Today, the government published the latest fuel poverty statistics for England. While the figures show 100,000 households were lifted out of fuel poverty in 2024, our Director of Policy and Advocacy cautions that there is more to the data.
Peter Smith says, ‘It is welcome to see the number of households now falling, albeit far too slowly.
‘More than 100,000 households in England no longer face the virtually impossible task of trying to survive on the lowest incomes, at the same time as attempting to keep warm in an expensive-to-heat home. It is particularly welcome and vital that this progress is being made for households who are most at risk of a cold home, households with children or households with long-term illnesses or disabilities.
‘Recent progress, particularly to reduce rates of fuel poverty for people who own their own home is, however, slowing. This is a major concern as owner-occupiers are by far the greatest number of households living in fuel poverty in England. Unless the UK government provides more support in the Warm Homes Plan, this worrying trend is very likely to continue and it could take another 20 years to meet the UK government’s legal requirement to ensure that as many households are free from the fear of not being able to keep warm.
‘In the meantime, too many households are experiencing a deepening crisis. The depth of fuel poverty for people who pay for their energy with a prepayment meter, by cheque or by cash or who live off the gas network is worsening. Even with energy rebates now being extended, overall the depth of help isn’t enough and won’t have offset the more recent increases in energy bills or what may be to come. Low-income households’ energy costs continue to be roughly double a typical household. The impact remains devastating, worsening people’s health and wellbeing, reducing spending the economy and permanently damaging life-chances for young people. That’s unacceptable in a country that used to pride itself on being one of the wealthiest in the world.’