Council to put together team to look at challenges of fuel poverty

A group of eight Highland councillors are to be tasked with exploring ways the local authority could ease the pressures of fuel poverty on the region's residents.

Almost 50% of the Highlands' 110,743 households experience fuel poverty compared with 24% nationally, according to the council.

It said price rises associated with the US-Israel war with Iran had added to existing cost of living problems.

A meeting of next week's corporate resources committee is to be asked to agree the make-up of the new working working group.

In Scotland, a person is considered to be living in fuel poverty if the cost of heating their home is more than 10% of their household income, after tax and housing costs have been deducted.

According to Highland Council, 33% of the region's households experience extreme fuel poverty compared with 12% nationally.

Almost two thirds of homes are off the gas grid and rely on electricity, which was three to four times more expensive than mains gas, according to the local authority.

In March, there were calls for thousands of rural Scottish households that rely on heating oil to warm their homes to get better protection against "shock spikes" in costs.

The US-Israel war with Iran saw oil prices soar at the start of that of month.

About 142,000 Scottish households use heating oil and average costs in Scotland rose from 67.92p per litre on 28 February - the day US and Israel launched attacks on Iran - to 147p per litre by 8 March.

Kyle of Sutherland Development Trust in the Highlands was among those calling for greater support for affected households.