Government to redefine fuel poverty
Plans to change the way fuel poverty is measured in England have been issued for consultation by the Department of Energy and Climate Change.
The department is suggesting moving away from the current system, where households that spend 10 per cent of their income on heating are considered fuel poor, to a more complex system proposed by Professor John Hills in a recent fuel poverty review.
Professor Hills, from the London School of Economics, published an independent review of fuel poverty in March this year.
This suggested the introduction of a ‘low income high cost’ indicator that assesses whether a household has ‘required fuel costs’ that are above average, and whether its income excluding housing and fuel costs is below the average poverty line.
The government has a target to eradicate fuel poverty by the end of 2016, and the consultation asks whether the target would need to be changed in line with any new definition.
In a statement DECC said: ‘This is not confirmation of a change in the fuel poverty target; it is recognition of the fact that a new definition may not align with the target as it currently stands and this needs to be considered.’
The consultation closes on 30 November, and DECC is expected to publish its response early next year.
