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Tag Archives: Fuel Poverty
Reductions to Warm Front Grants in West Ham and Newham
10 Feb 2012: London has historically fared poorly under the Government’s Warm Front programme, as has been detailed in earlier posts here. There’s been some criticism of Warm Front in recent weeks (see here and here) that, despite Government cuts made in 2011, there has been a significant underspend to the programme this year.
NEA have reported that London has seen a 67 per cent reduction in applications over the period March – December 2011 when compared with the same period in the previous year (a similar reduction has been seen in other regions).
West Ham MP Lyn Brown has recently asked DECC a Parliamentary Question about the level of Warm Front grants provided in her constituency and in the wider Newham area. The full answer can be seen here (scroll to column 274).
In summary:
West Ham saw a Warm Front spend-high in 2008/09 of £517,913 with 540 homes assisted.
Similarly Newham saw a Warm Front high the same year with a spend of £1,369,686 and 1340 homes assisted.
Provisional figures for 2011/12 are only available at the moment but they serve to illustrate the level of reduction:
West Ham has seen a spend of £94,736 with only 32 homes assisted.
Newham has seen a spend of £219,503 and 70 homes assisted.
Latest Fuel Poverty Updates for London
February 2012: National Energy Action (NEA) have just published their latest estimates of fuel poverty across the UK, which include regional breakdowns. The briefing document (link here; document here) reports that:
- There are an estimated 6.6 million UK households live in fuel poverty
- By October 2011 all six major suppliers had raised their energy prices adding approximately £300 onto the average household energy bill
- Last winter brought an estimated 25,400 excess winter deaths (page 13 of the paper)
- Of which provisional figures estimate that 2,500 deaths were in London
- There has been an increase in the number of fuel poor households in London from 401,859 (13.3%) in 2009 to 564,691 (18.6%) in 2011 (page 15 of the paper)
Age Concern Highlight Fuel Poverty in London
February 2012: The latest issue of Age Concern London’s quarterly magazine London Age focuses on the problem of older people facing fuel poverty in the capital, highlighting a number of programmes currently underway.
Energy and Climate Questions to the Mayor
January 2012: This month the Mayor has been asked questions in relation to:
Renewable Electricity used by London Underground; Energy and CO2 emissions associated with lighting tube stations; the Budget spend for energy efficiency programme RE:NEW; the level of payments to assessors of energy efficiency programme RE:NEW; carbon savings achieved by the ten easy measures used in the RE:NEW programme; the carbon savings achieved to date by the RE:NEW programme; the Mayors records in raising key London issues with energy companies; the growth of renewable energy over the Mayor’s term; the borough roll-out of RE:NEW; an update on the numbers of homes treated under RE:NEW; a breakdown of the RE:NEW programme budget; the success of RE:NEW energy efficiency programme; CO2 savings achieved through planning; Guidance on low carbon cooling systems; Fuel Poverty in East London; an update on the capacity of combined heat and power (CHP); an update on the Mayor’s Hydrogen Action Plan; and Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) funding in London boroughs.
Previous questions to the Mayor can be found here.
Posted in News
Tagged CERT, CHP, Fuel Poverty, London Underground, Mayor, RE:NEW, Renewable Energy
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Hackney Winter Warm Up protest
31 January 2012: Hackney Gazette news story on a protest outside Hackney Town Hall against rising fuel prices and the increase in fuel poverty. The Independent additionally highlighted how “Events organised by the Fuel Poverty Action Group at the weekend took place in Lewisham, Oxford, Leeds, Cambridge, Haringey, Hackney, the City of London and elsewhere as anger at energy firms’ high prices took to the streets. The campaigners say their demands are simple: they ask for a fair energy system which provides warm housing for all and a safe climate for our future.“
‘London faces £500 million shortfall in share of fuel poverty and climate change funds’
20 January 2012: London Councils have responded to the Government’s Green Deal consultation stating that “London needs a fair share of government Green Deal cash to help people afford home improvements such as solid wall insulation. To date less than five per cent of the national pot to help support ‘retro-fitting’ (upgrading the energy-efficiency of existing homes) has been spent in London, despite the capital housing 13 per cent of the population. Funds for carbon saving and affordable warmth schemes available under the government’s new Green Deal should be allocated on a regional basis, says London Councils.”
Councillor Catherine West, chair of London Councils Transport and Environment Committee, said:
“The Green Deal is vital to London, good for the environment and good for people’s pockets. It can help us to tackle the growing problem of fuel poverty in London, but the government’s proposals exclude many of the people that need help most.
“London has a very high proportion of homes that are hard to treat and families living in fuel poverty. To make the Green Deal a success nationally we have to make it work in London, but we can only do that with our fair share of the available money.”
Read the full release here along with London Councils submission to the Green Deal consultation.
Government’s ‘Green Deal’ needs to help the poorest
20 January 2012: The Local Government Association (LGA), which represents more than 350 councils in England and Wales, today warned that the Government’s forthcoming Green Deal would leave some of the country’s most vulnerable families out in the cold and could increase fuel poverty. Read the full news release here.
‘45% of People in London Worry they can’t afford their next fuel bill’
16 January 2012: “45% of people in London are worried they can’t afford their next fuel bill and one in two say energy bills will put a strain on their finances this year, according to new figures released today from Citizens Advice at the start of its Big Energy Week which will help people save money on their fuel bills.
Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London said: ‘We know that many people are deeply concerned about keeping warm this winter and Big Energy Week is a great way to find out how they can cut their fuel bills. In London we have been working with Citizen’s Advice Bureau and other organisations on my fourth ‘Know Your Rights Campaign’ to help thousands of vulnerable Londoners to keep their homes insulated and warm. In addition, 24,000 homes across the capital have had an energy makeover, through my RENEW partnership homes programme, increasing efficiency and helping to drive down fuel bills.
Big Energy Week (16-21 January 2012) will see advisers across the region help people spend less on heating and powering their home – including events in Westfield Shepherds Bush, Richmond and Harrow. The Week is supported by Consumer Focus, Which?, Energy UK, energy companies, charities, accredited switching sites, Ofgem and the Government.”
Read the full news release here. Further details of all London events at www.bigenergyweek.org.uk
E.ON launches offer of free insulation plus £100 for those most in need
9 January 2012: E.ON has today announced a new offer of free cavity wall and standard loft insulation, plus a cheque for £100, to anyone in receipt of Child Tax Credit where their annual household income is less than £16,190 or to anyone claiming Pension Credit. The offer is open to anyone who fits these criteria – whether they are an E.ON customer or not. Full details here.
Energy and Climate Questions to the Mayor
December 2011: This month the Mayor answered London Assembly questions in relation to LFEPA CRC efficiency as compared to other parts of the GLA group; the number of Excess Winter Deaths due to fuel poverty in London; steps taken by the Mayor to promote Combined Heat and Power; clarification on the RE-FIT programme; contribution from the Mayor’s Budget to the Centre of Low Carbon Technology; the numb of Flats treated under home energy efficiency programme RE:NEW; the Cost of delivering RE:NEW and CO2 savings abatement cost; the number of homes treated in the private rented sector; the Mayor’s activities in promoting subsidised insulation programmes across all of London; the RE:NEW delivery of CESP; the number of Benefit Entitlement Checks undertaken under RE:NEW; Subsequent benefits of RE:NEW home energy efficiency programme; RE:NEW’s treatment of homes in fuel poverty; the Energy Companies’ Record of delivering energy efficiency in London; an update on Borough roll-out of RE:NEW; an update on RE:NEW; the extent of London’s energy Gap; the degree of Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) delivery in London; an update on LEGGI greenhouse gas emissions data; delivery of the RE:NEW Home Insulation scheme in Islington; projections for the capacity of PV in London by 2025; targets under the RE:NEW programme; London Underground’s use of Renewable energy and again; energy reduction in GLA buildings and targets; and increasing the number of lighting controls at London Underground stations.
Previous questions to the Mayor can be found here.
Posted in News
Tagged CERT, CESP, CHP, Fuel Poverty, Photovoltaics, RE:NEW, Transport, Warm Front
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‘1m homes in London and South-East hit by fuel poverty’
3 December 2011: The Evening Standard reports on revised estimates released by Consumer Focus on the number of households deemed to be suffering from ‘fuel poverty’. The data referred to in the article doesn’t appear to be available on Consumer Focus’s website as yet, however the following BBC article provides a summary of the estimates which suggests that the proportion of fuel poor households in London has risen from 13.3% in 2009 to 17.8% in 2011.
Assessment of fuel poverty in London in 2009 and scenarios to 2013
November 2011: GLA Economics note which “examines the current state of fuel poverty in London. It contends that the current, official, DECC measure for fuel poverty (using ‘full income’) underestimates the incidence of fuel poverty in the capital due to the inclusion of housing-related benefits as income under that measure. Using a ‘basic income’ measure (rather than ‘full income’) raises the incidence of fuel poverty in London households from 13.3 per cent to 18.6 per cent.
The paper sets out some simple modelled scenarios which suggest that the incidence of fuel poverty in London households varies between 16 per cent and 24 per cent over the period to 2013 (depending on different assumptions around income and fuel prices).”