An influential committee of MPs has accused the government of moving the goalposts so fewer households are recorded as being in fuel poverty, usually defined as those households that spend more than 10 per cent of their income on keeping warm.
The Environmental Audit Committee claims the government has redefining the total of those counted as “fuel-poor” by reducing the number from 3.2 million households to 2.4 million at a stroke.
Labour MP Joan Walley, who chairs the committee, has protested: “The government is shifting the goal-posts on fuel poverty so that official statistics record far fewer households as fuel-poor.”
Changes to the fuel poverty definition and target should be stopped unless the government was prepared to make a public commitment to end fuel poverty altogether.
The government should not weaken its commitment to “eliminate” fuel poverty as it made changes to “green levies” that funded energy efficiency improvements for the poorest bill payers.
“A short-term bid to cut bills must not throw energy and climate change policy off-course,” she said.
In the longer term green levies, could actually keep bills down if they drive energy efficiency improvements that cut the cost of heating our homes.
“Insulating homes and supporting green technologies is vital to help the fuel poor and cut the emissions causing climate change,” she added.
