As a new boiler scrappage scheme officially gets underway in England today, Scottish Labour's Sarah Boyack has accused SNP Ministers of dragging their feet on a similar scheme in Scotland.

From today, the first wave of grants for householders in England will be issued by the UK Government to help people pay for new energy efficient boilers.

Sarah Boyack, Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs, said:

"While the SNP keep dragging their feet on this they are standing in the way of 12,000 householders in Scotland who could be getting access to £400 towards the cost of a new boiler.

"The money is there for a similar scheme here so there is no reason for the Scottish Government to leave so many Scots out in the cold.

"A new boiler would reduce people's bills by as much as £235 a year, cut carbon emissions and boost the plumbing industry.

"I will continue to collect signatures for my online petition to demand action now from the SNP."

18 January 2010