Fuel and transport poverty in Scotland: actions towards accurately identifying fuel and transport

Fuel poverty is characterized by the inability to access energy and adequately heat homes. It was expected that 7.5 million households in the U.K. would be in fuel poverty by April 2023 (National Energy Action, 2023). The picture was worse for Scotland with a substantial portion of households, nearly a quarter, facing fuel poverty, with 1 in 8 experiencing extreme fuel poverty (ONS, 2023).

Transport poverty is an adjacent issue often stemming from the same underlying vulnerability, and is inherently linked to fuel poverty with both being associated with household spending decisions. Transport poverty is where individuals or households experience difficulties in accessing affordable and adequate transportation.

Research on the underlying drivers for fuel and transport suggests a so-called ‘double energy vulnerability’ (DEV), indicating that the drivers for both conditions overlap (Robinson & Mattioli, 2020; Sovacool & Del Rio, 2022). The research provides a review of the legislative definition for fuel poverty which falls short of identifying vulnerable households, and that transport poverty can be addressed under the same framework to address ‘double energy vulnerability’.