Written question asked by Lord Vinson (Conservative), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Marland (Conservative) on Tuesday, 8 June 2010.

Energy: Fuel Poverty

Question: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the forecast increase in the number of those classified as being in fuel poverty due to electricity cost increases from increasing expenditure on renewable energy infrastructure and payments under the feed-in tariff scheme due to Government and European Union carbon reduction targets.

Answer: The latest projections indicate that fuel poverty in England is likely to rise to around 4.6 million households in 2009. The projections are based on known changes in prices, and conservative estimates of income change and energy efficiency improvements in the housing stock. Projections for 2010 will be published on 14 October, which will be based on known aggregated price increases and will not be able to identify the change in fuel poverty with any specific measure.

Secondary information