"Far too many vulnerable Scots are facing soaring energy bills this winter"

Cabinet Secretary for Finance John Swinney has shared that annual public sector electricity bill is around £200 million.

Speaking in Parliament, Swinney said, "Far too many vulnerable Scots are facing soaring energy bills this winter – that is why this Government is putting an extra £10 million into the free central heating programme this year."

In this context, the new strategy aims to harness the combined purchasing power of the public sector to save taxpayers' money so that it can be invested elsewhere.

The contract will provide public bodies with access to energy management measures such as advanced metering, small scale renewables initiatives and opportunities to sell electricity into the grid.

"Elsewhere, we will increase advice to businesses and individuals. Scottish Enterprise has now started recruiting manufacturing professionals to double the size and capability of the Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Service, to ensure that even more companies are able to gain access to quality advice," said Swinney.

"We will also provide a fast and effective, quality of service to people should they become unemployed. Partnership and local delivery are key to helping people back into work. That is why we will ensure that the Partnership for Continuing Employment initiative will be ready and available to provide the support that individuals require should they lose their jobs. This local network is unique to Scotland - and we will continue to develop it so that it helps us respond to redundancies as they occur," said Swinney.