Asked by Baroness Donaghy To ask Her Majesty’s Government
what is their estimate of the number of households in fuel poverty;
and what action they intend to take to reduce that number. The
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business,
Energy and Industrial Strategy (Lord Prior of Brampton) (Con)
My Lords, the latest official...Request free trial
Asked by
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To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of
the number of households in fuel poverty; and what action
they intend to take to reduce that number.
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Lord Prior of
Brampton) (Con)
My Lords, the latest official statistics show that in 2015
there were 2.5 million households in England living in fuel
poverty. Some 70% of the £640 million energy company
obligation is focused on improving the energy efficiency of
these households. We also propose to bring an end to high
energy prices by putting in place a price cap on standard
variable and default tariffs and retaining the warm home
discount.
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(Lab)
I thank the Minister for his Answer. It appears ironical to
me that a Question on fuel poverty is answered by saying
that all consumers are being ripped off. The figures that
we have been given may be the tip of the iceberg, as many
older or infirm people need extra heating and do not appear
in these statistics. The Minister will be aware, because of
his previous responsibilities, of the premature deaths due
to cold houses and the increase in childhood illnesses. The
Government are missing their own targets and not fulfilling
their legal obligations on this issue. Can the Government
give us some information about what practical steps are
being taken to eliminate the scourge of fuel poverty in the
approaching winter?
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I assure the noble Baroness that we take fuel poverty
extremely seriously. Interestingly, there are 835,000 fewer
fuel-poor homes within bands E, F and G than there were in
2010, so there are signs that targeting the energy company
obligation more specifically at lower-income families is
having an effect. With the Digital Economy Bill having gone
through the House of Commons, I hope that we can target our
resources more accurately to ensure that we meet the
obligations set out in the sustainable growth paper that
came out last week.
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(CB)
My Lords, will the Minister confirm that the delay in
paying universal credit when it has been approved will be
cut from six weeks to four weeks? What are the prospects of
further reductions in that time delay?
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My Lords, I am not able to answer that question. It is not
specifically related to the Question in front of us, but it
is none the less extremely important and I will write to
the noble Lord later.
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(LD)
My Lords, can the Minister tell us why the Government have
extended from 12 months to 18 months the period in which
the energy company obligation will operate, and why they
have put a cap on boilers in that transition period? Could
the Government use the upcoming Budget to make sure that
emergency funding is available to the most vulnerable for
boiler repairs and replacement?
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My Lords, I believe that the ECO is there until 2028. I do
not recognise the 18-month figure that the noble Baroness
mentions, but I will check that afterwards. As for how we
spend the money under the energy company obligation, there
is clear evidence that it is better put towards longer-term
improvements such as insulation than the short-term repair
of boilers. However, part of the ECO is spent on boiler
repair.
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(CB)
My Lords, more than 6 million older people are very worried
about this winter, and 14% go back to bed during the day
because they are so worried about their fuel bills and
doing so will keep the cost down. Will the Government
commit to reforming the energy efficiency programme so that
it is a national infrastructure priority? Will they also
commit to bringing 2 million low-income homes up to the
performance certificate standard band C by 2020 and all 6
million by 2025, as Age UK has requested?
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The noble Baroness is right that fuel poverty is a
desperate problem for many people. We have a target to
bring everyone up to band C by 2030, to band D by 2025 and
to band E by 2020. That was reiterated in the Conservative
Party manifesto and we intend to keep to it.
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(Con)
My Lords, I commend the Government on the work they are doing
to make homes warmer; I speak as vice-president of the NEA.
Will the Minister take the simple measure of encouraging
private landlords to improve their property by replacing
single-glazed windows with double glazing wherever they can?
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My noble friend makes a good point. As she will know, we are
putting an obligation on all private landlords so that if
they rent out their properties in 2018, they must have at
least a band E category certificate on them. That will begin
to make the kind of difference to which my noble friend
refers.
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Lord O’Neill of Clackmannan (Lab)
My Lords, I draw attention to my interests as set out in the
register. The Minister will be aware that some 850,000
households, or 35%, of the people in fuel poverty are in the
privately rented sector. In 2011, the coalition Government
introduced regulations which are to take effect next year,
but as far as can be discerned, very little in the way of
instructions have been given to private landlords to carry
out the necessary improvements to change the dreadful
conditions that prevail for so many people. They now have
less than a year to do something about it. Will the
Government give us a clear indication of what will be
required of landlords and when that will be published, so
that landlords can get on with the job, if they have the
stomach and resources to do it?
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The noble Lord raises a very important point. As he will
know, from 2018 private landlords will not be able to let
their property to new tenants unless the property is at least
Band E. The cost of getting to Band E is an issue that is
under negotiation at the moment with , the Minister responsible
for green energy. I hope that we will make some serious
progress in that area over the next few months.
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(CB)
My Lords, is it not a scandal that in 2017 any household
should be living in fuel poverty?
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My Lords, that is a question that should be directed at
poverty as a whole. The fact of the matter is that successive
Governments, on both sides of this House and the other House,
have done what they can to reduce poverty and to create a
just and fairer society. So long as there are people living
in poverty, whether fuel poverty or any other form of
poverty, we have clearly failed.
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