Targets of tackling fuel poverty and expanding cheap energy access 'could be missed' - 01/04/2010
The government could miss targets of stamping out fuel poverty and making cheap energy more accessible, a new report warns.
A study by the Energy and Climate Change Committee reveals that it will be difficult for the government to meet its target of eradicating fuel poverty by 2016, while the 2010 target of ending fuel poverty for vulnerable households will likely be missed.
Paddy Tipping MP, acting chair of the Energy and Climate Change Committee, said data about people who are actually in fuel poverty is difficult to obtain, making the task of solving the problem more challenging.
"Because it does not have that information, [the government] has to use age and receipt of benefits as proxies for fuel poverty," he said.
"And that means that some people who are fuel poor do not get help, while others who are not in fuel poverty receive assistance."
The committee called for the government to consider setting up a database of domestic cheap energy efficiency and drawing up a "road map" that sets out in greater detail how fuel poverty will be tackled.
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