National Fuel Poverty Figures

It is estimated that around 2 million UK households are fuel poor with 1.5 million of these being vulnerable households. This is likely to rise sharply due to substantial wholesale price rises in gas and electricity. In England it is estimated that these rises have forced 800,000 vulnerable households in to fuel poverty between 2003-2006 and will force an extra 200,000 in to fuel poverty by 2010. It is estimated that for every 1% rise in fuel prices this pushes an extra 50,000 vulnerable homes in England in to fuel poverty. Locally, fuel price rises since 2003 have pushed an extra 14,300 households into fuel poverty. 

Fuel Poverty in the Wakefield District

Fuel poverty is notoriously difficult to measure and monitor given the complexity of the issues. In October 2006 the Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) were commissioned to produce a detailed analysis of fuel poverty in the District with the aim of creating a baseline. CSE will also produce annual updates against this baseline in 2008, 2009 and 2010 to help monitor the progress of the Wakefield Affordable Warmth Strategy 2007-2010.

The fuel poverty analysis was based on modelled data from the 2001 Census, 2003 English House Condition Survey and the property database, RESIDATA. The analysis uses the ‘basic income’ definition of fuel poverty, in which income excludes Housing Benefit and Mortgage Interest Relief.

Headline Fuel Poverty Figures for the Wakefield District

The baseline rate of fuel poverty in Wakefield for 2007 was 18.2% or 24,240 households.

(Please note this is a revised rate and slightly lower than the figures quoted in the Wakefield Affordable Warmth Strategy 2007-2010).

The levels of fuel poverty have risen sharply since 2003 due to fuel price rises. The average rate of fuel poverty in Wakefield in 2003 was 7.7% (10,200 households). This is the same rate as Yorkshire and Humberside. The average rate of fuel poverty in England in 2003 was 7.2%.

There are ‘pockets’ of concentrated fuel poverty in some areas of Wakefield. There are high concentrations of fuel poverty within the wards of Castleford Glasshoughton, Hemsworth, South Elmsall & South Kirkby, Wakefield Central, Featherstone, Castleford Ferry Fryston and Knottingley.

Apart from these concentrations, fuel poor households are dispersed widely across the district. For example, over a third of Wakefield’s fuel poor households live in the 4 least fuel poor areas. Conversely, 15% of households live in the first most fuel poor area.