Julian Milford assesses the politically charged scenario of fuel poverty
Fuel poverty in the UK has increased dramatically over recent years, in tandem with the sharp rise in the price of fuel.
In 2003–04, the government’s estimate was that 1.2 million households were in fuel poverty—defi ned by the government as applying to households that need to spend at least 10% of their income on fuel to maintain a satisfactory heating regime. In 2006—the last year for which government fi gures are available—that estimate had increased to 2.9 million households and 2.4 million of those were “vulnerable” (defi ned as households including older people, families with children, and householders who are disabled or suff ering from long-term illness).
By early 2008, Energywatch estimated that there were around 4.4 million households in the UK suff ering from fuel poverty. Th ree million of those were in England alone. Charities and other public interest organisations accused the government of both failing to help the most vulnerable members of society, who faced possible illness and death from lack of heating; and of failing to deal
