The soaring cost of energy will impact every household across the country.
But it will hit those on the lowest incomes the most.
It’s typically the least well-off in society who rely on a prepayment meter when using gas or electricity.
They have to top up their account online or by purchasing credit from a local shop.
It can be time-consuming and stressful when you just want to keep your home warm.
Prepayment meters are not just a hassle for those that use them, they are also more expensive.
The bill for typical usage on a prepayment meter will be £46 more per year than those who pay for their gas and electricity by direct debit.
Energy suppliers claim that is because they cost more to install.
SNP MSP Graeme Dey is right when he describes this extra cost as a “poverty premium”.
He wants the big energy giants to stop installing prepayment meters.
There’s no argument that expecting those with the least to pay the most is wrong.
It’s a matter of fact that many of those who rely on Universal Credit are already in employment.
If workers can’t afford to heat their homes in 2022, the system is broken and requires urgent intervention from the UK Government, which holds powers over this issue.
It could start by phasing out prepayment meters.
Clock is ticking
Shocking findings in a leaked Scottish Ambulance Service report show the extent of the problems within this vital service.
Today, we reveal how each week 5500 patients are waiting longer than they should for an ambulance.
And the author of an internal report concluded no one cared that patients were suffering unnecessary distress, harm and death.
The Record has been reporting for months on the crisis, which has seen patients wait up to 40 hours for paramedics to arrive while ambulances are queued outside A&E departments.
Our reports on the escalating crisis forced the Scottish Government to take action. They brought in the Army and injected millions into the service.
But, according to the report’s author, no progress was made between November 2020 and November 2021 in tackling the waiting times.
The trade union Unite has called for an independent inquiry into the “broken” system.
It is the very least the patients failed by the SAS deserve.
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