The Long Cold Winter: Beating fuel poverty

Article

More and more people are being plunged into fuel poverty as energy prices rise and government programmes to tackle this major social problem fail to keep up with the scale of the challenge. This report reviews the current policy landscape on fuel poverty and asks where policy should go next, if fuel poverty is to be addressed effectively in the UK.

More and more people are being plunged into fuel poverty as energy prices rise and government programmes to tackle this major social problem fail to keep up with the scale of the challenge.

This report reviews the current policy landscape on fuel poverty and asks where policy should go next, if fuel poverty is to be addressed effectively in the UK.

The current fuel poverty strategy was devised at a time when energy prices were falling but the context has now changed significantly - energy prices are projected to rise and new technological developments could offer fresh options for tackling fuel poverty. We therefore make a number of recommendations for a radical rethink of the fuel poverty strategy.

Related items

  1. The Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, River Thames and Westminster Bridge

    Taxing choices: Taking the public’s temperature ahead of the budget

    The stakes for a government are rarely higher than at a budget. Every chancellor has dealt with this differently. Ken Clarke would draft his budget speech with cigars and whisky, Gordon Brown pored over every word in what officials called…
  2. Scottish parliament building at Holyrood and Calton Hill, Edinburgh

    Great expectations: Rejuvenating the national debate in Scotland

    Fresh IPPR Scotland polling shows that politicians must raise their game if next year’s election is a to be serious debate about the challenges facing Scotland and potential solutions. 
  3. A Black man in a bright orange high vis jacket and hard hat stands in the middle of a road holding a sign that says 'STOP - WORKS'

    Unfinished business: Redressing inequality in British policy and Black lives

    As conversations about race and equality continue to evolve, Black History Month remains a powerful invitation to pause, reflect, and recommit to progress.