The Fuel Poverty (Additional Amount in respect of Remote Rural Area, Remote Small Town and Island Area) (Scotland) Regulations 2020

Scottish Statutory Instruments

2020 No. 59

Energy

Housing

The Fuel Poverty (Additional Amount in respect of Remote Rural Area, Remote Small Town and Island Area) (Scotland) Regulations 2020

Made

25th February 2020

Coming into force in accordance with regulation 1

The Scottish Ministers make the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by section 3(6)(b) of the Fuel Poverty (Targets, Definition and Strategy) (Scotland) Act 2019(1) and all other powers enabling them to do so.

In accordance with section 17(1)(a) of that Act, a draft of this instrument has been laid before and approved by resolution of the Scottish Parliament.

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Fuel Poverty (Additional Amount in respect of Remote Rural Area, Remote Small Town and Island Area) (Scotland) Regulations 2020 and come into force on the day after the day on which they are made.

Interpretation

2.  In these Regulations—

“the 2019 Act” means the Fuel Poverty (Targets, Definition and Strategy) (Scotland) Act 2019,

“the Scottish Urban Rural Classification 2016” means the Scottish Government Urban Rural Classification 2016 identifying urban and rural areas based on Settlement size and drive times and published on 29 March 2018(2),

“remote rural area” means an area classified as such by the Scottish Government Urban Rural Classification 2016(3),

“remote small town” means a Settlement classified as such by the Scottish Government Urban Rural Classification 2016(4),

“island area” means an area comprising of one or more islands, and “island” has the meaning given in section 1(1) of the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018(5).

Specification of person to determine the additional amount for households in a remote rural area, remote small town or island area

3.  The Centre for Research in Social Policy, Loughborough University, is to determine, in relation to households in remote rural areas, remote small towns and island areas, the additional amount.

KEVIN STEWART

Authorised to sign by the Scottish Ministers

St Andrew’s House,

Edinburgh

25th February 2020

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations make provision in relation to the meaning of fuel poverty in the Fuel Poverty (Targets, Definition and Strategy) (Scotland) Act 2019 (“the Act”). Under section 3(10)(f) of the Act the “minimum income standard” applied to all households in Scotland is determined by the Centre for Research in Social Policy at Loughborough University. Under section 3(6)(b) of the Act, households in remote rural areas, remote small towns and island areas have an additional amount applied when determining whether or not a household is in fuel poverty.

Regulation 2 defines remote rural areas, remote small town and island areas for the purposes of the additional amount and regulation 3 specifies that the Centre for Research in Social Policy at Loughborough University will determine the additional amount.

(1)

2019 asp 10.

(2)

ISBN: 978-1-78851-620-4, https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-government-urban-rural-classification-2016/.

(3)

Table 2.1 (Scottish Government Urban Rural Classification, 6-fold) classifies this as “areas with a population of less than 3,000 people, and with a drive time of over 30 minutes to a Settlement of 10,000 people or more”.

(4)

Table 2.1 (Scottish Government Urban Rural Classification, 6-fold) classifies this as “Settlements of 3,000 to 9,999 people, and with a drive time of over 30 minutes to a Settlement of 10,000 or more”.

(5)

2018 asp 12.