Fuel poverty in the United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, there are different definitions of fuel poverty. In England, a household is considered to be in fuel poverty if they are living in a property with an energy efficiency rating of band D or below, and if after heating their home to an adequate level, they fall below the official poverty line. In Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, the definition of fuel poverty is whether a household needs to spend more than 10% of their income on energy bills to heat their home to an adequate level of warmth. To be considered adequate, the main living room needs to be 21 °C (70 °F), and other occupied rooms 18 °C (64 °F) during the daytime, with lower temperatures allowed at night.

Definition history

In England the definition of fuel poverty was redefined in 2014, and is now measured using the Low Income Low Energy Efficiency (LILEE) indicator. A household is considered to be fuel poor if they are living in a property with an energy efficiency rating of band D or below, and after heating their home to an adequate level, they are below the official poverty line. The official poverty line is considered to be a residual income 60% below the median household income after housing costs. Adequate warmth is considered to be 21 °C (70 °F) in the main living room and 18 °C (64 °F) in other occupied rooms during daytime hours, with lower temperatures at night, following the recommendations of the World Health Organization.

In January 2014, the UK Cameron-Clegg coalition government redefined fuel poverty to only include households if they were below the official poverty line and spent more than average on energy. This redefinition lifted 6% of UK households out of fuel poverty, and was criticised at the time by the cross-party Commons environmental audit committee for moving the goal posts instead of alleviating the problem.