NEA Chief criticises Brown

NEA Chief criticises Brown’s missed opportunity

NEA Chief criticises Brown’s missed opportunity

National Energy Action (NEA) – the leading fuel poverty charity – today expressed concern and disappointment after Gordon Brown failed to provide any new resources to help honour the Government’s commitment to end fuel poverty for vulnerable households by 2010.

In November 2001, the Government published the UK Fuel Poverty Strategy setting out its commitment to eradicate the problem among vulnerable households by 2010 and for all other households by 2016. Vulnerable households were defined as those containing young children, elderly persons or people with a disability or long-term illness.

Fuel price increases over the past two or three years have made the Government’s task extremely difficult. Yet, far from introducing any new initiatives to redress this situation, the Chancellor has simply described schemes that already exist without any new measures or increased funding.

The Government has also missed the opportunity to do anything about the problems posed by a maximum Warm Front grant of £2,700, which either requires the householder to make a significant contribution or makes them unable to proceed with the work.

NEA had also called for the Winter Fuel Payment, which is currently paid only to the over 60s, to be extended to other vulnerable households such as low-income families with children, the disabled and the chronically ill, who are often housebound and need extra heat to keep warm and healthy. However, the Chancellor ignored this recommendation despite it being endorsed by a wide number of voluntary sector agencies, including energywatch and Help the Aged.

NEA Chief Executive, William Gillis said: “We urged the Government to keep sight of its 2010 fuel poverty target and we consider this budget a missed opportunity to tackle a major social problem. Despite some energy providers having dropped their fuel prices recently, fuel poverty is still a massive problem in the United Kingdom.

“The Government’s own Fuel Poverty Advisory Group has estimated that an additional £150m per year is required, over and above the resources already committed, up until the 2016 target of eradicating fuel poverty entirely* and this type of funding has not been pledged.

“Without a concerted effort over the next few years, there is a major question mark hanging over whether this target will be met.”

Notes to the Editor
1. NEA is the national charity that tackles the heating and insulation problems of low-income households through improved energy efficiency.
Fuel poverty is defined as needing to spend more than 10% of household income on fuel costs.
2. Fuel poverty in England more than doubled between 2004-2006 from around 1.2 million to 2.8 million households.
3. In 2005 NEA actively campaigned for a tax on the North Sea oil and gas producers to address the rise in fuel poverty; the Chancellor in his 2005 PBS announced extra funding totally £300m for the Warm Front programme – £250m for England and £50m for Wales and Scotland – up to March 2008.
* This figure assumes that current expenditure on Warm Front grants continues year on year and that the Energy Efficiency Commitment funding is doubled and 50% is spent in vulnerable households.