Households struggling with rising energy bills must receive meaningful help in this week’s UK Budget, Scotland’s Social Justice and Housing Secretary has said, warning that public services also face mounting financial pressure.
Shirley Anne Somerville has called on Chancellor John Healey to reverse a projected reduction in Scotland’s funding when he presents his Budget at Westminster on Wednesday 28 October.
The Scottish Government says its block grant faces a cut in real terms during 2027 to 2028 under plans outlined in the UK Spending Review, potentially making it harder to improve public services.
Ministers in Edinburgh are also demanding measures to reduce household energy bills and changes to welfare policies they believe are pushing families deeper into poverty.
For households across the Highlands and Islands, where colder weather and the costs of heating homes can place considerable pressure on family budgets, the question of energy affordability is particularly important.
Somerville argues that a country producing substantial quantities of energy should not have households facing some of Europe’s highest electricity costs.
She said:
“The Chancellor must meet some key tests when he presents the Budget this week, he must reverse the real terms funding cut Scotland faces as set out by the UK Spending Review, and he must deliver serious support with the cost of living.
“People need help now.
“The Scottish Government wants to drive NHS waiting times down further, keep improving our schools and lift more children out of poverty.
“But we will be doing that with one hand tied behind our back if the UK Government continues with the planned real terms cut to our funding.
“Energy costs in particular are causing real hardship across Scotland and at a time when the Treasury is set to benefit from even more of Scotland’s energy resources, the Chancellor has no option but to act.
“We are one of the most energy rich nations in the world and yet we pay some of the highest bills in Europe, it just doesn’t add up.
“And with bills already hundreds of pounds higher than the UK Government promised when they came to office and set to grow further, any failure to bring down bills substantially in this Budget would be unforgivable.
“An end to wider policies which are pushing families into poverty like the bedroom tax, the benefit cap and `young parent penalty’ in Universal Credit is long overdue and would make a significant difference.
“The freeze on Local Housing Allowance rates is also preventing people on the lowest incomes from accessing safe and affordable housing and should be scrapped.
“If the UK Government will not take the action required this Wednesday to boost living standards, it will be clear that little has changed under the new Prime Minister and that Scotland should choose the fresh start of independence.”
The Scottish Government wants the UK Chancellor to remove the benefit cap, end the bedroom tax and address Universal Credit rules affecting younger parents.
It is also calling for the freeze on Local Housing Allowance rates to be lifted, arguing that housing support has failed to keep pace with the cost of renting privately.
Alongside those demands, ministers want additional financial support to reduce NHS waiting times, improve education and tackle child poverty.
The Scottish Fiscal Commission has separately warned of a difficult funding outlook for 2027 to 2028, with pressure on Scotland’s budget arising from tax reconciliations and capital spending constraints.
The Chancellor must balance demands for greater public spending against pressures on the UK’s finances, with the government committed to maintaining its fiscal rules.
Wednesday’s Budget will therefore be closely watched in Scotland, where decisions on energy costs, benefits and public spending will have direct consequences for household finances and the services communities depend upon.
The Scottish Government’s own Budget is due in December, when ministers will have to set out how they intend to manage the funding available to them.
