Decisive Action Needed To Tackle Fuel Poverty

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• A new report will be presented to policymakers at the House of Commons calling for coordinated efforts to eliminate fuel poverty across the country

•  Miatta Fahnbulleh, Minister for Energy Consumers, joins report launch to address the strategic measures needed to tackle fuel poverty

• Key actions include: long term funding, social tariffs, national pricing standards, maximising income support and more 

A new report, ‘Towards an end to fuel poverty in Britain’ launched today and presented at The House of Commons by the British Gas Energy Trust, an independent charity solely funded by British Gas, to industry leaders and politicians, sets out clear recommendations towards eradicating fuel poverty.

It calls for sizable efforts and urgent action from the government, industry and public sector organisations to work towards a unified roadmap to eradicate fuel poverty in the long-term.

With official statistics showing the number of fuel poor households nearly doubling from 4.3 million to 8.9 million between 2020 and 2024*, the actions put forward in the report are geared towards driving long-term change.

The key actions include:

• Lengthening funding periods – Expanding funding cycles to three to five years to enable charitable organisations to offer sustained support with meaningful impact.
• Establishing social tariffs – Implementing an affordable, universally accessible social tariff to lift the financial burden on lower-income, vulnerable customers.
• Maximising income support – Raising awareness around debt management and benefits to ensure accessible financial relief.
• Standardising national tariffs – Removing regional price variations and standardising tariffs nationally to create a fairer, transparent energy system.
• Enhancing energy efficient homes – Scaling up insulation programmes and better targeted support for the poorest households.
• Encouraging better budget management – Promoting financial literacy around household budgeting and energy use.
• Prioritising funding for frontline organisations – Directing resources to community groups with established support networks for low-income families.

The report follows extensive consultation, which found that it is those who are already marginalised in society including people living with disabilities, unpaid carers, rural households, the digitally excluded among others that are most likely to be impacted.

Key figure consulted include leaders from British Gas, Citizen’s Advice, The Big Issue Group and Money & Mental Health Policy Institutes. Insights were also captured from grassroot organisations embedded in some of the country’s most economically challenged communities around the country.

Jessica Taplin, Chief Executive Officer of British Gas Energy Trust, said: “Sizable efforts to alleviate fuel poverty are essential. I’ve spent a career in the third sector, working with young people, children with disabilities, volunteers and those living in care, but if you don't work in civil society or are not directly impacted by it in your own life, it is incredibly difficult to appreciate the scale, depth and complexity of poverty faced by so many.

“The work we did this year took us into communities up and down the country that are most affected by fuel poverty. The insights collated in our report look to ensure that fuel poverty isn’t just alleviated in the here and now, but also eliminated in the future.”

To read the full report, follow the link here.