Publications

Citizens Advice Scotland has responded to the consultation on proposed guidance for firms on the fair treatment of vulnerable consumers. We are pleased to see the continued commitment by the FCA to protecting vulnerable consumers.

Earlier this year CAS undertook to research how accountable public services in Scotland are. This report presents the findings of that work. 

Scotland has set some of the most determined climate goals in the world, and home energy efficiency has a large role to play in Scotland’s transition to a low or no carbon society.

The Scottish Government has set ambitious goals for Scotland’s housing stock, which will be measured by a home’s energy efficiency rating as described in an energy performance certificate (EPC). However, consumer knowledge of EPCs is low, and even though they contain recommendations on how to make a home more energy efficient, they seem to be a poor motivational tool.

CAS commissioned Changeworks to gather feedback about how EPCs are viewed, understood, and interacted with by consumers, and how they could be improved to be better understood and more motivational.

Through a combination of ISM workshops and online testing, research found that:

• Many people view energy efficiency as a luxury for those who can afford it
  

• Barriers to home energy efficiency improvements are essentially cost and hassle
  

• EPCs are not considered useful, and most homeowners just put them in a drawer
  

• People who consider themselves highly environmentally conscious are no more likely to know their home energy efficiency rating or be familiar with an EPC than someone who is disengaged with environmental issues (value-intention gap)
  

• People are mainly motivated by cost, but social desirability plays a large role as well. People may be more motivated by the cost of not acting than potential fuel bill savings, especially if this is linked to Scotland’s carbon targets or the climate emergency
  

• A 1-2-3 style EPC, designed like a home report, may be easier for consumers to understand and engage with
  

• Consumers value simplicity and colour, but for many the preferred style and layout was subjective. Energy efficiency advice accompanying an EPC is crucial to ensure consumers understand the document and are able to make the choices most suitable to their property
  

Citizens Advice Scotland welcomes the opportunity to respond to this consultation. Above all, we want to ensure that a market framework improves outcomes for heat network consumers. We have been calling for heat network consumers to have access to the same rights and services afforded to customers of the regulated energy market for several years.

CAS welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Commission’s proposed measures to provide additional support to non-household organisations impacted by COVID-19. Our response focuses on key principles around stakeholder engagement within the non-household market and on ensuring that measures to support those impacted by COVID-19 are effective for both licenced providers and customers.

In its response to the Scottish Government's principles of charging for investment period 2021-27, Citizens Advice Scotland has called on the Scottish Government:

• To commit to the principle of affordable charges for all
• For responsive, robust and sustainable affordability policy that adequately protects low income households
• To ensure debt recovery achieves a balance between revenue collection and consumer protection as part of Scottish Water's developing ethical framework and its work with local authorities

Scotland is one of the first nations to sign up to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDG 6.1 specifically targets “universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all”. Scotland has a significant challenge in achieving this goal by 2030 for more than 190,000 people who are not served by the public supply.

CAS welcomes the proposals for ECO3. The ECO scheme has helped deliver energy efficiency measures to vulnerable consumers in two other phases and we were pleased to see that BEIS and Ofgem are expanding consumer protections in this third iteration. In particular, we are pleased to see the incorporation of Trustmark into ECO3 to certify suppliers.