Rising numbers finding themselves in fuel poverty - Lamb

5.29.22pm GMT Thu 26th Jan 2006

Energy price figures issued today by the Department of Trade and Industry show that domestic electricity prices and domestic gas prices rose by 7.5% and 11.4% respectively in real terms in the year to Q3 2005.

Using the DTI's own fuel poverty 'ready-reckoner', which predicts that a 1% real change in both gas and electricity prices would imply an increase of around 40,000 households in fuel poverty - this means a further 434,000 households have slipped into fuel poverty since last year.

A Parliamentary Answer to Liberal Democrat Shadow DTI Secretary, Norman Lamb MP, shows that in 2003, the last year for which figures are available, there were already 1 million vulnerable households in fuel poverty, and that the Government expected increase of up to 800,000 between 2003 and 2006.

Commenting on the figures, Mr Lamb said:

"The continued rise in domestic energy prices over the last year has undoubtedly dramatically increased the number of households, particularly the poor elderly people and families on low incomes, entering fuel poverty status."

"The resulting increase in the number of households in fuel poverty is at a much faster rate than the Government has previously predicted."

"This increase is completely contrary to the Government's fuel strategy announced in 2001 in which they pledged to eliminate fuel poverty for vulnerable households by 2010 and for all households by 2016. More must be done to reverse this trend."