Section 1 of the Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act provides the Secretary of State with a power to define fuel poverty. This power has not been exercised because since the fuel poverty strategy was published the Government have relied on the following definition:
“A household is said to be in fuel poverty if it needs to spend more than 10% of its income on fuel to maintain an adequate level of warmth (usually defined as 21 degrees for the main living area, and 18 degrees for other occupied rooms).”
The broad definition of spending on fuel adopted in the measurement of fuel poverty also includes spending on water heating, lights and appliances and cooking.
Section 2 of the Act contains the substance of the Secretary of State’s duties to tackle fuel poverty which includes preparing and publishing a strategy, implementing that strategy and keeping the strategy under review.
From the strategy the Government have implemented a package of measures, set target dates and published annual progress reports. The strategy and annual reports help to communicate to stakeholders on progress and the challenges faced. In this sense, section 2 is an effective provision in ensuring the Government’s approach to tackling fuel poverty is transparent—as Parliament intended.
Friends of the Earth and Help the Aged brought a claim for judicial review against the Secretary of State alleging a continuing failure to perform his duties in the Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act 2000. The case was dismissed on 23 October. The Government remain committed to tackling fuel poverty. While recent energy prices have made the challenge more difficult, we keep the position under constant examination and develop our approach as the situation changes.