Scottish Independence
Would Scottish independence reduce the level of fuel poverty among households in Scotland? (Reuters)

Around 647,000 Scottish households were estimated to be "fuel poor" by the Scottish government in 2012.

That figure refers to households with energy costs that exceeded 10% of their income, according to the Scottish House Condition Survey.

This represents 27% of all Scottish households.

The survey found a further 170,000 households were in extreme poverty in 2012, which means energy costs exceeding 20% of their income.

However, there were general improvements in the energy efficiency of Scottish housing stock.

Since 2003/4 the number of Scottish homes with no loft insulation has reduced by two-thirds. Since 2008 the proportion with cavity wall insulation rose from 56% to 66%.

Approximately 46% of houses across the whole housing stock passed the Scottish Quality Housing Standard (SHQS) compared to 41% in 2011.

The report said this was accounted for by improvements in the private housing sector where pass rates increased from 39% in 2011 to 46% in 2012.