Skip to main content

Fuel Poverty

Volume 503: debated on Wednesday 6 January 2010

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what definition his Department uses of the term fuel poverty; what changes to this definition there have been since 1997; whether he plans to change the current definition; and if he will make a statement. (308163)

The Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act 2000 defines a fuel poor person as one living on a lower income in a home which cannot be kept warm at reasonable cost.

The most widely accepted definition of a fuel poor household is one which needs to spend more than 10 per cent. of its net income to heat its home to an adequate standard of warmth (usually 21 degrees for the main living area, and 18 degrees for other occupied rooms).

There are no plans to review the definition of fuel poverty.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many families were in fuel poverty in each region in each of the last two years. (308164)

Fuel poverty is measured at household level rather than on a family basis.

The Department's latest estimates for fuel poverty are for 2007, available online at:

http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/fuelpov_stats/fuelpov_stats.aspx

The following table provides the number of households in fuel poverty for each English region in 2006 and 2007:

Number of households in fuel poverty

Thousand

Government office region

2006

2007

North East

179

206

East Midlands

236

272

East of England

224

253

London

254

309

North West

415

472

South East

291

333

South West

256

259

West Midlands

304

383

Yorkshire and the Humber

273

333

Total

2,432

2,819