February 2017. Last month we attended an event in Westminster as part of the All-Party Parliamentary Fuel Poverty and Energy Efficiency Group (FPEEG) of which they are an advisory member.
FPEEG is a cross-party coalition of MPs and peers dedicated to the alleviation of fuel poverty. Their mission is to raise awareness of the problem and promote the policies that are needed to eradicate it. The group is co-chaired by MPs from the Green, Conservative and Labour parties and is supported by a network of other MPs and peers drawn from different political parties as well as advisory members from charities, local authorities, housing associations, energy suppliers, network operators, energy efficiency manufacturers and installers.
It is well documented that the physical impacts of living in a cold home cause unnecessary suffering and premature mortality. Studies have even shown that living in a cold home is a bigger killer than smoking, lack of exercise and alcohol abuse. In addition, the financial stress and anxiety over energy bills can cause or exacerbate mental health problems, leading to depression and even suicide.
Whilst fuel poverty is measured differently across the UK, in England it’s measured using the Low Income High Costs (LIHC) indicator. Under the LIHC indicator, a household is considered to be fuel poor if:
Whilst it is difficult to accurately calculate the extent of fuel poverty across the UK, it is estimated that 4 million homes – roughly 15% of all households – are affected. The current scale of these problem in England alone costs health services approximately £3.6 million per day, and in the past four years alone over £5 billion of tax payers’ money has been spent treating the morbidity associated with cold homes.
Through their research, the FPEEG concluded that the foundations for successfully reducing the levels of fuel poverty are:
Since the level of assistance provided for the fuel poor varies across nations, localities, agencies, government programmes, and is dependent upon different funding streams, FPEEG have produced a prospectus showcasing best practice fuel poverty-alleviating schemes. The hope is that the report will lead to an enhanced appetite to introduce or expand local and national affordable warmth schemes and encourage local councils, combined authorities, local enterprise partnerships, health and social services and healthcare commissioners to work collaboratively to end fuel poverty. To read the prospectus for universal affordable warmth in full, click here.
Many of the best practice schemes highlighted in the prospectus contained similar components which FPEEG concluded to be the most effective measures to alleviate fuel poverty. These are:
Ultimately, FPEEG hope that the governments within each nation, as well as the UK Government, will recognise the benefits of acting to spread affordable warmth initiatives more consistently across the UK and invest at the scale needed to eradicate the cost and suffering caused by fuel poverty. Below are a series of national recommendations they will be making to government: