Fuel Poverty

Debate between Chris Evans and Robert Smith

Wednesday 19th January 2011 Westminster Hall

[Chris Evans (Islwyn) (Lab/Co-op)]

I am grateful to you, Mr Gray, for the opportunity to speak in my first debate in Westminster Hall—this is, I suppose, almost like my second maiden speech.

The topic of the debate has been brought into sharp focus by the fact that the recent cold weather has left many constituents struggling to pay household energy bills. Last December was the coldest on record for 100 years. As a result, every home owner used more energy to heat their homes, resulting in more households falling into fuel poverty.

Fuel poverty is a serious and complicated issue. It is defined as affecting those who spend more than 10% of their income on energy bills. It is caused by unaffordable fuel prices, combined with poor housing stock, which is often characterised by inadequate insulation and inefficient heating systems.

Fuel poverty has more than doubled in the UK since 2003. The “Annual Report on Fuel Poverty Statistics 2010” estimated that fuel poverty affected 2 million households in 2003, and the figure rose to 4.5 million in 2008. Official predictions say that that is only the tip of the iceberg and that the worst is yet to come.

On 16 December 2009, an Ofgem presentation forecast that 6 million households would be in fuel poverty. On 24 February 2010, Ofgem warned the Select Committee on Energy and Climate Change:

“there is a real chance that as we go towards the middle of this decade prices will not only go up but will become fantastically volatile. That is not good news for the consumer”—

quite. Age UK says that, between 2003 and 2009, average household gas bills doubled and average electricity bills rose by 60%. The latest estimate of fuel poverty in the UK shows that more than 3.5 million older people are in fuel poverty. Surely that must be a worry for us all.

Fuel poverty is not spread evenly throughout the UK. Nearly a fifth of households in England, more than a quarter in Wales, nearly a third in Scotland and more than a third in Northern Ireland are in fuel poverty. In Wales, the November 2010 fuel poverty figures showed that 332,000 households were fuel-poor in 2008, and that the figure had risen by 198,000 since 2004, representing a 15% rise. In 2008, 26% of Welsh households were estimated to be in fuel poverty. That is despite measures undertaken by the previous Government to address fuel poverty and to improve the energy efficiency of homes.

[Sir Robert Smith (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD)]

One lesson that we all have to take on board is that the previous Government put too much reliance, especially in the early stages, on cutting energy prices and on the market delivering lower prices, so when the market put prices up, many people went back into fuel poverty. The hon. Gentleman is therefore right to say that it is important that we permanently deal with the energy efficiency of the housing stock.

[Chris Evans]

Yes, I agree, and I will develop that argument further.

The measures introduced by the previous Government included the winter fuel payment, central heating programmes, which the hon. Gentleman alluded to, and the energy efficiency commitment. All those have played a role in tackling fuel poverty, but their impact has been eroded by the financial crisis and what seem to be annual energy price rises. With rising fuel prices and lower disposable incomes, householders must make a tough decision between heating their homes and paying for other essential household expenses.

--- Later in debate ---

[Chris Evans]

The point that I am trying to make is that one way to solve fuel poverty is to make sure people do not use so much energy; it brings the price of their energy bills down and they will have a warmer home. They will come out of fuel poverty and will not be in so much danger.

The welfare and public sector cuts that have been announced by the Government together represent a threat to the lives of millions of people. I worry that the number of people in fuel poverty will soar over the coming months as a result.

It is all very well quoting figures, and my telling the House how wicked I think the Government are, but what does it mean to live in fuel poverty? It means that families will have to cut back on essential items to allocate money for rising fuel bills, or will have to turn down their heating, risking their health by increasing the chances of contracting common ailments such as colds, flu or bronchitis. Fuel poverty causes stress in children and adults as well as long-term depression and anxiety. To many individuals and families it can be the main cause of social exclusion, and deteriorating life chances and educational achievement.

I welcome the independent review of fuel poverty targets that the Government have said they will initiate before the end of the year. Making the nation’s housing stock more energy efficient should be at the heart of the Government’s energy strategy in the Energy Bill. The Government have set out plans for their green deal, whereby loan-funded insulation costs pay for themselves through efficiency savings. However, at the same time, as I have said, the coalition have announced that they are cutting Warm Front funding to a third of its current level. That threatens to leave many fuel-poor households even worse off, because they are likely currently to be under-heating their home, so any savings from improved energy efficiency will be taken in additional warmth, and their energy bill savings will not be enough to cover the green deal finance repayments.

Furthermore, some vulnerable customers may be nervous about taking on a fixed charge on their energy bill, despite promises of lower final bills, as that will reduce their option to budget. I fear the green deal is unlikely to be sufficient to help the fuel-poor. That has been confirmed by Age UK, which states that while the Government’s plan to have loan-funded insulation costs pay for themselves through efficiency savings

“is likely to benefit mid and high income households, there remains a big question mark over whether it will work for those in fuel poverty.”

It is therefore vital that the energy company obligation should meet the needs of the fuel-poor. That is particularly important for the fuel-poor, as in some cases existing heating systems may be inefficient, but the existing carbon-focused schemes mean that it is not possible to install a new more efficient system.

In conclusion, given the pain that is being inflicted on people by energy companies, it should be remembered that, unlike consumer prices, wholesale energy prices are half of what they were in 2008. It is a matter of some urgency that the Government should intervene to curb excessive fuel price increases.

[Sir Robert Smith]

I certainly agree that the regulator, and everyone, should try to ensure that we have the lowest possible prices, but in tackling fuel poverty we must confront the fact that the underlying pressures of carbon reduction and world energy scarcity mean that we shall have to have a fuel poverty strategy that will cope with higher prices. We cannot just rely on low prices to get us out of the problem.

[Chris Evans]

As I said earlier, fuel poverty is a complex matter, and there is no magic bullet to solve the problem. We have to consider it in a holistic manner.

If the regulator does not have sufficient power to intervene to prevent huge price increases, the solution is clear. It is time for energy companies to be made to serve society again, rather than the other way round. In February 2010, Ofgem published the findings of its Project Discovery. One of the most radical proposals was to have a central energy buyer, on similar lines to the old Central Electricity Generating Board. At present, the big six energy companies own most of the UK power plants, which supply the majority of the country’s consumers, but a central Government-controlled body could require power plants to sell electricity at fixed rates that would then be sold on to customers, thus bringing an end to the dominance of the big six once and for all.

It is important to remember that fuel poverty is not simply about schemes and programmes. It is a matter of life and death for the many people who are forced to live in cold and damp conditions. We need a new, far-sighted fuel poverty strategy to ensure that fuel-poor households have a decent income and that sustainable energy-saving measures are prioritised.