Beyond ECO: The future of fuel poverty support

Article

Fuel poverty is a fact of life for 2.5 million households across England.

It is also an increasing problem, with the number of households in fuel poverty rising by just under 5 per cent from 2014 to 2015. The average fuel poverty gap – the amount by which a fuel-poor household’s energy bills exceed reasonable costs each year – was £353 in 2015. As a consequence, too many people are forced to make unacceptable choices between ‘heating or eating’.

At its worst, fuel poverty can contribute to premature winter deaths – around 10,000 deaths in 2016–2017 were related to cold homes.

Related items

  1. Towards a Communities Agenda 2.0

    Andy Burnham’s arrival in Downing Street creates an opportunity to go much further on the communities agenda than we’ve seen up to now. So what should more ambition look like in practice?
  2. Young male delivery cyclist working part-time, riding through city streets with food backpack on.

    Raising the bar: Strengthening living standards while banning exploitative zero-hours contracts

    Labour’s manifesto committed to banning exploitative zero-hours contracts as part of sweeping upgrades to workers’ rights.
  3. The Bank of England is watched over by a statue of the Duke of Wellington seated on his horse

    Beyond headroom: Why we need a better fiscal framework to fix the UK’s long term problems

    There has been long-standing debate about the UK’s fiscal rules and fiscal framework.