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UK ministers have faced backlash for allocating an estimated £2 million from an energy bill support scheme to second homeowners in Scotland, instead of those in need.
It has been revealed that the £200 alternative fuel payment was provided to thousands of households without verifying if they were genuinely facing difficulties in heating their homes.
Kenny MacAskill, East Lothian MP and Alba Party Deputy Leader has labelled this situation as the “scandal of the second homes windfall.”
Government data indicates that 19% of properties in Scotland, amounting to 512,000 households, rely on alternative fuels due to being outside the gas grid.
Official figures show a rise in the number of second homes and long-term empty properties from 47,965 in 2013 to 51,979 in 2022.
ELN has approached the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero for comment.
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