Increased energy efficiency measures mean the share of English households in fuel poverty is projected to fall this year, the latest government statistics show.
Figures from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) published today (29 April) follow on from last month’s annual fuel poverty statistics which contained figures from 2019, the latest available.
Under normal circumstances, BEIS would make projections of up to two years within the annual report in order to estimate the current levels of fuel poverty. However given the challenge of reflecting the impact of the pandemic the projections were instead published separately today.
The headline figures for 2020 and 2021 are calculated using the new low-income, low energy efficiency (LILEE) metric and are projected based on changes to the three key drivers of fuel poverty: energy efficiency, energy prices and incomes.
They show that the government projects the share of fuel poor households to fall from 3.18 million (13.4 per cent) in 2019 to 3 million (12.5 per cent) in 2021.
Since 2010 the proportion of households in fuel poverty has fallen steadily from 22.1 per cent to the projected 12.5 per cent figure this year which BEIS attributes to the progress in energy efficiency. However, it added, there have also been slight impacts from changes to income and prices.
The report highlights that while the pandemic affected the incomes of a large number of households, because incomes are compared to the median there was only a slight increase in the overall share of low-income households (from 25.7 per cent to 26.2 per cent) in 2021. The after housing costs (AHC) median income is projected to fall by 6 per cent from £23,500 in 2019 to £22,100 in 2021.
Energy efficiency measures in homes with efficiency bands D-G, bringing them closer to a band C rating, as well as falling energy prices in real terms, has meant the average fuel poverty gap (the reduction in fuel costs needed for a household to not be in fuel poverty) is projected to be £200. This represents an 8 per cent decrease in real terms since 2019 (£219).
Meanwhile the aggregate fuel poverty gap is projected to be £599 million in 2021 under the LILEE metric down by 13 per cent in real terms since 2019 (£687 million).
Elsewhere the report shows that further progress has been made since 2019 towards the interim 2030 fuel poverty target of ensuring as many fuel poor households as is reasonably practicable achieve a minimum energy efficiency rating of band C.
An estimated 52.4 per cent of all low-income households in 2021 are projected to be living in a property with an energy efficiency rating of band C or better.