ALMOST one third of Wee County residents are stuck in fuel poverty, according to government figures.

The stats show that 32 per cent of Clackmannanshire households are fuel poor – meaning more than 10 per cent of income is spent on utilities.

And while thousands are struggling to heat their homes, there is also an increasing amount of families falling behind on their gas bills.

Debt charity StepChange said the percentage of Wee County clients they serve who are in gas bill arrears rose from 11.6 per cent to 14.3 per cent last year.

However, those in electricity arrears fell from 12.3 per cent to 10.8 per cent in the same time period.

Nevertheless, the Scottish Government is facing calls to introduce “transformational change” to support fuel-poor families in Clacks.

Murdo Fraser, MSP for the Mid Scotland and Fife region, said: “These figures are really concerning, particularly because they show that more and more people are struggling to pay their heating bills in Perth and Kinross, Fife, Stirling and Clackmannanshire.

“With nearly one in three households in Mid Scotland and Fife in fuel poverty, it’s clear something major has to be done. Having a warm home during the winter shouldn’t be a luxury, yet many people across the region are struggling to heat their homes properly.

“The Scottish Government’s current strategies are failing and that is why we need transformational change. Ensuring that older homes are retrofitted for energy efficiency is important as the last thing we need is expensive heat escaping through windows and doors.

“That is why we are calling for the Scottish Government to prioritise making Scottish homes more energy efficient. Setting a target to get all homes up to adequate standards, backed up with significant investment, is needed to reduce the number of people in Mid-Scotland and Fife struggling with their gas and electricity bills.”

Green MSP Mark Ruskell also argued that building more energy efficient homes would help reduce fuel poverty, as would the introduction of improved rent control in the market.

He said: “Recently released figures show that Clackmannanshire has saw some of the biggest rent increases in Scotland last year. We need to look at rent controls to prevent people being priced out of a suitable home or forced into poverty to pay their bills. Investment in new housing has to be a Scottish Government priority.”

In response, the SNP placed the blame for fuel poverty on the UK Government at Westminster, arguing that welfare cuts have been the cause of more families sliding into debt.

A spokesperson for Kevin Stewart MSP, local government and housing minister, said: “By far the biggest factors affecting fuel poverty levels are rising household energy costs and welfare cuts – issues which are reserved to the Tory government at Westminster.

“Murdo Fraser’s Tory colleagues have consistently failed to take action on fuel prices, and harsh welfare cuts over the last few years have pushed tens of thousands more families into poverty. Meanwhile, this government has spent money on tackling fuel poverty and mitigating the worst impacts of welfare reforms.

“With the limited powers that we have, we’ve been taking firm action. By 2021, the Scottish Government will have committed £1billion since 2009 to tackle fuel poverty and improve energy efficiency, helping people to heat their homes affordably. We have a range of schemes in place to support those who may have difficulty paying fuel bills or keeping their home warm, and since 2012 we have spent over £3.6m in Clackmannanshire to help tackle fuel poverty.”