Written by Jade Lewis, Chief Executive of Jade Advocacy

Government figures show that an estimated 3.17 million households live in fuel poverty in England, that’s 13% of households across the country. This means that they have a low residual income, after accounting for their fuel bills, and live in a home with a poor energy performance, below an EPC Band C. Fuel poverty is calculated by the Low Income Low Energy Efficiency metric. A measure according to the Committee on Fuel Poverty, that no longer captures the full range of households facing unaffordable bills. The situation is therefore much worse than the figures suggest with many more people struggling to heat their homes and at increased risk of suffering from poor health as a result.

The benefits of eradicating fuel poverty are clear. Aside from the obvious benefits to the quality of life for people living in these households, targeted action could support the delivery of the Government’s own priority missions to rebuild Britain. Retrofitting homes will reduce their energy demand, which will cut bills and reduce the requirement for new clean energy generation, helping achieve the goal to make Britain a ‘Clean Energy Superpower’. Retrofit schemes will also help generate economic growth by creating skilled jobs nationwide. We are all more productive and perform better when we are warm and healthy, so tackling fuel poverty will also remove barriers to opportunity for children living in fuel poor households across the country. But most importantly, delivering warm homes supports the mission for a fairer Britain, where everyone lives well for longer, with an NHS fit for the future. According to the Building Research Establishment (BRE), poor quality housing is estimated to cost the NHS £1.4 billion a year in first year treatment costs alone, of which £860 million a year is due to living in cold and damp homes. Living in a cold or damp home significantly impacts respiratory, cardiovascular and mental health, and is connected to mortality rates which places an avoidable burden on health services. 

The Government is bound by a statutory fuel poverty target to ensure that as many fuel-poor homes as is reasonably practicable achieve a minimum energy efficiency rating of Band C by 2030. Yet, despite efforts by previous governments to tackle the problem, progress is stalling, and the energy crisis has made it worse in recent years. 

Recognising that high energy bills are one of the key causes of the cost-of-living crisis and that fuel poor households can often face stark choices between heating their home and putting food on the table, the Minister for Energy Consumers, Miatta Fahnbulleh MP, has said that ‘A safe, warm home should not be a luxury in modern Britain’ and has committed to publishing a new fuel poverty strategy in 2025. 

The Committee on Fuel Poverty has said that effectively targeted energy efficiency programmes are central to reducing fuel poverty and notes that the shift away from a ‘fabric first’ approach to improving household energy efficiency since 2022 has proved less effective at making homes substantially warmer. The Government also acknowledges that energy efficiency measures provide more long-term protection against energy bill increases as less energy is required to heat the home. Delivering cost-effective, quality installations of energy efficiency measures and retrofits at scale therefore offers a solution to tackling fuel poverty.

As a sector, we have a central role to play in efforts to reduce fuel poverty. I saw some great examples of retrofit projects at Futurebuild this year. These organisations, fuel poverty charities and managing agents for fuel poverty schemes, are making a real impact.

In addition to my day job, which focuses on advocating for changes to government policy and collaborating with industry leaders to help improve the sustainability and health of our built environment, I am also Chair of the National Energy Foundation’s Board of Trustees. The NEF is a charity based in Milton Keynes that has a tremendous impact on improving people’s lives by providing advice and support for retrofitting home improvement measures to help people in, or at risk of, fuel poverty. It is a very fulfilling role that aligns well with my purpose. I particularly love the work the charity is doing around ‘better housing: better health’, working with local authorities to take a preventative approach to health and wellbeing by tackling energy inefficiency.

I’ve recently had the pleasure of working with Warmworks, another organisation making a huge impact. As managing agent for the Scottish Government’s £728 million Warmer Homes Scotland retrofit scheme it is helping create warmer homes and communities across Scotland. Warmworks is also applying its approach to other projects across the UK and has helped almost 50,000 households become happier, healthier and warmer. I’m learning a lot about their holistic approach to retrofitting at scale, their openness to adopting innovation and most importantly how the right long-term, consistent approach to government policy is making such a difference to people’s lives. We can all learn from their approach, which you can read more about below.