New research by the Existing Homes Alliance has revealed that there are nearly 20,000 'cold homes' in the Stirling council area, with 37 per cent in fuel poverty.
As a result of the Scotland wide research, campaigners have called for political parties to rid Scotland of the ‘scourge’ of cold homes by 2025.
Members of the Existing Homes Alliance include WWF Scotland, Changeworks, and the National Insulation Association.
Commenting on the new figures, Alan Ferguson, Chair of the Existing Homes Alliance said: “These figures show that if the next Scottish Government set an objective to bring all homes in Scotland to at least a ‘C’ energy performance standard by 2025, they could end the scourge of cold homes currently affecting thousands of households in every single parliamentary constituency across Scotland.
“Not only did more than 50 business and civil society organisations welcome the cross-party commitment to making improved energy efficiency for Scotland’s homes a National Infrastructure Priority, but the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence suggested a ‘C’ standard is the minimum energy efficiency level to avoid the risk of death and ill-health associated with cold homes.”
Dr Sam Gardner, Head of Policy at WWF Scotland said: “Heating Scotland’s buildings accounts for over half of our climate change emissions.
“Ensuring every home reaches a C Energy performance standard by 2025 is the minimum level of ambition required to allow our climate change targets to be met. A political commitment that no-one should live in a hard-to-heat, draughty home would be good for millions of households, and would drastically reduce emissions too.”
Wilson Shaw, Chair of the National Insulation Association (NIA) in Scotland said: “A commitment from the next Scottish Government to ensure all homes in Scotland reach a minimum energy efficiency standard could create up to 9,000 jobs a year.
“[The] figures show that such a commitment would benefit thousands of households across every single Scottish parliamentary constituency. Few other capital investments could make such a difference, and such a commitment would give the energy efficiency industry the confidence to invest for the longer term.”
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