SCOTS living in rural homes face a “tsunami of poverty” amid rising heating costs, Scottish Labour warned yesterday as it demands clarity on energy discounts for “off-grid” properties.

Some 28 per cent of rural households use oil as their primary source of heating fuel and homes in hard-to-reach parts of Scotland are often off the grid, including Shetland and Orkney properties.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a £400 energy bill discount in October for every household in Britain last week.

But Scottish Labour has said that people living in off-grid properties received little clarification over whether they were eligible for the Energy Bills Support Grant.

Nor did Mr Sunak’s plans outline how those without pre-payment meters or non-debit and credit customers will benefit.

It is estimated that about 417,000 (17 per cent) of Scottish homes are off the grid and 217,000 use fuels other than mains gas or electricity to heat their homes.

According to data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS), the cost of heating oil has increased by more than £500 per 1,000 litres from April 2021 to April 2022 — one of the largest price hikes in this year’s ONS report.

Scottish Labour Highlands and Islands MSP Rhoda Grant said rural communities are the “forgotten victims” of the cost-of-living crisis.

She said: “Despite the Tory Chancellor doing his best to copy Labour’s plans to tackle the cost-of-living crisis, they have not included our guarantees for off-grid homes.

“The increase in the cost of heating oil is one of the biggest price rises within the ONS statistics. It directly impacts people living off-grid and, yet, we have seen no substantial aid package from the SNP or the Tories.

“With reports of people stealing oil and gas cannisters out of desperation and pensioners choosing between putting the heating on or eating dinner, we urgently need government intervention if we are to stop rural Scotland being plunged into Victorian-era style poverty.”

A Westminster government spokesman said households north of the border that are off the gas grid but on a default tariff for their electricity supply will still be protected by the energy price cap.