Forum Brief: Fuel poverty

People who are too poor to make their homes energy-efficient are missing out on a key benefit, MPs have claimed.

Forum Response: Counsel and Care

Martin Green chief executive of Counsel and Care told ePolitix.com: "The public accounts committee's criticism of the warm front scheme, highlights the need to look closely at all the initiatives designed to end fuel poverty and to ensure they are effective. I hope the committee will follow up this criticism with some clear advice on how to improve fuel efficiency for the poorest people in society."

Forum Response: Help the Aged

Mervyn Kohler, head of public affairs at Help the Aged, told ePolitix.com: "The public accounts committee report on Warm Front makes clear that the scheme is poorly targeted, with perhaps only 40 per cent of grant recipients being in fuel poverty.

"There is clearly room for improvement. But many of those who are not technically 'fuel poor' are far from well-off, and there is a case for leaving some room to manoeuvre.

"It would be ludicrous to spend a large part of the programme money on finding the eligible claimants on narrow and often imprecise definitions: the point is to get work done, improve the quality of our housing, save the excessive use of fossil fuel and make a real difference to the quality of people's lives.

"The Committee has also identified the need for the Warm Front scheme to be more adaptable, and to ensure that the people it is designed to benefit really are lifted out of fuel poverty. The present rules are bureaucratic and inflexible. They also allow for 'help', amounting to the supply of a couple of low energy light bulbs, to be deemed appropriate. In cases like these, amounting to £14 million of public money, no-one is really benefiting.

"Rather than dream up ever more complicated eligibility criteria for the scheme the government should just look north of the border, where the popular Scottish version of Warm Front is proving much more successful. By simply providing appropriate heating and insulation to pensioners who don't have it, they really are helping those living in cold homes rather than tinkering round the edges as the schemes in England and Wales so often do.

"South of the border, Warm Front also fails the many pensioners who struggle on with old and ineffective heating systems. These heaters cannot be replaced until they break completely, often leaving the owner at severe risk. Scotland is again leading the way by making sure vulnerable pensioners can't fall into this trap - the English and Welsh schemes should follow suit.

"This report is timely and pertinent, as discussions are under way to redesign the scheme for 2005-08, and its findings must be noted by the government. The solutions for our older population living in cold, damp homes are not rocket science, and the Warm Front scheme should be delivering them."

Forum Response: Age Concern

Age Concern's director-general, Gordon Lishman, said: "This report confirms our long-standing concerns that money provided by this scheme isn't getting to those who need it.

"Given that around 24,000 older people died of cold-related illness last winter, the government must look at ways of improving this scheme to reach people who really are 'fuel poor'.

"Many vulnerable older people currently miss out on this scheme and continue to live in cold homes either because their incomes are just above the income support level or because they do not claim the benefits they are due.

"We strongly welcome this report and urge the government to take notice of the committee's findings."