 2042, lay before the Scottish Parliament a report on the 2040 target.

(2) The report must include information as to—

(a) whether the 2040 target has been met, and

(b) the percentage of households in Scotland in fuel poverty in the year 2040.

(3) The report may contain such other information as the Scottish Ministers consider appropriate.

13 Report on the 2040 target in relation to each local authority area

(1) The Scottish Ministers must, no later than 31 December 2043, lay before the Scottish Parliament a report on the 2040 target in relation to each local authority area in Scotland.

(2) The report must include—

(a) such information as the Scottish Ministers can reasonably obtain as to whether the 2040 target in relation to each local authority area in Scotland has been met, and

(b) combined data about the percentage of households in each local authority area in fuel poverty in the period 2040 to 2042.

(3) The report may contain such other information as the Scottish Ministers consider appropriate.