Posted by Hari on Tuesday, January 13, 2015 with 1 comment | Labels: Austerity, benefits, Big Society, budget cuts, energy, inequality, jobs, pay, the government
SOURCE GUARDIAN: More
than a million working households in England are in fuel poverty
A study by the right-wing think tank Policy Exchange looking
at the 2.3m households in England in fuel poverty found that half of them,
around 1.1m households, had someone in work. Fuel poverty has been made worse
by rising energy bills and, despite improvements, the housing stock is still
highly inefficient, it said. Households in the least energy-efficient
properties would have to spend an extra £1,700 a year to heat their homes to a
comfortable level. The thinktank said energy efficiency should be viewed as a
national infrastructure priority, tapping into the government’s £100bn
infrastructure budget over the next five years. Richard Howard, the report’s
author, said: “Most people assume that it’s the elderly who are most at risk of
not being able to heat their homes. But the facts paint a startling picture.
There are over one million working households struggling to afford their energy
bills and living in underheated homes... Fuel poverty can severely affect
people’s health and also puts a strain on the NHS. It is absolutely critical
that the government prioritises support to those households most at risk.”
SOURCE POLICY EXCHANGE: Warmer Homes: Improving fuel poverty and energy efficiency policy in
the UK
2.3 million households in England are living in fuel
poverty. Over 1 million of them are in work. 10% of all households in England
are in fuel poverty – but this rises to 19% of households living in private
rented accommodation. Fuel poverty has been made worse by rising energy bills –
consumer gas prices increased by 128% over the period 2003 to 2013. Despite
some recent improvement, the UK’s housing stock remains woefully inefficient
compared to other European countries. The report highlights flaws with the
current fuel poverty strategy. The government target is to move all fuel poor
homes in England to a ‘Band C’ energy efficiency rating by 2030, at an
estimated cost of £1.2billion a year. However, the government is spending less
than half of what is required (£490million a year) leading to a £700million per
year funding gap.
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Reported in The Independent:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.independent.co.uk/money/fuel-poverty-could-claim-100000-lives-over-next-15-years-warns-energy-charity-10072222.html
"Fuel poverty could claim 100,000 lives over next 15 years, warns energy charity.
The NHS could be landed with a £22bn bill as cold homes kill 100,000 vulnerable people over the next 15 years, a charity warns today.
National Energy Action reckons at least 30,000 vulnerable people have perished prematurely over this Parliament due to an inability to adequately heat their homes, and Treasury energy taxes will mean many more will die in the next decade and a half unless the next government takes positive action.
That’s because millions of low-income and vulnerable households are either in significant personal debt or are in fuel poverty and have to ration their heating. As well as causing acute personal suffering, in its Manifesto for Warmth published today the charity says fuel poverty also reduces economic activity within deprived areas and leaves the NHS currently bearing a yearly burden of approximately £1.5bn treating cold-related illnesses every winter."