Scottish Government launches cost of living support website

The Scottish Government launched a dedicated website in September 2022 detailing the help that might be available to the public during the cost of living crisis, Consumer Scotland reported¹. The finding appears in the first wave of Consumer Scotland's Energy Affordability Tracker, published on 14 November 2022 and last updated on 24 November 2022¹.

Consumer Scotland is the statutory body for consumers in Scotland, established on 1 April 2022 under the Consumer Scotland Act 2020 and independent of government¹. It commissioned YouGov Plc to survey adults in Scotland on how they were coping with energy costs¹. That period spanned the end of the last Energy Price Cap and the introduction of the Energy Price Guarantee on 1 October 2022¹.

The research found that most people in Scotland (61%) reported they were managing well financially, with only 8% saying they were managing very well¹. Over a third (36%) said their household was not currently managing well financially, and one in ten (11%) said they were not managing financially at all¹. Differences appeared between groups:

Consumers where electricity is their main source of energy for heat were more likely (46%) to report they were not managing well financially, compared with people on the mains gas grid (35%) and people using non-regulated fuel types (30%)¹.

The tracker also set out the wider policy context. It noted that the November 2022 Autumn Statement confirmed a revised Energy Price Guarantee set at a higher level of £3,000 for the average household, compared with £2,500 at the time¹. Additional cost of living payments were to be introduced in 2023, including £900 to households on means-tested benefits, £300 to pensioner households and £150 for individuals on disability benefits¹.

Why it matters for households

The website was launched in September 2022 as a single place setting out cost of living help, at a time when Consumer Scotland's survey found more than a third of adults in Scotland reporting they were not managing well financially¹. The tracker's own recommendations said the Scottish Government should continue promoting local and nationally provided financial support and look to improve awareness where it remains low, and that Consumer Scotland would keep monitoring awareness of support schemes in future waves¹. For households, the practical question the research points to is whether people who are entitled to support know it exists: the tracker states that all consumers should be made aware of, and receive, the support they are entitled to¹.

The survey also identified groups reporting greater financial strain, including younger adults, those in the C2DE occupational classification, women, people in urban areas and those heating their homes with electricity¹. The tracker separately noted that prepayment meter customers may pay £150 per month more than a typical direct debit customer over the same period, because direct debit payments are smoothed across the year while prepayment customers pay as they go¹. Help with crisis costs in Scotland is also delivered through the Scottish Welfare Fund, which provides Crisis Grants and Community Care Grants, alongside the wider benefits system.

What happens next

Consumer Scotland said successive waves of the Energy Affordability Tracker would help identify issues and trends to improve the provision of support and advice for energy consumers, and that it would continue to monitor consumer awareness of available support schemes in future waves¹. The tracker also noted that the Energy Price Guarantee was due to expire in April 2023, to be replaced by a revised guarantee running until April 2024, and that the 2023 cost of living payments listed above were to be introduced¹. No further detail on the website itself, including its address or the specific help it lists, is given in the report¹.