National targets to eradicate fuel poverty will be missed unless politicians take urgent action to tackle the ‘cold homes crisis’, a charity report warns today.
According to reports in Inside Housing:
The UK Fuel Poverty Monitor, published by National Energy Action and Energy Action Scotland, found current policies to tackle fuel poverty are inadequate to mitigate the effect of rising energy costs and the impact of the economic situation and welfare reform. It said the UK government and devolved administration need to take urgent coordinated action.
The report, released to coincide with NEA’s national fuel poverty awareness day, revealed that while you are more likely to be in fuel poverty if you live in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, you are more likely to receive support for energy efficiency measures in those countries than in England.
There are currently 4.5 million fuel-poor households in the UK – those that spend more than 10 per cent of income after housing costs on energy.
The report showed that in England, 15 per cent of the population is fuel poor. This compares with 25 per cent in Scotland, 29 per cent in Wales, and 42 per cent in Northern Ireland.
Jenny Saunders, chief executive of NEA, said: ‘The only sustainable way to tackle this problem is to invest in our old and cold housing stock. In England only £3.52 government funding is available per domestic electricity consumer to improve domestic energy efficiency, compared to an average spend of £31.78 in the other nations. Additional resources must be made available to improve the heating and insulation of our poorest households.’