2.4m Families in Fuel Poverty

The number of families living in fuel poverty remains ‘broadly unchanged’ since 2012, despite government promises to tackle the problem. Statistics published by the Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) show around 2.35 million households were living in fuel poverty in 2013, representing 10.4% of England. The Fuel Poverty Annual Report 2015 said: ‘This is broadly unchanged from 2.36 million households in 2012 [a change of around 0.5%].’ In July 2013, former Liberal Democrat energy secretary Ed Davey said the government was committed to tackling fuel poverty, despite scrapping a target to eradicate the problem. At the time, the government was accused of ‘shifting the goalposts on fuel poverty’. Download a copy of the report from the DECC website.