Getting warmer . . . ?

If people can’t afford to heat their homes, it goes without saying that fuel prices are key. Over the last decade, real energy prices have fallen, which in itself has lifted around one million people out of fuel poverty. But this isn’t a trend which can be relied upon.

Some environmentalists have demanded rises in fuel prices across the board as a way of encouraging reductions in energy use, and so tackling climate change. This is understandable, but it runs the risk of being socially regressive, as poorer families spend a greater proportion of their money on energy than average income ones. Higher welfare payments to offset resulting higher energy prices have been suggested as a solution. But as household energy expenditure varies widely, and under-claiming for eligible welfare benefits is widespread among the most vulnerable, particularly pensioners, this wouldn’t in itself tackle the root problem. More imaginative measures than mere income support are needed.

A more promising route out of fuel poverty is capital expenditure – on insulation, on more efficient (and better controlled) heating systems, lighting and appliances – together with advice on energy efficiency. These are all elements of the government’s Fuel Poverty Strategy, launched after much consultation late last year. This aims to end fuel poverty for all by 2015, and for households most at risk by 2010.

In some ways, it would be better to describe the strategy as a goal, since it is largely just bringing under one heading a whole range of parallel initiatives, many of which are already in existence. One new element is the creation of a Fuel Poverty Advisory Group (in England) to monitor performance and suggest new approaches. (Similar bodies have been created by the devolved administrations in Northern Ireland and Scotland.) The government’s approach is currently being scrutinised by the Trade and Industry Select Committee, which will report shortly.

The Scottish Executive has also set its own 15-year target, aimed at ensuring that no-one in Scotland lives in fuel poverty by the end of 2016.

Whether the government can effectively join up all these various initiatives will be the strategy’s acid test. A major challenge is the fact that the two main current programmes, Warm Front and the Energy Efficiency Commitment, both end in early 2005 – so new initiatives are urgently needed. Another is the way in which existing schemes to tackle fuel poverty are targeted at people in receipt of a range of qualifying benefits – so called ‘passport’ benefits. That risks ignoring one of the root causes of fuel poverty, which is the poor quality of much of our housing stock (the main reason why, within the EU, fuel poverty is a distinctly UK phenomenon). Many households’ circumstances change frequently – people get or lose jobs, get married or divorced, have more children, become pensioners, move home, and so on. As a result, their benefit entitlements vary, and so they drift in and out of qualifying for fuel poverty assistance schemes. That makes it difficult to plan for systematic remedial work on homes. In an ideal world – where finances were not so constrained – it would be better to shift the focus from deciding which households qualified for assistance, to which properties did so.

Overall, welcome progress is being made, and the Fuel Poverty Strategy is a real step forward. But evidence from existing programmes shows that there is more to be done to tackle the health dimension, the floating population of the ‘nearly fuel poor’, hard-to-heat homes, and the specific problems faced in rural areas off the gas network. Resolution of these issues will require novel measures, enhanced funding and - above all - effective partnerships between many organisations, to ensure joined up delivery on the ground, where it matters.

John Chesshire is chairman of the Energy Efficiency Partnership for Homes and the Eaga Partnership Charitable Trust, and deputy chairman of the Fuel Poverty Advisory Group. He writes in a personal capacity.

“As a major energy company, we recognise that our activities touch many aspects of people’s lives, and we’re committed to carrying out our business with a sense of responsibility for the environment, our customers and the communities in which we work. That is why we are committed to finding innovative means of addressing fuel poverty, such as our Health Through Warmth scheme. Our approach is to work in partnership with others: by working together, we believe we can eradicate fuel poverty.” Brian Count, chief executive, Innogy,
www.innogy.com

“Early next year we will be reporting on how we are progressing in tackling fuel poverty. A lot is going on, but the task is huge. Far too many households find themselves in difficulty in winter when it comes to keeping warm. Our Fuel Poverty Strategy may be a national objective, but ultimately its success comes down to local delivery of measures to individual households.

This will require a wide range of people and organisations, including central government and its agencies, local government, the health sector, energy companies, voluntary bodies, and other NGOs, all working together to identify fuel poor households and ensure that they are helped. The active participation of local authorities is crucial – they have the local knowledge and relationships which can give the campaign immediate recognition and credibility: and tackling fuel poverty dovetails neatly with their other objectives such as environmental improvement and regeneration.

The key task now is to ensure that we have effective local delivery mechanisms. We have recently set up a Fuel Poverty Advisory Group, involving organisations from all the sectors I have mentioned, with the task of identifying barriers and improvements to the delivery of our strategy, and I look forward to its first report early next year. We have made a good start; but there is still a long way to go, and we must – all of us – keep up the momentum.”
Brian Wilson MP, Minister for Energy

Checking out the benefits
Mr Singh, a lone parent of a five-year old boy, inherited a Victorian, three-storey terraced house that was in a considerable state of disrepair: the front and back door were rotten, all the windows were draughty, and the property was heated by several electric storage heaters more than 20 years old.

Nottingham NEA’s Rob Howard first inquired about Mr Singh’s eligibility for the New Home Energy Efficiency Scheme (now Warm Front). Although he was working full time, hence not on benefit, Rob urged him to go along for a “benefits check” at a local advice session run by the Nottingham Council for Voluntary Service. It was soon established that Mr Singh was entitled to the Working Families Tax Credit; in turn, this made him eligible for a help with his heating.

Following a detailed energy audit of the property, Mr Singh was able to have central heating, a new front door, loft insulation and draughtproofing installed under two grant programmes.

“Mr Singh is extremely happy with the improvements to his home,” said Rob. “Not only is it warmer, but he also reports that his son is catching fewer colds. He has said the improvements have given him the incentive to redecorate the house and install a gas fire in the lounge.”

22 September 2002