Responsibility for tackling fuel poverty in England is shared between the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The Department of Trade and Industry’s main contribution to tackling fuel poverty is through ensuring a competitive energy market, which will bear down on the cost of energy to the benefit of all consumers but particularly those in fuel poverty.
The Department of Trade and Industry itself has a number of specific policies to tackle the issue of fuel poverty. The Department’s Design and Demonstration Unit has designed and delivered projects to provide gas connections to deprived communities, and it is now developing community projects utilising renewable technologies. Last winter work was taken forward with energy suppliers, Ofgem and other key players to mail out to 100,000 elderly households in receipt of pension credit offering a range of assistance.
The Department has also liaised closely with energy suppliers on the creation of the Home Heat Helpline, which provides a central point of information about help available from energy suppliers and Government. It has also encouraged energy suppliers to introduce social tariffs, price freezes and other measures for fuel poor and low income customers.
The forthcoming Energy White Paper will set out some of the steps that are needed to tackle fuel poverty across all its causes.