More Scots homes to get free insulation

• Duncan Yates shows Nicola Sturgeon the intricacies of cavity wall insulation. Picture: Phil Wilkinson

The Scottish Government is doubling its efforts in treating lofts and cavity walls as part of a 15 million scheme. It will cut average energy bills by 61 a year.

WWF Scotland welcomed the announcement but warned more still needs to be done.

Elizabeth Leighton, senior policy officer at WWF Scotland, said: "We are very supportive of the Scottish Government's efforts to improve energy efficiency in homes. Homes count for a third of carbon emissions and if we are going to have any hope of hitting 2020 targets of a 42 per cent cut, a lot of that is going to come from housing.

"Our only criticism is it's not happening quick enough, we need more measures for hard to treat homes, such as stone-built tenements and houses, or rural homes which are off the gas grid and so can't get gas central heating. A third of homes are 'hard to treat'. They're pushing loft and wall cavity insulation because it is the most cost effective option."

Deputy first minister Nicola Sturgeon said: "These are modern measures for modern times. The freezing conditions this winter reminded us how important it is to keep the heat in our homes – everyone wants to save money, it's the smart thing to do and we will continue to help Scottish households do that."