Shetland 'worst in UK for home insulation'

Only 349 homes on the islands - 6.6 per cent of the population - have been insulated under the government's energy saving scheme in the past year.

Figures from the Energy Saving Trust show how much loft and cavity wall insulation has been professionally installed under the government's Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (Cert) up to 31 March this year.

Under Cert, energy companies are required to help consumers cut their emissions through energy efficiency. Lagging lofts and filling cavity walls have been shown to save households more than 100 a year.

Between April 2010 and March this year, the largest number of insulation measures were in Birmingham (12,079), Leeds (11,244)' Bradford (9,078) and Fife (8,163) - accounting for 11.9 per cent of the population.

Energy Secretary Chris Huhne said: "With energy prices ramping up, people want to know how they can keep their bills down. As well as shopping around for the best energy deal, insulating your home can also save you money straight away.

"We've told energy companies to do far more to help consumers cut their bills and while these figures show a mixed picture across Britain, they also show that millions of homes are already benefiting."