Cash boost for people in fuel poverty

The Government today announced a raft of new measures totalling £2.3billion over three years for a twin onslaught on fuel poverty and home energy efficiency.

New laws laid yesterday in Parliament mean energy suppliers will be obliged to spend £1.5 billion over the next three years to install home based energy efficiency measures for people on low incomes, those with disabilities and the over 70s.

Simultaneously, the Government announced an £800million three year grant for the Warm Front Scheme which could assist over 400,000 of England's poorest households.

Environment Minister Phil Woolas said that taken together this would mean a 40% increase on the 2005-2008 period and comes in addition to winter fuel payments of £200 per year for pensioner households and £300 a year for over 80s.

Under the new Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) laid in Parliament yesterday, energy suppliers will be obliged to cut emissions and work to improve energy efficiency, which will reduce fuel poverty in the homes of their customers.

CERT is the latest phase of the successful Energy Efficiency Commitment (EEC) programme - a scheme that obliges energy suppliers to promote reductions in carbon emissions for households. It will now double its activity targets for suppliers and improve the flexibility for how those targets can be achieved.

Warm Front is the Government's Scheme providing grants for energy efficiency measures, including the installation of central heating to vulnerable households, namely, people with disabilities or on low-incomes.

The announcement was made as figures published today by Defra and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform today show that 1.5 million households in England were in fuel poverty in 2005, of which 1.2 million were households where at least one person has disabilities or is elderly or has children. The increase bucks the trend which saw the number of people in fuel poverty fall from 5.1 million to 1.2 million between 1996 and 2004. Steep rises in fuel costs have been the main reason for the increase in at-risk households.

Speaking about the new CERT scheme, Phil Woolas said: "It's hugely concerning that thanks to rising fuel prices, more people are having to spend a large portion of their income on heating their homes.

"This makes our commitment to eradicate fuel poverty more important than ever. That's why we've doubled the amount of work energy suppliers will have to do to improve the energy efficiency of their customers' homes - and made sure that 40 per cent of that effort has to help people most at risk of fuel poverty.

"Over the next three years, that will mean £1.5 billion to install better insulation, improve heating systems, and a wide range of other measures that will see people spending less on their heating and electricity bills."

Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks said: "Millions of homes have been lifted out of fuel poverty over the past ten years but as fuel bills have increased it's more important than ever that people facing difficulty paying their bills access the full range of help that's out there.

"Talk to your energy supplier and Warm Front for help making your home more energy efficient. Investigate whether your supplier can put you onto a social tariff, or whether you should switch supplier altogether to get a better deal. There are still big saving to be had. And check that you are getting all the benefits that you're entitled to.

"Eradicating fuel poverty will be very challenging, but it is a challenge the Government and the energy suppliers are committed to."

Earlier this month, the Prime Minister announced a new Green Homes Service which will provide a one stop shop for people to contact for a home energy audit, along with advice on how they can save water, reduce waste, green their travel, and connect to grants and offers from energy companies. The service will increase the support and help available to people looking to make their homes greener and more energy efficient.