Fuel Poverty: Torbay

Mr. Sanders
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many households in (a) Torbay constituency and (b) the UK were in fuel poverty in (i) 2003 and (ii) 2009.

Mr. Kidney
The estimated number of households in fuel poverty in the UK was around 2 million in 2003. The latest figures available show that there were around 4 million fuel poor households in the UK in 2007.

The most recently available sub-regional split of fuel poverty relates to 2006, and shows that there were around 7,600 fuel poor households in the Torbay constituency. In 2003 there were around 2,800 fuel poor households in the Torbay constituency. The methodology used for the 2006 work differs from that previously used, so care should be taken in comparing the fuel poverty levels in one area between 2003 and 2006.