New research has revealed the amount of government aid available to help households install energy efficiency measures has fallen drastically since 2012…
Cold homes kills thousands of people each year. An analysis from researchers at University College London said more than 9,000 deaths during 2014-15 could be attributed to cold properties. Data from the Office for National Statistics also reported some 43,900 excess winter deaths overall in England and Wales in 2014-15.
Despite this fact research has revealed a significant fall in the number of households receiving government aid to improve their energy use. Figures showed a massive 75 per cent reduction since 2012 following cuts to government programmes aimed at making homes warmer and cheaper to heat.
According to the Association for the Conservation of Energy (ACE) the number of efficiency measures installed through government-backed schemes fell from 1.7 million a year in 2012 to 340,000 now. A significant decline was seen during 2013-14, as previous schemes were replaced by both the Green Deal, which was scrapped last year, and the Energy Companies Obligation (ECO).
Jenny Holland, of ACE said: “These research findings are truly shocking. The UK has some of the worst housing stock in Europe, with levels of fuel poverty unheard of in much colder countries like Sweden. But Treasury help to upgrade our freezing homes has been slashed to the bone.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Energy and Climate Change said: “This government is serious about making vulnerable people’s homes warmer and keeping energy bills low.
“That is why we are increasing support for those who need it most – the fuel-poor and vulnerable – whilst reducing the impact on people’s energy bills by cutting support for those able to pay.”
There are reportedly some five million people still living in cold homes, with the number thought to be closer to 13 million, as the government changed how it measured fuel poverty in 2013.
The government put forward a legally binding rule in 2000 to eradicate fuel poverty by 2016. However, this is a target that will be missed.
