Fuel Poverty: Winter Fuel Payments

Danny Alexander
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the number of pensioners who were lifted out of fuel poverty by the winter fuel allowance in each year since 1997.

Malcolm Wicks
We estimate that winter fuel payments took 100,000 households out of fuel poverty in 2003 and 2004. This data is available in “The UK Fuel Poverty Strategy; 4th Annual Progress Report 2006” (available online at http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file29688.pdf). They were introduced in 1997. The effect on fuel poverty in 2001 is not available but is likely to be of similar magnitude as 2003 and 2004 given the level of payment was similar.