‘Terrible’ fuel poverty stats ‘don’t paint true picture of suffering’

Government statistics on the number of people living in fuel poverty are “terrible” but fail to “paint the true picture of the suffering in households across the UK”, a leading campaigner has said.

The government’s Annual Fuel Poverty Statistics show that an estimated 3.17 million people were living in fuel poverty in England in 2023.

That equates to 13% of all households in the country, effectively the same as the 13.1% of households classified as being fuel poor in 2022.

While the number of households in fuel poverty has remained steady the combined fuel poverty gap – the reduction in fuel costs needed for a household to not be in fuel poverty – was estimated at £1.32 billion under the Low Income Low Energy Efficiency (LILEE) metric. That equates to £417 per household, up 20% since 2022 and 64% higher than 2021’s out-turn figure of £254.

Simon Francis, coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said: “Even these terrible figures don’t paint the true picture of the suffering in households across the UK.

“They exclude millions of homes in certain energy performance categories and also don’t include many people who actually get a Warm Home Discount to help with their bills.

“The reality is that household energy debt is at record levels, millions of people are living in cold damp homes and children are suffering in mouldy conditions.

“The wider impact of high energy bills is also clear to see with households having to cut back on spending so much that the UK has now entered a recession.”

The government uses the LILEE metric to calculate fuel-poor households. To be recognised as fuel poor under the LILEE metric a household must have both low income and low energy efficiency in their home.

Improvements in energy efficiency measures pushed less than 1% of households above the EPC C rating, with 54% of all homes now above the government’s minimum target level.

Jess Ralston, energy analyst at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), said the low number of insultation upgrades is a “bitter pill to swallow”.

She added: “High gas prices pushed up energy bills in 2023 and are predicted to stay inflated for the foreseeable future, while the government’s energy efficiency schemes, focused on those who most need help, have flatlined.

“It looks like the number of homes being insulated in 2023 will be the lowest for more than a decade, a bitter pill to swallow for those struggling. Until homes are insulated and energy bills are de-linked from gas prices, through moving away from gas boilers and gas power generation, there may not be much respite.

“Of course, moving away from gas also helps with our energy security, as gas will increasingly come from abroad as the North Sea declines, with or without new licenses.”

The statistics also show that more than a third (36.4%) of households are spending more than 10% of their income (after housing costs) on domestic energy. In total, 8.9 million households spend more than 10% of their income on energy costs, up from the 6.6 million in 2022.

Despite a lack of progress on addressing fuel poverty during the past 12 months, the government is projecting a 12.7% decrease in the number of people living in fuel poverty in 2024.

It is also predicting that the average fuel poverty gap will fall by 8% to £385 (in 2023 prices).