The number of households struggling to pay their energy bills has dropped to its lowest level since the beginning of the financial crisis in 2008 – but those struggling to pay are finding it even harder, according to government figures published today.
The Department for Energy and Climate (DECC) said there were 4.5million people in fuel poverty in 2011, down from 250,000 in the previous year. The current definition of fuel poverty is a household spending more than 10 per cent of its income on fuel.
There are plans to change the way that fuel poverty is measured to reflect that the problem is more pressing for low income households - known as the Low Income High Cost (LIHC) measure.
The total classed as fuel poor under the LIHC measure is lower - 2.6million - but the trend has been the same. There were 100,000 fewer people were in LIHC fuel poverty in 2011, compared with 2010.
However, the fuel poverty gap – a new measure on the depth of that poverty – went up over the same period. The fuel poverty gap is the difference between the required spending faced by fuel poor households and the median level.
The report said that households in fuel poverty by the LIHC measure would need their bills to fall by £448 a year for them to be lifted out of fuel poverty, up £26 from the previous year.
A spokesman from DECC said the overall fall in the number of fuel poor households was due to an increase in incomes among poorer households and improvements in energy efficiency.
More... Energy bills: Is it worth switching and which are the best deals? Npower launches longest fixed price tariff - should you fix your bills for three and a half years? Extra £99 a month for bills would push almost half of UK households over the edge Compare: Find cheaper energy bills - compare tariffsDECC added that the figures were based on two years of calculations and therefore more recent price rises have not have been factored in.
Mind the gap: The amount that people have to pay to not be considered fuel poor has gone up by £26 in the last year.Energy and Climate Change Minister, Greg Barker, said: 'I am very encouraged by this modest fall in the number of households living in fuel poverty.
'But there is absolutely no room for complacency. There is still an unacceptably high number of people living in cold, damp, unhealthy conditions.
'However after years of year-on-year growth in the number of fuel poor households we are starting to make progress, but the Coalition Government is determined to do even more.
'While we can’t control volatile international energy prices, which always have the potential to undermine progress, it is clear that our determined focus on improving home energy efficiency is proving a highly effective weapon in this battle.'
Falling: The number of households considered to be fuel poor is at its lowest level since the financial crisis started in 2008.
