NEA: Charity’s plea to Gordon Brown not to forget the fuel-poor

National Energy Action (NEA) – the leading national fuel poverty charity – has warned that up to three million households in England could remain in fuel poverty in 2010 – the legally binding date for the Government to eradicate the problem for all vulnerable households.

And the charity is calling on the new Gordon Brown regime to set its sights firmly on tackling the problem. The Government’s UK Fuel Poverty Strategy 2001 set out a commitment to end fuel poverty for vulnerable households by 2010.

But drastic increases in domestic fuel bills since 2003 has meant that fuel poverty has doubled to 2.5 million households in England - and almost 4 million across the UK.

NEA is warning the new Prime Minister that elderly and vulnerable people will continue to struggle to live in cold, damp homes unless greater resources are targeted towards the problem.

NEA and Energy and Scottish sister organisation, Action Scotland, (EAS) have today (03.07.07) launched the UK Fuel Poverty Monitor report to review the four energy efficiency programmes in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The report warns that many households in England are forced to pay excess on the Warm Front Government grant, which is available for work to improve the energy efficiency of a home. And top of NEA’s calls is an increase on the present Warm Front grant scheme.

NEA is urging Mr Brown to:

• Increase the grant maximum for the Warm Front scheme - Warm Front measures are increasingly exceeding the grant maximum and NEA is calling for the higher rate of grant to be raised to £5,500. Presently Warm Front offers £2,700 for gas central heating improvements

• Maximise income through benefit entitlement checks - an estimated 1 in 3 pensioners entitled to Pension Credit do not take it up. NEA has called for support to be given in the application stage for vulnerable and elderly householders eligible for benefits

• Introduce a universal, obligatory social tariff – energy suppliers should be required to offer advantageous ‘social tariffs’ to their vulnerable customers

• Improve access to micro-generation and other renewable technologies – many fuel-poor households live in properties off the mains gas network with no cavity walls to insulate. NEA recommends that new micro-generation technologies, like air-source heat pumps and solar thermal heating be considered to meet demands for affordable heat

William Gillis, NEA Chief Executive, said: “We do not believe the fuel poor should be abandoned. The Government’s targets are legally binding and we will continue to press them to provide the necessary programmes and resources to meet the targets. In the Energy White Paper, the Government tacitly admitted that they will fail to meet these targets, but we believe a concerted, focused and better-funded approach could still work.

“The Government’s own Fuel Poverty Advisory Group’s (FPAG) annual report in April this year suggested annual expenditure of £1 billion was required between 2008-2016 to meet the overall target of ending fuel poverty by 2016 – the Government’s final deadline to eradicate all fuel poverty in England. Clearly more funds are critical to the success of this objective.”

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Notes to editors


1. To view the UK Fuel Poverty Monitor report, please go to http://www.nea.org.uk/Publications/Publications
2. NEA campaigns for affordable warmth in the homes of vulnerable people. Visit www.nea.org.uk
3. Fuel poverty is defined as the need to spend over 10% of household income on fuel costs to maintain adequate warmth for health and comfort.
4. The UK Fuel Poverty Monitor, sponsored by E.ON, will be launched at the Parliamentary Warm Homes Group Meeting on Tuesday, July 3rd at 5.30pm with guest speaker Peter Lehmann, Chair, Fuel Poverty Advisory Group.