More than a quarter of Scottish homes were living in fuel poverty last year, official statistics show.
Energy costs took up more than 10% of household income in around 647,000 homes (27.1% of all households), according to the latest Scottish House Condition Survey.
The figure has improved since October 2011, when around 721,000 homes (30.5%) were fuel poor.
The number of houses in extreme fuel poverty – where energy bills were more than a fifth of family income – was around 170,000. The proportion has dropped only slightly since 2011, down from 8% to 7.1%.
Overall energy efficiency is improving in Scottish homes with insulation levels up, the survey shows.
Those homes with a “good” energy efficiency rating on the National Home Energy Rating scale increased four points to 69% between 2011-12.
The number passing the Scottish Housing Quality Standard was also up five points to 46% in 2012, driven by improvements in the private housing sector.
The 3.4% fall in overall fuel poverty between 2011 and 2012 was largely down to improved energy efficiency, figures show.
It accounted for around two-thirds of the drop, while an increase in household income contributed about a third.
Fuel prices decreased by 2% during the period so had little impact on the fuel poverty rate, the survey shows.