Rural Fuel Poverty

That the Parliament strongly welcomes the Scottish Executive’s central heating programme to tackle fuel poverty; notes that this programme will benefit 40,000 pensioner households in privately owned or rented housing through grants of £2,500 for modern heating systems and energy efficiency measures; further notes that a greater proportion of households in rural areas falls below the tolerable standard than the Scottish average, that lower income levels in rural areas make fuel poverty more prevalent and that fewer rural homes have access to gas supplies; recognises that there is a greater proportion of homes in the private rented sector, particularly tied homes, in rural areas, and underlines the importance of steps to ensure that publicity material for the central heating programme is circulated effectively to remote areas and that monitoring of registration for the scheme is undertaken to guarantee equal access for those in private rented housing in rural areas.