National Energy Action (NEA) and Energy Action Scotland (EAS) published the UK Fuel Poverty Monitor 2022-23 on 31 January 2024, warning that the UK government will miss its legal fuel poverty target in England. The charities say three million households in England will still be in fuel poverty by 2030, the same number as under the government's official definition today1. The report draws on a Call for Evidence that received 136 responses and on interviews with fuel poor households2.
Independent analysis by Gemserv Ltd, commissioned for the report, quantifies a funding gap of at least £18 billion for energy efficiency measures needed to bring fuel poor homes in England to a reasonable standard by the end of the decade. The report states this gap falls to £10.8 billion if combined with effective regulation of private and social landlords1. NEA chief executive Adam Scorer said:
"Based on current 'progress' we estimate three million households in England alone will still be trapped in fuel poverty by 2030, the same number who are currently in fuel poverty in England. Three million households left cold, damp and unhealthy. Governments risk missing their legal targets, but those living in fuel poverty are at risk of so much more."
The report says two fifths of all fuel poor households in England are private renters, and 37% of the most expensive to heat homes are in that tenure. It recommends extending Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards in the private rented sector to energy performance rating C by 2030, alongside reintroducing tax allowances for landlords1. The charities also call for cross-departmental fuel poverty strategies across the UK nations, and for the Treasury to commit up to £2 billion a year in additional central investment1.
The modelling sets out benefits it attributes to meeting the target in England1:
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Average yearly household energy bill saving | £480 |
| Total cumulative household energy bill savings, 2022-2030 | £5bn |
| Increased capital value of private rented properties | £3bn |
| Employment impact | 22,000 full time jobs |
| Reduced carbon emissions, cumulative, 2022-2030 | 8,200 tCO2e |
Gemserv applied a cost cap per property because of data limitations, so the model gives indicative costs for improving 90% of fuel poor homes to EPC C. It assumes £0.7 billion of ongoing annual fuel bill support after 2030 for fuel poor households not reaching EPC C through efficiency improvements1. The report notes that actual costs may vary with the number of fuel poor households each year, the effectiveness of targeting, and administration costs1.
Why it matters for households
The report's central claim is that the number of English households in fuel poverty will not fall by 2030 on current plans, meaning the same households remain exposed to cold, damp homes and to energy price shocks. For a household, the practical link between the funding gap and the home is the energy performance of the building: the report's measures are aimed at the fabric of fuel poor homes, and its £480 average annual bill saving figure is the modelled effect of that work1. The private rented sector carries particular weight in the analysis, since renters cannot commission insulation or heating upgrades themselves and depend on landlords and enforcement1. The report also models benefits across the whole UK if energy efficiency-based targets existed outside England, noting England is the only UK nation with such a target1. Wider data on fuel poverty and housing conditions is collected in the market-data hub.
What happens next
The full report was published on the NEA website at 5pm on 31 January 20241. On 18 December, the UK government announced details of £6 billion in funding for decarbonising homes between 2025 and 2028, first announced in Autumn 20221. The report's recommendations, including the extension of MEES to EPC C by 2030 and £2 billion a year in additional central investment, have not been reported as adopted.