Fuel Poverty Statistics by Local Area

Fuel poverty is not spread evenly across the country. Within a single region of England, or a single nation such as Scotland, the share of households unable to afford adequate heating varies enormously from one local authority to the next, and the official statistics now publish estimates at exactly that level. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) produces sub-regional fuel poverty figures for every local authority in England, most recently for 2024 data published on 14 May 2026¹, and the Scottish Government publishes local authority tables from the Scottish House Condition Survey, which show rates ranging from 22 per cent in Stirling to 51 per cent in Orkney Islands against a Scotland average of 31 per cent².

These are modelled estimates, not counts of named households, and the way fuel poverty is defined differs between England and the other UK nations, so a rate for a Scottish council area cannot be read against a rate for an English borough as though they measured the same thing³. What the figures do give, reliably, is a picture of where the concentration of cold, unaffordable homes sits, and that picture changes only slowly, because it is driven by the housing stock and local incomes rather than by a single winter's prices.

What fuel poverty means, and how each nation measures it

Fuel poverty is a devolved policy area, and it is defined and measured differently in different parts of the UK³. That single fact shapes everything on this page, because the headline rates for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are not produced on a common scale.

In England, the definition changed in 2013. A household is now said to be in fuel poverty if it would have to spend more than the median amount on fuel to keep the home at a reasonable temperature, and spending that amount would put its income below the poverty line⁶. This is the Low Income High Costs indicator, and the figures used in the English sub-regional statistics follow it. Before 2013, England used the same simple test that the other nations still use.

That older test, which originated as the common UK definition, counts a household as fuel poor if it would have to spend more than 10 per cent of its income to keep the home at a reasonable temperature⁶. Ofgem still describes the position in those terms: households needing to spend more than 10 per cent of their annual income on fuel to maintain an adequately heated home⁷. Northern Ireland uses the same 10 per cent threshold⁸, as does Wales, where the definition covers households needing to pay more than 10 per cent of their full household income to maintain a satisfactory heating regime⁹.

Scotland has its own statutory definition. Under the Fuel Poverty (Targets, Definition and Strategy) (Scotland) Act 2019, a household is in fuel poverty if it has to spend more than 10 per cent of its income on fuel costs to maintain a satisfactory heating regime, with a higher threshold of more than 20 per cent marking extreme fuel poverty¹⁰. The Scottish test also takes housing costs into account: more than 10 per cent, or 20 per cent for extreme fuel poverty, of net income is required to pay for reasonable fuel needs after housing costs have been deducted¹¹.

For a household trying to understand its own position, the practical meaning is the same everywhere: fuel poverty describes households that must spend a high proportion of their income to keep their home at a reasonable temperature³. For the independence angle, fuel poverty marks the point at which a home's dependence on purchased energy, gas, electricity, oil or solid fuel, starts to crowd out other spending. Better insulated homes and self-generated energy reduce that exposure, which is why fuel poverty statistics and energy performance data are so often read together.

The sub-national statistics: what they cover and what they claim

The sub-regional fuel poverty statistics are the official figures that break England's national count down to local authority level. They carry the status of Official Statistics, cover England only, and were last updated on 14 May 2026 with the 2026 report on 2024 data¹². The ONS, presenting the same indicator on its Explore local statistics service, is more precise about their standing: estimates at the sub-regional level are official statistics in development, and they are modelled and constrained to regional figures¹³.

That phrase "official statistics in development" matters for how the numbers should be read. It is a recognised statistical status, explained in more detail in our guide to reading UK energy statistics, and it signals that the method is still being evaluated. The national fuel poverty statistics that anchor the sub-regional estimates are different: the annual fuel poverty statistics report for 2026, covering 2024 and 2025 data, is classed as accredited official statistics¹⁴. The sub-regional figures are constrained so that they add up to those better-established regional totals¹³.

The publication history shows a steady annual rhythm. The 2024 report, on 2022 data, was published on 25 April 2024 and last updated on 5 December 2024¹⁵. The 2025 report followed with 2023 data¹⁶, and the 2026 report with 2024 data¹. Each release replaces the previous one as the current best estimate, and because the figures are modelled, they are subject to revision when the underlying survey data or methodology is updated.

For Scotland, the equivalent local figures come from a different machine entirely, described in the sections below. There is no single UK-wide local authority dataset, and any fuel poverty map that appears to show the whole UK at council level is stitching together figures produced on different definitions.

England: 3.17 million households, about 13 per cent

The most recent firm English figure under the current definition is for 2023: an estimated 13 per cent of households, 3.17 million, were living in fuel poverty under the Low Income Low Energy Efficiency metric⁴. A parliamentary committee report quoted the same position, and the figure has been widely used as the benchmark for England⁴.

More recent figures exist, and they differ. The annual fuel poverty statistics report for 2026 gives a provisional 2025 estimate of 2.36 million households, or 9.4 per cent⁵, and a government report on the heat pump transition states that fuel poverty affected 2.36 million households in England in 2025, representing 9.4 per cent of all households¹⁷. Earlier still, a Lords debate in September 2025 put the position differently: "In England alone, some 2.7 million households are trapped in fuel poverty"¹⁸. A trade body summary, writing in 2024, gave around 13 per cent of households in England classified as fuel-poor¹⁹.

These figures differ because they measure different years and, in some cases, different definitions. The 3.17 million and 13 per cent figure is the 2023 estimate under the Low Income Low Energy Efficiency metric⁴; the 2.36 million and 9.4 per cent figure is the provisional 2025 estimate⁵; the 2.7 million figure was a statement in a parliamentary debate¹⁸. When looking up a rate for your own area, check which year and which definition the figure refers to before comparing it with anything else.

Within England, the sub-regional statistics break this national picture down. The fuel poverty rate also varies by heating fuel: among households using other fuels such as LPG, community heating or solid fuels, 11.5 per cent were in fuel poverty in 2025²⁰. The local authority estimates in the 2026 report show how unevenly the national 9 to 13 per cent is distributed, with some areas well above and some well below the average.

Scottish House Condition Survey data by council area

Scotland produces its local figures from the Scottish House Condition Survey rather than from the English-style modelling exercise. The local authority tables for 2022 to 2024, published on 26 May 2026, show fuel poverty rates ranging from 22 per cent in Stirling to 51 per cent in Orkney Islands, against a Scotland average of 31 per cent². The same tables note that five local authorities had significantly lower fuel poverty rates than the national average².

The spread between 22 and 51 per cent is the widest of any UK nation's local statistics, and it reflects Scotland's housing and geography. The Scottish House Condition Survey key findings for 2024 show how strongly the rate varies by area type and tenure:

Earlier survey years show the same pattern. In 2022, the rate for remote rural households was 47 per cent, higher than for all other areas, and extreme fuel poverty among remote rural households, at 35 per cent, was higher than for any other area²³. In 2021, 37 per cent of households renting from a local authority and 30 per cent of households renting from a housing association were fuel poor, and households in the 15 per cent most deprived areas had a fuel poverty rate of 30 per cent compared with 18 per cent elsewhere²⁴.

Heating fuel matters too. In Scotland in 2024, an estimated 27 per cent of households using gas for heating were in fuel poverty, compared with 23 per cent of those using heating oil and 26 per cent using other fuels²⁰. The Scottish Government has also reported that 44 per cent of those living in the private rented sector in Scotland are in fuel poverty²⁵. A separate Fuel Poverty Index for Scotland scores each local authority from 1 to 100, offering a complementary way of comparing areas²⁶.

Where the data comes from: DESNZ and the source surveys

The English sub-regional figures are produced by DESNZ. The ONS records the department as the data source for the fuel poverty indicator on its Explore local statistics service, where fuel poverty is one of 116 local indicators¹³. The figures are modelled estimates for England based on data from the English Housing Survey, and household and fuel poverty numbers at region level come from the national fuel poverty statistics, 2024¹³. The DESNZ source data underpinning the indicator was published on 14 May 2026¹³.

Modelling, rather than direct counting, is the only practical way to produce estimates for every local authority, because no survey interviews enough households in each small area to count them directly. The estimates are constrained to the regional totals from the national statistics, so the local figures always sum to the published regional picture¹³. The trade-off is familiar from any modelled dataset: the smaller the area, the wider the uncertainty around any single number.

The national statistics that anchor these figures are themselves built on survey data and published annually. The annual fuel poverty statistics report for 2026, first published on 26 March 2026 and republished on 7 August 2026 to correct a calculation error on benefit receipt and the description of the median affordability indicator, covers 2024 and 2025 data and includes projections of the number of households in fuel poverty in 2025 and 2026¹⁴.

Scotland's figures come from a different route: direct survey estimates from the Scottish House Condition Survey, pooled over several years to give enough sample in each council area². Northern Ireland's fuel poverty statistics are published separately by the Department for Communities⁸, and Wales's strategy documents carry its definitions and targets⁹. For readers who want the production story behind the national numbers, our page on fuel poverty statistics and how the numbers are produced covers it in depth.

Understanding the numbers for where you live

To look up a single area in England, the practical route is the DESNZ sub-regional fuel poverty report, which publishes estimates for every local authority alongside regional and national comparators¹. The ONS Explore local statistics service presents the same indicator in a map and table format, alongside other local indicators, which makes it easier to compare a fuel poverty rate with, say, local energy consumption figures¹³.

Three points make the comparison fair. First, check the data year: the current report covers 2024 data¹, and older reports cover 2023 and 2022 data respectively¹⁶. Second, remember the figures are modelled estimates constrained to regional totals, so a difference of a point or two between neighbouring authorities may not be meaningful¹³. Third, compare like with like: an English local authority rate cannot be set against a Scottish one, because the definitions differ³.

In Scotland, the starting point is the Scottish House Condition Survey local authority tables, which give each council area's fuel poverty rate over the pooled survey years, with the 2022 to 2024 tables showing the 22 to 51 per cent range around the 31 per cent average². The Fuel Poverty Index adds a 1 to 100 score per authority for a different lens on the same question²⁶.

For a household asking whether its own area is unusually bad, the useful comparisons are the national rate for the same year and definition, the regional rate, and the rates of neighbouring authorities. The sub-regional report publishes all three levels together for exactly this purpose¹.

What causes big gaps in rates across areas

The local differences are not statistical noise. They track real, persistent differences in housing, income and fuel supply.

Rurality is one of the strongest drivers in Scotland. In 2024, the fuel poverty rate for households in remote small towns, 47 per cent, was higher than all other areas except remote rural households, and levels of extreme fuel poverty were higher in rural areas, 17 per cent, than urban areas, 13 per cent²¹. In 2021 the same survey found rates highest for remote rural households at 21 per cent and lowest for other urban areas and accessible small towns at 8 per cent²⁴. The Scottish Government's fuel poverty strategy notes that fuel poor households in inefficient homes are more likely to live in remote rural areas, 13 per cent versus 8 per cent²⁷. An island communities impact assessment for the heat buildings strategy recorded fuel poverty levels of 43 per cent in remote rural areas and 34 per cent in remote small towns, against 24 per cent in urban areas²⁸.

Tenure is the second driver. Scotland's 2024 survey found overall rates of fuel poverty differed between the social sector, 49 per cent, and the private sector, 22 per cent, with extreme fuel poverty at 22 per cent and 11 per cent respectively²². Households renting from a local authority had a 52 per cent rate and those renting from a housing association 45 per cent²¹.

Deprivation and fuel type complete the picture. In 2024, 41 per cent of households in the 15 per cent most deprived areas of Scotland were in fuel poverty²¹. Off-gas households face higher costs per unit of heat: 23 per cent of Scottish households using heating oil were in fuel poverty in 2024, and 26 per cent of those using other fuels²⁰. A social tariff working group report noted 26 per cent of households using oil in 2023²⁹.

For England, the same forces work through the model: areas with older housing stock, lower incomes and more off-gas homes show higher estimated rates. The pattern is why housing stock data and fuel poverty data are so often read together.

The national picture: around 6 million UK households

No single official statistic counts fuel poverty across the whole UK, because the definitions differ. The nearest thing to a UK figure comes from the charity National Energy Action, which estimated that 4.5 million households were in fuel poverty in the UK in October 2025³. More recently, National Energy Action's estimate has risen: it now puts the figure at over six million households in fuel poverty³⁰. A senior industry figure quoted the same scale: "If you look across the UK we see more than 6 million homes who are in or approaching levels of fuel poverty."³⁰

The two figures differ, and both are charity estimates rather than official statistics: the 4.5 million figure is an October 2025 estimate³, while the "over six million" figure is a later estimate that includes households approaching fuel poverty as well as those in it³⁰. Official national figures remain lower because they are produced on each nation's own definition: 2.36 million households in England in 2025, provisional, at 9.4 per cent⁵, and around 20 per cent of households in Scotland¹⁹.

For the UK's energy independence picture, the fuel poverty numbers are the sharpest measure of how exposed households remain to purchased energy. A home that cannot afford its heat is entirely dependent on the price set by the market and the supplier, with no buffer from efficiency or self-generation. That is why fuel poverty rates sit alongside energy prices over time and household energy debt statistics in the national debate.

Help if you cannot afford to heat your home

If the figures on this page describe your own household, free help exists. National Energy Action runs a fuel poverty advice line on 0800 304 7159, offering advice and support to help people across England, Wales and Northern Ireland stay warm and manage energy costs³¹. The service provides free advice about energy bills and keeping warm and safe in your home, and can also help with benefits advice and income maximisation³².

Local councils also publish help with energy bills: Birmingham City Council, for example, signposts residents to the National Energy Action advice line alongside other support³². If you are struggling with your energy bills, the Energy Ombudsman also publishes advice for consumers worried about their energy bills³¹.