The UK Government expanded the current Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme to include the Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS) in October 2023, according to the Scottish Government's first fuel poverty periodic report covering 2021 to 20241. The report, published in April 2025, sets out progress against the four drivers of fuel poverty and covers the three-year period to 22 December 20241.
As of February 2025, around 46,887 households had received improvements through GBIS, of which 2,723 were Scottish households, described in the report as 6% of those participating1. The report states that total costs of the scheme were reported as being £125 million1. The ECO4 scheme, which GBIS sits alongside, was launched in March 20221.
The report places GBIS in the context of wider Scottish housing and fuel poverty figures. The percentage of Scottish dwellings rated EPC C or higher increased from 45% in 2019 to 56% in 2023, yet fuel poverty rates rose over the same period, with the 2023 Scottish House Condition Survey estimating 34% of households in fuel poverty, up from 31% in 2022 and 24.6% in 20191. The report attributes high fuel prices as the largest factor influencing fuel poverty rates in recent years1.
On the Scottish Government's own schemes, the report notes that the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan Scheme was launched in December 2022 as an update to the HES Loan and Cashback scheme, and was re-launched in October 2023 with more funding, with £85 million allocated in financial year 2024/25, described as the scheme's highest budget to date1.
"In October 2023, the UK Government expanded the current ECO scheme to include the Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS)"
The report also records that in July 2024 the UK Government announced its decision to restrict entitlement to Winter Fuel Payment to those in receipt of Pension Credit and other means-tested benefits from that winter, and that in November 2024 the Scottish Government announced £41 million in additional support for people struggling with energy costs in winter 2024/20251.
Why it matters for households
GBIS is a UK-wide grant scheme delivered through energy suppliers, and the report's figures show its reach in Scotland has so far been limited relative to the wider population: 2,723 Scottish households out of around 46,887 participating households across Great Britain1. For a household considering insulation as a route to lower bills and greater energy independence, the report does not set out GBIS eligibility criteria, the measures available, or the level of support per home; those details are not reported in this document1. What the report does show is the wider trend against which any single grant sits: Scotland's housing stock has become more energy efficient, with EPC C or better rising from 45% in 2019 to 56% in 2023, while fuel poverty rose from 24.6% in 2019 to 34% in 20231. That gap indicates that fabric improvements alone have not offset energy price levels over the period covered1.
What happens next
The report sets out several dated next steps. The Scottish Government published its response to its EPC Reform consultation on 21 January 2025, confirming plans to lay new regulations later in 2025 and bring them into force in 20261. The social tariff working group established in November 2024 shared its final report with the UK Government in March 20251. The report also notes that the Scottish Fuel Poverty Advisory Panel's upcoming statutory report will consider progress over the past three years1.