Tackling fuel poverty

Fuel poverty support is currently ten times greater per person assisted in Scotland and Wales than in England. There can be no justification for this.

Councillor David Williams comments:

“A fair taxation system would deliver an end to fuel poverty in a rich country like the UK. However, the new Government definition of fuel poverty reduced numbers of households in fuel poverty in the country from 5.1 million to 1.2 million, in 2013. Consequently, maps of fuel poverty such as those offered by Oxfordshire County Council radically under-state households in fuel poverty and at risk in the coming winter.

“Oxfordshire Green Party has already pushed for more support for energy cooperatives as a way to reduce energy costs. But the local councils throughout the County need to fully identify all households in need of insulation, double glazing, boiler upgrades and the introduction of solar thermal units and solar panels. The Green Deal and Fuel poverty cannot be dealt with by Low Carbon Oxford and our Citizens Advice Bureaux alone, we need our local councils to take great care since household incomes have gone down so much in recent years, reducing the capacity of many households to pay rising energy bills.

“We urge all councils covering Oxfordshire to adopt the London Living Wage rate of £8.80 as a target to help people escape from fuel poverty.”