Yousaf boosts ‘lifeline’ fund with £30m to help Scots with fuel costs

First Minister Humza Yousaf has confirmed extra cash will go to a scheme that provides a “vital lifeline” for those struggling with rising energy bills.

He pledged that up to £30 million will be available through the Fuel Insecurity Fund in 2023-24 to help Scots in need.

It comes after former deputy first minister John Swinney had announced that money previously earmarked for spending on an independence referendum would go into the fund.

In his budget statement in December, Mr Swinney said he planned to “utilise the finance earmarked for a referendum on independence to make provision to extend our Fuel Insecurity Fund into next year”.

He said that would see a “further £20 million to address yet another failure of the United Kingdom and its policies”.

Mr Yousaf stressed that helping those affected most by the cost-of-living crisis is an “immediate priority” for him after he became First Minister this week.

He also hit out at the UK Government – saying it is as a result of its “mismanagement of the economy” that the Scottish Government is having to step in and provide assistance.

Cash from the Fuel Insecurity Fund will help people in Scotland who are either limiting their use of energy, or self-disconnecting their supply, because of financial pressures.

The money will be available to third sector organisations which will use it to support “vulnerable households” – with the scheme having previously allocated cash to bodies such as the Fuel Bank Foundation, Advice Direct Scotland and the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations.

Mr Yousaf said: “I have said my immediate priority is to do everything we can to protect every Scot as far as possible from the harm inflicted by the cost-of-living crisis.

“That is why, in one of my first acts as First Minister, I can confirm today that we will build on our commitment to double the Fuel Insecurity Fund from £10 million to £20 million – to now triple it to £30 million for 2023-24.

“In a country as energy rich as Scotland, we should not have people living in fuel poverty. My Government will renew and redouble our efforts to lift people out of poverty, to make work fair, to make our economy work for the people.

“With energy bills still at historically high levels and the UK Government’s Energy Bills Support Scheme being withdrawn from April 1, over the next year our Fuel Insecurity Fund will continue to be a vital lifeline for many struggling households in the country.

“It is of course only as a result of the UK Government’s mismanagement of the economy and the cost-of-living crisis that we are having to take this action. This Scottish Government will always put the interests of the people of Scotland first.”