Fuel for thought

John Cheshire sets the scene

Fuel poverty affects between four and six million people in the UK. Precise definitions vary, but the ‘fuel poor’ are generally defined as those needing to spend over 10% of their income on fuel to have an acceptable living standard. Households for whom warmth is particularly critical – home to elderly or ill people, or young children – are especially vulnerable. Overall, far too many people in Britain – the world’s fourth largest economy – suffer the debilitating consequences of this wasteful and preventable condition. It’s over 20 years since fuel poverty was first identified as a distinctive and pernicious form of poverty. Yet it has only recently come to prominence on the policy agenda.

Only five years ago, indeed, some ministers were still questioning the very concept. But there’s now a great deal of effort under way to tackle it, involving not just government but NGOs, energy suppliers, and local councils, too. This Special Supplement brings together the views of many of those involved, asks what still needs to be done, and whether the government is taking the right approach.

But first, we need to get to grips with the single biggest scourge of fuel poverty as far as those who suffer it are concerned – its effects on health.

22 September 2002

John Chesshire