A coalition of charity campaigners have said fuel poverty levels will rise unless efforts to increase energy efficiency of homes are increased. The group of charities have said that current government strategy is nowhere near adequate enough to hit the set target of ending fuel poverty by 2016.

A person is defined as fuel poor if more than ten per cent of their household income in spent on heating their home but the government say that long-term investment is being put into place on the issue. However, a number of charities including numerous environmental & pensioner groups, Consumer Focus, Age Concern and Help the Aged have supplied the government with a list of recommendations on how to deal with the issue.

The charities’ proposal calls for a £49 billion investment over 7 years that will make all the homes of those who are fuel poor as energy efficient as a new build property. Some of the funding would be reassigned from existing schemes and the plans would also create jobs as well as help the government hit CO2 emissions targets. The plan also outlines the extension of winter payments to the terminally ill, provision of “social price discounts” to the least wealthy customers as well as steps to be taken to reduce household energy prices.

Watchdog, Consumer Focus, have said that the number of fuel poor people in the UK could be as high as 6.6 million, a figure that has dramatically risen from just 1.2 million in 2004. According to Energy & Climate Change Minister David Kidney, the government are taking long-term action:

"This winter, the Warm Front scheme has carried out 25,000 heating or insulation jobs, leading to permanently reduced fuel bills," "And our recent energy-efficiency strategy puts particular focus on the most vulnerable. It requires energy companies working with local authorities and community groups to target poorer households for house-by-house, street-by-street eco-upgrades.”

"It sets minimum energy-efficiency standards for social housing, and explains how we will do the same for rented property, including through tighter regulation."

On top of government plans, all of the major energy suppliers have vowed to cut their gas prices by up to 8 per cent. However, this is a relatively small decrease in comparison to the price rises across the board 2 years ago.

Author:  Thomas Davies

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