§ Lord Ashley of Stokeasked Her Majesty's Government:
What percentage of households containing one or more pensioners are in fuel poverty. [HL1199]
§ Lord Sainsbury of TurvilleThe latest available figures indicate that in England 29 per cent of households headed by an older couple or a single person over the age of 60 were in fuel poverty in 1998. This is based on fuel poverty being defined as when a household needs to spend more than 10 per cent of its income (including housing benefit and income support for mortgage interest) on fuel in order to maintain a satisfactory heating regime. When fuel poverty is defined using income excluding housing benefit or income support for mortgage interest 35 per cent of116WA households headed by an older couple or a single person over the age of 60 were in fuel poverty in England in 1998.
An analysis of fuel poverty in England in 1998 was published in August 2001 by DTI and DEFRA, and is available at www.dti.gov.uk/energy/pdf/fuel pov.pdf.
Fuel poverty is a devolved matter and therefore it is for the respective Assemblies and Parliament to report on the situation in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.
§ Lord Ashley of Stokeasked Her Majesty's Government:
What criteria define the households considered to be in fuel poverty. [HL1251]
§ Lord Sainsbury of TurvilleTheUK Fuel Poverty Strategy, Consultation draft, which was published in February 2001, sets out the definitions of fuel poverty which are used in the UK.
For England a fuel poor household is defined as one needing to spend in excess of 10 per cent of household income to achieve a satisfactory heating regime (21 degrees C in the living room and 18 degrees C in the other occupied rooms). The definition covers expenditure on all fuel used, and not just that for heating purposes. Two definitions of income are used:
- (1) income includes housing benefit and income support for mortgate interest.
- (2) income excluding housing benefit and income support for mortgage interest.
The consultation draft of the UK fuel poverty strategy proposed that the number of fuel poor in England is shown on both of these definitions, but that (1) will be used for the purpose of setting targets.
Fuel poverty is a devolved matter and therefore it is for the respective Assemblies and Parliament to report on the situation in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.
§ Lord Ashley of Stokeasked Her Majesty's Government:
Which national survey is the source of information on the households in fuel poverty. [HL1252]
§ Lord Sainsbury of TurvilleTheUK Fuel Poverty Strategy, Consultation draft, which was published in February 2001, sets out the information which is available on fuel poverty in the UK.
For England the main source of information is the five-yearly English House Condition Survey (EHCS). The latest edition of this survey for which figures on fuel poverty are available relates to 1996. Figures for households in fuel poverty in 1998 have been produced from the 1998 Energy Follow Up Survey to the English House Condition Survey, although the analysis available from this survey is more limited than that from the EHCS. The 2001 English House Condition Survey will provide figures on fuel poverty which should be available towards the end of 2002. As of 2002 the English House Condition Survey will be an annual survey.
117WAFuel poverty is a devolved matter and therefore it is for the respective Assemblies and Parliament to report on the situation in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.